Jump to content

Recommended Posts

here it is, the long awaited Su-33 from Kinetic/ Aviation Art. I should start off by saying that I am not the biggest fan of modern Russian aircraft. but after watching this and the AMK Mig 31 come together, I had to build them. I should also say that this will not be likely to win any awards, I seem to be all thumbs lately. hopefully I can get it together and painted up to resemble the real thing without too many huge mistakes.

there are quite a few online reviews of the kit contents, but I have seen very few build reviews. I was quite impressed with looking at the contents of the kit, lots of crisp detail and nicely molded parts. the photo etched brass parts give me the jitters, I never have a good time with P.E.

then comes the instructions...what to say, they are not very good at all. Kinetic used the CAD drawings which on a computer screen were very good, but when printed out they are somewhat hard to read, and some of the part placements are not too clear. the assembly sequence was conceived by someone with almost no knowledge of how to actually build a model.

enough bitching, on to the build.

this thing is LARGE, bigger than my photo booth.

DSC_6651-L.jpg

The main and nose gear wells are added to the lower fuselage first. I painted the main wells red first, then the exterior in blue before assembly to save a bit of masking later on. you will notice that the P.E. parts do not fit so well on the side of the intakes. and for some reason the intake trunks had gaps on the inboard sides.

DSC_6653-L.jpg

One thing I am extremely impressed with is the Dream model cockpit P.E for the kit. it looks fantastic, and the colour call out in the instructions is a perfect match to the pre printed P.E. Vallejo 70.901

DSC_6654-L.jpg

DSC_6655-L.jpg

there was a bit of a gap around the nose but nothing too major.

DSC_6656-L.jpg

the airbrake had a bit of a gap at the back that needed filler.

DSC_6657-L.jpg

impressions so far...it's a great kit. the fit is not %100 perfect but the Su-33 is a very complex shape and Kinetic have made the effort to get it as good as possible.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Very nice. I on the other hand am very fond of the modern and cold war era Russian and Soviet aircraft. Will look in on this build with much enthusiasm......keep up the great work!

Link to post
Share on other sites

I am sure there are variations and some frames with grey main gear wells Ken - but you are wrong. There are plenty of Su-33's with red wheelbays, in fact i would claim all the currently operated ones have them in red. So Dylan has it correct.

ncxqYtO.jpg

aEGfW1B.jpg

Even your walkaround of b/n 69 (and that is a non-operational prototype frame) appears to show them in red;

http://www.flankers-site.co.uk/su-33.htm

As to the build; great job so far Dylan. :thumbsup: Looking forward to seeing more.

Link to post
Share on other sites

thanks guys. I am using this walkaround My link it looks like one of the airframes that was overhauled. it has the hard edged camo. I think red is possibly the worst colour for a gear well. it makes it very difficult to find hydraulic leaks.

I will be asking you guys a lot of questions about this one. so keep checking in.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I am sure there are variations and some frames with grey main gear wells Ken - but you are wrong. There are plenty of Su-33's with red wheelbays, in fact i would claim all the currently operated ones have them in red. So Dylan has it correct.

ncxqYtO.jpg

aEGfW1B.jpg

Even your walkaround of b/n 69 (and that is a non-operational prototype frame) appears to show them in red;

http://www.flankers-site.co.uk/su-33.htm

As to the build; great job so far Dylan. :thumbsup:/>/> Looking forward to seeing more.

Are you sure the wheel wells are red? In the pictures all you see are the doors but not inside the wells. I agree that the doors are painted red. However, there are no pictures in the walk around that shows the interior as red. In the pictures you posted it is not completely clear which color the wells are. The light is off so the wells look to be either dark grey or red. Are there any other pictures of the interior of the wells? I would like to know for sure since I have this kit to build. I thought the wells were dark grey.

Edited by gonzalo
Link to post
Share on other sites

Are you sure the wheel wells are red? In the pictures all you see are the doors but not inside the wells. I agree that the doors are painted red. However, there are no pictures in the walk around that shows the interior as red. In the pictures you posted it is not completely clear which color the wells are. The light is off so the wells look to be either dark grey or red. Are there any other pictures of the interior of the wells? I would like to know for sure since I have this kit to build. I thought the wells were dark grey.

http://scalemodels.ru/modules/photo/viewcat.php?cid=104&orderby=date%20ASC&show=12&min=24

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ken and Gonzalo, thank you for looking out for me. I will most likely need it as I go along, I don't know too much about Russian aircraft.

I am basing the build on the walkaround in the link I posted so I get as much of it correct as possible. it will be fairly clean without much in the way of weathering. mostly a light panel wash and little preshading.

on to my progress. I decided to paint the metal parts on the engines. I want to give the metallics as much time to harden as possible before masking them.

the metal bits look a little bright right now, but will tone down a bit under a wash and a matt coat.

I started with vallejo gun metal.

DSC_6658-L.jpg

then I masked off a couple of panels and lightly sprayed a mix of gunmetal and steel blue.

DSC_6660-L.jpg

then a few panels were masked and sprayed with aluminum.

DSC_6661-L.jpg

here is where the assembly sequence bit me in the keester. the insert for the wingfold should be installed BEFORE gluing the wings together. I had to do a bunch of sanding and then force the insert past the locking tabs on the lower wing. as a result I ended up with a gap at the top. hopefully it will not be too noticeable with the outer wing installed. the alignment tabs are slightly too big on the strakes, and require a few swipes with the sanding stick to get a perfect fit.

DSC_6662-L.jpg

Edited by dylan
Link to post
Share on other sites

OK - is the red inside the main wheel wells common on operational Su-33's - do they just apply to upgrades ??

Thanks

Ken

Red color wheel wells has been modernized and on airplanes.

P090W98850O764Z1.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

thanks for the offer Vladimir, do you know of a good vallejo or tamiya paint match for the landing gear struts?

on to some progress. I managed to mask the metal bits with parafilm. then added the major flight surfaces, there has been a few reviews of this kit comparing it in quality to the AMK Mig-31. there is no comparison, the AMK kit has far superior engineering and fit.

most of the problems I have encountered have been associated with the lousy instructions. the split flaps are lacking in any sort of positive location for the aft portion. the locating tabs for the vertical stabs could be a little longer, I ended up having to adjust the angle a few times while the glue cured. I also built up the outer wing panels. I am afraid that the outer wings will be a challenge to attach in the folded position.

DSC_6664-L.jpg

DSC_6663-L.jpg

I am getting a little closer to paint every few days, hopefully luckymodel will get the J's work paint masks in soon.

Link to post
Share on other sites

thanks Vladamir, I was referring to the grey used on the main gear legs. I used regular Tamiya gloss red on the main wells and doors.

He is now understood.

Very light gray. I would take 70.989 Vallejo, or C11 Mr hobbies and their little lightened.

H050Q9d8g4I4V5G3.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

By the way the front and main landing gear is different by grey color with camo on bottom part.

Oh sure. This photograph clearly visible differences in color

g070Y998f5d467E5.jpg

Edited by Nazar
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...