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1/72 Tupolev Tu-22M3 "Backfire" by Trumpeter


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Been a long hot summer so working with a model kit indoors hasn't been very appealing. I got some work done on late August though and now it really seems this thing is being finished quite soon! 

 

One of the things I did was getting the engines and the exhausts together. I'll probably add some colours on the outside of the exhausts but otherwise I'm pretty happy with them. I lengthened the exhausts (by using pieces of thick marker pen with suitable circumference) and added some corrugations made from aluminium foil. The kit exhausts were further detailed according to references. The burner rings are from PE. Between the engines you can see a fuel dump pipe and some openings that were not found on the kit.

 

More tomorrow. Stay tuned!

 

8xCXvoj.jpg

 

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Details on the vertical tail are not accurate enough. There was no navigation light so I had to scratch it (just below the uppermost aerial). The little pod below the light needed some modifications as well. I also added the static dischargers on the trailing edge. One is still missing.

 

There's a quite shiny strip of (probably) stainless steel going around the rear fuselage between the painted part and the exhausts themselves. This was made of aluminium tape. I might tone it down a bit and add some variation of colours for the burner cans.

 

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Another half-arsed attempt from Trumpeter are the aerials on both side of the lower fuselage just behind the front LG well. 

 

A scratch built raw version looking a bit like a hockey stick versus kit's sabre teeth. I know I've mentioned it many times during the build, but majority of the detail parts on this kit are pure fiction and should be checked against good reference photos. Seems the kit was designed with the help of very general photos from some distance and without much close-ups, not to mention physical access to the plane. 

 

UP9ocNf.jpg

 

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5 hours ago, Thommo said:

Who knew people in Finland used the expression ''half-arsed" 😃

 

 

Dunno, but that expression is more than suitable when describing how Trumpeter designs their kits. 🙂

 

I would really like to do a 1/72 Blackjack someday (despite the size of it) but considering it was released before their Backfire, it must contain tons of similar mistakes and simplifications...

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Modelling with a kitten. Never easy... 

 

The main landing gears were attached on Friday and fit well. They also seem the bear the weight of the model. I had to trim the front gear leg slightly (I had expected this since I had modified the front well - and consequently the gear leg itself) to get the fuselage of the aircraft pretty much horizontal. 

 

I'm also fiddling with the Kh-22 (AS-4 "Kitchen") missile again... This is the Amodel version, which seems pretty accurate although needs some attention. I was filing one of the seams and the cat just couldn't keep his little paws off from the quickly moving file. Luckily he finally got tired! 

 

Even though I'm building a dumb bomb carrier, I'll probably finish the "Буря" missile and make it removable so I can show the Backfire with this load as well. Looks much cooler with something hanging from a wing too!

 

X0YKH1C.jpg

 

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When the cat sees me doing some modeling, he always wants to participate... Pretty annoying!

 

Some progress. I really got sidetracked with the Kh-22 although I wasn't going to include it. At some point I *was*, but that's years ago.😀 It needed some puttying and therefore restoration of the surface details. Yesterday I primed it and today I gave it a coat of aluminium. Now it only needs some decals (nice sheet provided) and some dark grey for the nose. 

 

I added metal rods for the missile rail which lock down the missile with the rail via corresponding holes on the missile. There should be one hook-like locking device in the middle as well, so I'll have to scratch it. 

 

Dz1wgFa.jpg

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The Amodel Kh-22 comes with a very extensive decal sheet (very high quality stuff  too!). I used most of them and gave the missile a coat of satin.

 

I added some details for the exhaust end of the missile. The small green parts actually come from a PE set of the Trumpeter Tu-16. The Kitchen and the Kingfish missiles have more or less the exact rear end configuration so I cut out pieces from the PE end plate of a Trump Kingfish. The pizza slice tray like pieces were scratched from metal. At first I thought they were some sort of safety devices used on the ground but they seem to be an integral part of Kh-22 since I found a good photo showing them on a flying Tupolev.

 

The missile cart comes with the Amodel kit and after some cleaning of the parts looks very accurate. Some hydraulic lines could have made it even better but I only ended adding hubs for the wheels. (One tire seems to be in the air so needs some correction.)

 

Three pitots are still missing from the Kh-22. They looked rather crude so I did some heavy trimming on them.

I8YODM8.jpg

 

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Dry fitting the front landing gear.

 

Seems I've managed to glue the other main landing gear (while writing this I can't recall which one...) to a sliiiightly wrong angle. But only slightly. As a result the front wheel of that gear doesn't touch the ground. This was partially cured after I trimmed the front gear just a bit. Now the position of the aircraft should be right. Still some work the other main gear though.

 

As a side note while fiddling with another kit: After building this beast a large fighter in 1/48 scale doesn't seem that impossibly big anymore! 

 

xcbvei1.jpg

 

 

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5 hours ago, Sebastijan said:

Been lucky to see the big Tupolev in person (real one and Jan's models) and both look even more amazing in person!

 

 

I have as well. The Nozzle area and "augmentor chamber" are massive. I figure a person could nearly stand up inside it. Huge.

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On 9/30/2018 at 3:44 PM, Mr Matt Foley said:

 

I have as well. The Nozzle area and "augmentor chamber" are massive. I figure a person could nearly stand up inside it. Huge.

 

On 9/30/2018 at 9:43 AM, Sebastijan said:

Been lucky to see the big Tupolev in person (real one and Jan's models) and both look even more amazing in person!

 

 

Thanks, fellas!

 

Sebastijan, I'm happy that I finally had something to show you that was so near the finishing line when you were here. During the last weeks the pace has slowed down slightly since the bloody kitten seems to be very interested in modeling... 

 

This looks a bit like a night shot but illustrates the situation at the moment:  the landing gears - also the front one - are now glued. So are the landing gear doors. I also added several probes and antennae, all of which were scratch built. The kit ones are all just miserable. Completely unusable stuff.

 

You can also see the bomb bay doors that were attached minutes before this quick shot. Detail wise they too have nothing in common with the kit parts. Only the basic parts remain - albeit with original details completely sanded off and fully scratched front and back ends plus all the details between them.

 

Will post a better picture of the details later.

 

IAtA1Zy.jpg

 

Edited by janman
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All aerials and probes in place. The hockey stick shapish ECM antennas behind the front LG doors are still unpainted though.

 

zFeBYiw.jpg

 

On 10/6/2018 at 9:38 AM, Aigore said:

Fabulous! Do I even detect traces of slight weathering? 😛

 

Sure. Most of it has been there for ages (remember, 7 years in progress!!😁), but I added more for the cockpit area which gets tainted especially from the tarpaulin. Some streaks for the gear doors and bomb bay doors as well.

 

23 hours ago, CaptainObvious said:

Almost done! She's looking fantastic!

-co

 

Thanks! Almost there! Now that I said it, there are a couple of small things I still need to check - and maybe add. Then it's time to remove the windscreen masks and install the cockpit hatches. 

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