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Comparison of Zvezda and Trumpeter Flankers


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I've been taking some photos of my Flanker kits to illustrate the differences between the Zvezda Su-27SM and Trumpeter Flankers.

First off, here's a near side-on photo of a Su-27SM wot I took at Lipetsk....

day_02_61.jpg

Here's the comparison photos.....

Flankers_composite_01.jpg

Flankers_composite_02.jpg

Flankers_composite_03.jpg

If I could, I'd stick with Zvezda as they got their Su-27SM absolutely spot-on - but as they haven't followed it up with a vanilla Su-27 (or any other Flankers as yet), I'll have to make do with what Trumpeter are offering.

Happy Flankering

Ken

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Dont get me wrong Ken, i appreciate the effort, but all those profile pictures of the models are not really... in profile. They are all roughly in same angle between each other but they are not in profile like the pic of the real Su-27SM.

None the less they show really well the super oversized canopy (and wrongly angled windshield as the result) and odd nose in the trumpeter kit. Could you please also take comparison pictures from the front?

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I agree, Berkut - they should have been further from the lens to overcome the paralax effect(is that the right term?)

If I was 72 feet away from the real one - I should have been a foot from the models - but I think they illustrate the shapes OK.

One thing I hadn't appreciated before - the Trumpeter models have no washout at the wing tips - note the angle of the wingtip missile pylons.

Another strike against Trumpeter.

Ken

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I agree, Berkut - they should have been further from the lens to overcome the paralax effect(is that the right term?)

If I was 72 feet away from the real one - I should have been a foot from the models - but I think they illustrate the shapes OK.

One thing I hadn't appreciated before - the Trumpeter models have no washout at the wing tips - note the angle of the wingtip missile pylons.

Another strike against Trumpeter.

Ken

Yes, Trump kit always looked like a 'plank' to me - lerx is thin (lacks subtle double curve starting from spine ,Zvezda got this right) and wings lack characteristic washout,plus there is no kink on the spine...

I'll pass...

P

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I agree, Berkut - they should have been further from the lens to overcome the paralax effect(is that the right term?)

If I was 72 feet away from the real one - I should have been a foot from the models - but I think they illustrate the shapes OK.

Ken

I am not sure if the parallax effect or distance have an effect on this, but i mean that if you look at the wheels, the right one is in front of the left one (instead of being lined up with each other) on all the pictures. Or same vs tail of course. So the models should have been angled some more towards right in theory.

But again, the pictures still illustrate the main errors of the trump kit either way.

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Thanks for the comparison shots, Ken. Really useful

The Zvezda Su-27SM looks to be the winner, although the downside of that particular mark is that is "Russia only" (I believe).

Almost, Indonesia uses Su-27SKM's which are basically SM in export variant. One would need to do make a refuel probe, but otherwise good to go and it is a cool camo;

bkJXbf6.jpg

But Zvezda will release a S/P version, it is just matter of time.

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Ken please try to be perpendicular with lens on longer axle of plane. It could be better.

What would be gained by that? You can never get an orthographic projection with a camera. It's impossible in our 3 dimensional universe.

Ken was merely trying to provide side by side comparisons of the kits, which he's done admirably.

At some point you have to give in to the reality of the world we live in.

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Out of curiosity, how do the Hasegawa Su-27's compare? I know absolutely nothing about the respective kits, or the actual aircraft. However, the local Hobbytown I work for part time has three of the Hasegawa kits on the shelf and the Revell boxing of the Zvezda kit. I've been tempted for a while and this thread has my interest piqued again!

Thanks,

Dave

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Hasegawa's kit is FAIR but needs a LOT of corrections. Someone more in the know would probably be able to point them out better. I came to the Flanker table when Trumpeter started their lineup...

The biggest flaw if I remember correctly is the spacing between the nozzles. Way too big on the 1/72 Su-27 Hasegawa kit.

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Hase is a lovely looking kit. I've done one and it builds up very nicely, is crisply detailed and all that.

BUT. It has several inaccuracies. It's way too wide at the back (engines much too far from each other and too large in circumference) and the nose is too massive and the nose cone has a wrong shape.

I'm looking at my model as we speak and it just quite doesn't capture the right look of a real Flanker.

Now that we have Zvezda and Trumpeter kits, the Hase is utterly obsolete in my opinion.

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When the Zvezda SU27 came out I bought one at first sight on the shelf after reading what you guys said about it. When I Opened the kit I found the canopy ruined (very cloudy and rough looking finish). Had my dealer order in a new canopy, and after a couple months he just traded kits with me. Have not opened the new kit (almost afraid to). Aside from the canopy, it was a very nice kit. I'd like to put it on the same quality level as the Tamiya 1/72 F16.

gary

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One of the main criticisms of the Zvezda Su-27SM canopy is its cross-section shape.

It doesn't have a horseshoe or Omega shape - which would require a slide-mold to capture.

Trumpeter does have a slide-mould Omega cross-section - but it results in a seam line down the centre of the canopy and windscreen......

Su-27SM_21.jpg

Here's what it should look like.....

Su-27SM_22.jpg

Apart from the cross-section shape issue, some Zvezda canopies had flow problems in the mould which resulted in a crazing effect.... I had one good one and one bad one - which the seller (Hannants) immediately replaced (as did Zvezda's Austrian distributor).

AFAIK, this crazing problem has been sorted (?)

Ken

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But how do they compare against the mighty Revell kit...and by Revell kit, I mean this one:

survey_05.jpg

Are you serious??? The new Revell kit has the Zvezda plastic parts in it. That is the one you should go for or the original Zvezda!

Best regards

Gabor

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