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Trumpeter Su-15TM "Flagon-F" 1/72 Scale


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now the question is which scheme to build first! :lol:

Well, for a brush painter that camoed Flagon with its blurred colours would be pretty hard to pull through, so I guess it is the NMF then! :)

Thanks for the shots, Patrick!

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At least the nose looks to slope down in this one...

My 48th build still bugs me :)

I still think I glued it on upside down and didn't notice until I painted it green that it looks upturned, and way too late to do anything about it.

I do like that the airbrakes are molded shut, they did not fit at all well on the 48th. I also notice that the rudder on the TM looks to be the same as the earlier one. On the 48th you trimmed a bit off the bottom for what looks to be a ECM fitting.

Also what does the seat look like? The one in the 48th just looks wierd to me, nothing like anything I'd seen in a Mig or Sukohi build up to now.

Happy Modeling, maybe I'll get this one so I don't have to look at my FUBAR'ed Flagon anymore

Matt

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Looks nice. They didn't fix the major wing problem on the 1/48 kit - no negative camber under the leading edge, but most people won't notice that. Glad the speed boards are molded shut. Plenty of aftermarket seats available for this one.

You didn't put the radome on upside down. Trumpeter simply molded it wrong, and it can't be made right without modification, no matter which way you glued it on.

FWIW, the term "NMF" doesn't really apply to any Soviet airplane. Every one since at least the MiG-9 (all manufacturers) has specified a coat of clear varnish over natural metal finishes to protect them. That's why you see Soviet airplanes generally looking rather dull, not bright and shiny. There are lots of factory paint specs out there, and they all show a coat of clear varnish over natural metal. I'm sure there may have been an odd exception here and there, but the factory finish of everything from MiG-9s to Bear-Hs has been a coat of clear varnish.

Also FWIW, the Flagon is one of my favorite Soviet airplanes - I've done a lot of looking, and I can only come up with a few airplanes from one regiment that were camouflaged. It was by NO means a common practice. I dealt regularly with all the ones stationed in the Soviet Far East on a regular basis (via the RC-135 fleet) in the 1980s, and none of them were camouflaged. Hulks of the ones based at Anadyr Ugolny'e Kopi are clearly visible on Google Earth (along with their wrecked alert barn), and are in NMF.

J

Edited by Jennings
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Also FWIW, the Flagon is one of my favorite Soviet airplanes - I've done a lot of looking, and I can only come up with a few airplanes from one regiment that were camouflaged. It was by NO means a common practice. I dealt regularly with all the ones stationed in the Soviet Far East on a regular basis (via the RC-135 fleet) in the 1980s, and none of them were camouflaged. Hulks of the ones based at Anadyr Ugolny'e Kopi are clearly visible on Google Earth (along with their wrecked alert barn), and are in NMF.

J

Sure. But, for some, the attraction is the unusual. I do 1/72. I bought the 1/48 kit ONLY because of the camo. If it had been just another silver Russian jet, I would not have bothered. Now that the 1/72 kit is out, I have already given my unbuilt 1/48 one away to a buddy, complete with AM intakes, cockpit, and exhaust cones. I'll pick this 1/72 version up at some point and put it in my stash.

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I knew somebody would beat me to the sprue shots while I waited for my camera to recharge last night...... :bandhead2: Oh well, that is what I get for not paying attention to how much juice is left in the battery.

Anyhow, I actually like the NMF look on the Sukhoi Soviet era interceptor types, Su-9/11 and Su-15. My Trump Flagon will be in NMF.

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Thanks, Ray. Awesome photos. Seems the colours on the upper one are pretty close to the standard colours of the MiG-23/27 or Su-17s (?)

The NMF thing is true: the Soviet planes really did have a clear varnish or silver coloured paint on them and were not with "pure" NMF.

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It looks like nice model. Does somebody know, how it is in comparison with A-model Su-15TM? Is this much better?
I have both.

I have not built either, but just from looking at the kits in the box, I would say the Trumpeter kit is a lot better engineered than the A Model kit. Fit is probably MUCH better than the A Model kit. The detail is better, with more crisp sharper panel lines and detail.

The Trump kit is about $30 retail in the US, so it is a little more expensive than A model's offering, but worth it in my opinion.

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Looking at the sprues it seems they are also going to release a Su-15 Flagon A soon or later. The fin is the "A" model (no ecm bumps), and the antiflutter weights on the tail are the straight "A" ones. Even if looking at the building scheme, seems there's an additional part to convert them to the "bent" "F" ones.

Btw, strange building scheme... they want you to put missiles and other smaller bits before the nosecone...

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The Flagon A is due in a couple of months, on either Cybermodeler or one of the Japanese mail order pre-sales there is a shot of the box art, a red 'airshow' scheme - the Red Falcons.

It's up on the Great Models website, but I cannot link to it.

$26 (MSRP of $33 it looks like)

Matt

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Well, for a brush painter that camoed Flagon with its blurred colours would be pretty hard to pull through, so I guess it is the NMF then! :)

Aww, come on, Jan! Invest in an airbrush then. You know you want to! :thumbsup: :lol:

Would anyone know if this camo really existed?

http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww3/f/655/1/1/13

I don't know, but hope so. That looks really cool! :)

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FWIW, the term "NMF" doesn't really apply to any Soviet airplane. Every one since at least the MiG-9 (all manufacturers) has specified a coat of clear varnish over natural metal finishes to protect them. That's why you see Soviet airplanes generally looking rather dull, not bright and shiny. There are lots of factory paint specs out there, and they all show a coat of clear varnish over natural metal. I'm sure there may have been an odd exception here and there, but the factory finish of everything from MiG-9s to Bear-Hs has been a coat of clear varnish.

J

Inspired by this thread - and the new Trumpeter kit (still waiting for it to arrive in the UK) - I have been looking at my library of Flagon pics taken over the years.

I'll get them sorted and put up on my website as a walkround.

In the meantime, here's a pic I took of a Su-15 in Kiev in 2006 - and it shows exactly what Jennings is talking about - the clear laquer covering is peeling off....

Su-15_Ukr_03.jpg

More later...

Ken

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:D I wonder which clear coat would be best for this finish. Gloss cote or satin cote? This is my newly learned info for today and has given an insight into Soviet aircraft finishes. Thank you to all who have contributed to this thread.

;),

Ross.

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Never see this blue-gray Su-15 painting, at my look its fake, like red aerobatick Su-15 too.

Most tipical Flagon painting - as you say NMF, but it is not so:

Actually a/c assembled from plates, which had yellow-green primer nuance and after than all surface painting in mix of clear laquer and alluminium enamel.

So Su-15 and Su-15TM can/t be glossy polished alluminium - its nonshine satin surface.

su15tm.jpg

About camoufled Su-15 - in the end of its interceptor life in some of regiments (i know three FR) Su-15 was painting in three-fout tone green-brown camouflage, but its not tyical for main quantity of Su-15.

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