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1/48 Kitty Hawk Su-22M4 Fitter-K, Polish Air Force, 2016


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Hi all, back again!

 

I just wanted to share my latest completed project, the much maligned Kitty Hawk Su-17/22 Fitter.  The boxing is for Su-17M3/M4, but as I understand it, the Su-22M4 is externally identical to the Su-17M4 so that a 22M4 can be built from this box.  So I chose to build the new Polish Air Force gray camouflage scheme Su-22M4 Fitter-K.  I am sure by now you have heard much about this kit.  But this is what I can tell you, from my experience... The engineering leaves one to scratch their head often.  Lots of sprue gates in poor locations, 6 piece fuselage, and of course the intake and the shock cone.  An aftermarket shock cone is an absolute must.  I used a HAD Models one, and it is really nice!  I highly recommend it.  The lower fuselage has an odd banana shape that is not quite right... But that doesn't really bother me as I loaded it up and added the KKR-1T pod underneath.  The instructions are ok, but not fantastic.  There are some parts numbering errors to watch out for, although I can't remember them exactly.

 

On the positive side, the detail is just fantastic.  The cockpit detail is one of the best OOB ones I have ever seen.  The fit of parts is actually mostly quite good.  The wings are really well done, near Tamiya-like engineering and fit there.  And here is the kicker, for me... I did actually enjoy building this.  Now, granted, I built the Revell Tornado just before this, and that thing is a monster to build.  This was a walk in the park compared to that.  So I may have been a bit influenced by my previous build.

 

I used ModelMaker decals for this, as they are the only ones available for this scheme.  Actually, I only used the numbers from ModelMaker.  The Polish insignias did not have crisp edges, so I sourced those from a Techmod MiG-29 sheet.  Also, the ModelMaker decals came with no stencils.  The stencils for this scheme are different colors than the old scheme, so I did not have those.  So I had to just find Russian/Polish stencils from kits and decals in my stash and use ones that looked to be the right color and shape and place them according to what I saw in pics.  That made the stenciling of this a major pain in the butt.  And I hate stenciling period. LOL

 

There are some very good pics online of this scheme, and they all seem to be kept quite clean.  So I kept my weathering to a minimum here, unlike my previous few builds.

 

Anyway, enough jibber jabber, I hope you enjoy!

 

Kit: 1/48 Kitty Hawk Su-17M3/M4

Decals: ModelMaker Polish Fitters, Polish Insignias from Techmod, and random stencils from many Russian/Polish subject kits

Aftermarket: HAD Models Shock Cone, Master Model Pitot

Paints: Gunze Mr. Surfacer Black 1500 (primer base),  Tamiya Liquid White Primer (for marble coat), Gunze Aqueous FS 36375 Light Ghost Gray, and Dark SeaGray, Rubber Black, Clear Red, Clear Green, and Smoke, and Alclad II Gloss Black Primer, Hot Metal Violet, Hot Metal Blue, Airframe Aluminum, Pale Burnt Metal, and Burnt Iron. Future Gloss coat for decals and Future+Tamiya XF-21 Flat Base 6:1 ratio for final matte coat. Mig Ammo Deep Gray panel wash.

 

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Awesome!

banana shape seems not to be a real trouble since the loads are put under the wings and belly.

thank you for the explanations too.

 

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On ‎7‎/‎24‎/‎2017 at 4:14 PM, Falconxlvi said:

Awesome build!  Certainly looks much better than some of the reviews I have read.   Great job!

 

Thanks man!  Yeah, despite what the early reviews said, I enjoyed building this.

 

On ‎7‎/‎24‎/‎2017 at 4:36 PM, R Spreckley said:

Fantastic..kittyhawk certainly make Em differently for sure

 

Thanks Richard!  Yeah, they definitely have some interesting ideas on how to break down a kit.  Oh well, they choose some great subjects and have very nice detail, so I guess it is just something we will have to deal with LOL.

 

On ‎7‎/‎25‎/‎2017 at 6:39 AM, CaptainObvious said:

Once again, Top Quality work!

 

Thank you Captain Obvious!  (I chuckle a little bit to myself every time I write that!)

 

On ‎7‎/‎25‎/‎2017 at 8:11 AM, rom said:

Awesome!

banana shape seems not to be a real trouble since the loads are put under the wings and belly.

thank you for the explanations too.

 

 

Thanks Rom, I always appreciate your feedback.  Yeah, the shape really is not even noticeable without the load.  But with everything on, it is really not discernable at all.

 

21 hours ago, IJ001 said:

Superb model, simple as that.

 

 

Ian.

 

Thank you Ian, I really appreciate the kind words!

 

11 hours ago, Mstor said:

Superb! One of my favorite aircraft and you have done it justice.

 

Thank Mstor!  I am happy I could do justice to your favorite aircraft.  That is a real compliment!

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On ‎7‎/‎26‎/‎2017 at 6:59 PM, Aigore said:

Top notch work! A really brutal jet! 

 

Thanks Janne!  I really appreciate the kind words my friend!

 

On ‎7‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 11:59 AM, ChernayaAkula said:

Absolutely fantastic! :worship: Who says grey has to be boring? Far from it, obviously!

 

Thanks Moritz, I really appreciate that.  Yeah, I saw this scheme and was immediately stuck at how cool it was to see on the Fitter.  It definitely helped that there are some awesome pics online of a shoot of a formation of Polish Fitter, Fulcrum, and Viper.  LOL

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On 8/2/2017 at 1:43 AM, AndrewPerren said:

Great job.  Nice to see it in the Polish colours as well.  If only they could get their act together properly on their instructions. 

 

Thanks Andrew! Yeah, the instructions are not a bright spot on this kit.  Not awful, but not really great either.

 

On 8/4/2017 at 7:43 PM, Bravosierra001 said:

AHHHHHH!!! Ya beat me to it! I plan on doing the same build. Yours looks excellent!! I am going to try it with the Hobby Boss kit. Hope it comes out as nice as yours did.

 

 

 

Brandon

 

Haha, sorry Brandon!  But thanks for the kind words, I am quite happy with how it turned out.  I am eager to see how yours turns out using the HB kit.  I am sure it will look awesome too!  If you have any questions about the subject, just let me know when you start it.

 

On 8/4/2017 at 10:55 PM, Rodney said:

You did a great job on that kit.  I like your choice of camo for it.  

 

Thanks Rodney!  I knew exactly what scheme I was going to do once I bought the kit and learned that you can build an Su-22M4 from it.

 

On 8/5/2017 at 1:40 PM, Rocketdrvr said:

Nice to see the newer colors done on the classic Fitter!  Looks real sharp!

 

Thanks bud!  Yeah, it is cool to see a more modern paint scheme on the old lady.  

 

6 hours ago, B.Sin said:

Beautiful! I hope when the day comes around, when I actually sit down and do one, it'll come out as nice.

 

I am sure it will.  I hope to see what you come up with when you do!

 

52 minutes ago, speedlimit said:

Nicely done!

 

eric

 

Thanks Eric!  I appreciate you taking the time to comment with those kind words!

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