Jump to content

1/48 - Sukhoi Su-35 "Flanker-E" by Great Wall Hobby


Recommended Posts

Gentleman/Ladies:

 

I just joined your forum this evening so while I was not able to review the previous 44 pages of commentary on this kit I would like to say that after initially finding it's availability in the United States very limited I found it through the Kitlinx website and, $117.00 US later, I received it in the post yesterday. 

Link to post
Share on other sites
3 minutes ago, Salineated Michigander said:

Gentleman/Ladies:

 

I just joined your forum this evening so while I was not able to review the previous 44 pages of commentary on this kit I would like to say that after initially finding it's availability in the United States very limited I found it through the Kitlinx website and, $117.00 US later, I received it in the post yesterday. 

 

Welcome to the site!

 

Wow...you paid a lot for that kit. True, they're hard to find now in the states, but Hobby Easy, Lucky Model and EBay have them and even with shipping they're well under $100.

Edited by Mr Matt Foley
Link to post
Share on other sites

I think many people feel leery of ordering overseas, perhaps never having done it. To those people I would say, go right ahead. As long as you deal with a reputable vendor you will have no problems and will probably be pleasantly surprised at the level of service you can get. If you are not sure which vendors are reputable, start with Mr Matt Foley's list above. I would add HobbySearch, Hobbylink, Hannants and BNA Model World. For aftermarket there are MANY vendors and people that make and sell products at very reasonable prices. Sometimes in ordering overseas you will have to wait longer for delivery. But, if you're not in a hurry than you can save a lot of money.

Link to post
Share on other sites
7 hours ago, Mstor said:

I think many people feel leery of ordering overseas, perhaps never having done it. To those people I would say, go right ahead. As long as you deal with a reputable vendor you will have no problems and will probably be pleasantly surprised at the level of service you can get. If you are not sure which vendors are reputable, start with Mr Matt Foley's list above. I would add HobbySearch, Hobbylink, Hannants and BNA Model World. For aftermarket there are MANY vendors and people that make and sell products at very reasonable prices. Sometimes in ordering overseas you will have to wait longer for delivery. But, if you're not in a hurry than you can save a lot of money.

 

Mstor, well said!

 

I would also add, if you are in doubt about a vendor from"overseas" (from a USA perspective),  feel free to ask us here!  Believe me, the members here will be quite helpful, and give you all the facts (as they see it) so you can make an educated purchasing decision.   

Link to post
Share on other sites

Good advice guys. Unfortunately, we are still slaves to the Postal Service where ever you live and order from. My GWH Su-35 is sitting someplace at ISC Chicago and has been there since December 5th. I'm kicking myself for not buying the kit here in the states months ago. Sprue Bros even had a special for $59.99 a couple of moths ago. So, who knows when it will turn up. I have spoken with USPS 3x already.  I'm not holding my breath at this point.

Link to post
Share on other sites
32 minutes ago, Mr Matt Foley said:

Good advice guys. Unfortunately, we are still slaves to the Postal Service where ever you live and order from. My GWH Su-35 is sitting someplace at ISC Chicago and has been there since December 5th. I'm kicking myself for not buying the kit here in the states months ago. Sprue Bros even had a special for $59.99 a couple of moths ago. So, who knows when it will turn up. I have spoken with USPS 3x already.  I'm not holding my breath at this point.

 

Its a crap shoot. I've had stuff, like yours, that sits forever in customs. Then sometimes it will breeze through in a day. Never had one quite as bad as yours though. Close, but not quite as bad. They always seem to make it through eventually.

Then there are the packages that will sit at forever at the originating airport waiting for just the right flight to take to get forwarded on. I really don't understand how overseas airmail shipping works, i.e. what are the rules/guidelines used for routing packages from country to country. Maybe someday, someone here with knowledge could put together a quick outline of how it's supposed to work.

Overall, though, my experiences have been favorable. There have been quite a few times when I have received packages from overseas faster than from a few states away. And I am not talking about any kind of express delivery, just the standard air post type.

Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, ytsejam87 said:

 

Mstor, well said!

 

I would also add, if you are in doubt about a vendor from"overseas" (from a USA perspective),  feel free to ask us here!  Believe me, the members here will be quite helpful, and give you all the facts (as they see it) so you can make an educated purchasing decision.   

 

Yes indeed! I dare say that many of us have bitten the bullet and tried out many different overseas vendors when that one kit or aftermarket part is only available it some shop in some country in Europe or the Far East. I have gotten burned a couple of times, but always managed to get my money back, either from PayPal, if using them, or the Credit Card company. It really isn't a difficult process, you just have to be mindful of the time limits for filing a complaint. I believe PayPal is 30 days from date of purchase. For credit cards you should check the rules for those you use.

When it comes down to it, I find using overseas vendors no more risky than using in-country ones and as Mr Foley has reminded us, we are all at the tender mercy's of the postal services.

Link to post
Share on other sites
3 hours ago, Mr Matt Foley said:

Good advice guys. Unfortunately, we are still slaves to the Postal Service where ever you live and order from. My GWH Su-35 is sitting someplace at ISC Chicago and has been there since December 5th. I'm kicking myself for not buying the kit here in the states months ago. Sprue Bros even had a special for $59.99 a couple of moths ago. So, who knows when it will turn up. I have spoken with USPS 3x already.  I'm not holding my breath at this point.

ISC Chicago, where parcels go to die 🙂

Link to post
Share on other sites

As I have been in both sides of the transaction and regardless of whether the transaction processor (PayPal or other) protects the buyer (in most cases) one needs to consider the fundamentals of a transaction: to be a win-win for both sides. So the seller has every interest to keep their customers happy as well as the customer ensures that trusted sellers are around. Just a personal view.

Link to post
Share on other sites
48 minutes ago, riffer said:

ISC Chicago, where parcels go to die 🙂

 

Lately I've had good luck with packages through Chicago, 2 or 3 days. What I can't figure out is how they decide to route packages coming into the US in the first place. Half the time packages coming out of Hong Kong or Japan are entering customs through New York. Huh? I very seldom see any packages going from the Far East entering a port on the West coast.  They either come into Chicago or New York, or sometimes New Jersey. Then once in New York, they bounce around between a bunch of facilities out there for days. There seems no rhyme nor reason to it all. There must be a computer somewhere that runs a giant random number generator that controls package entry into the USA. Its mad I tell you. Its MAD!! :tease:

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 7 months later...
  • 3 months later...
On 2/8/2018 at 9:57 AM, habu2 said:

The Su-27s were in Oklahoma City in 1990.  I was there with Jay Miller and Katsu Tokunaga. We arrived mid-week and were given full access to both -27s (again an A and a UB) as well as the support aircraft, the An-225. (the cockpit had blue-green shag carpet on the floor!).  Both Katsu and the girl in the pic got rides in the UB with Viktor, and he did the Cobra maneuver with both of them.  Katsu's flight included an air to air session with the -225.  IIRC the photos were published in KokuFan.  The girl (don't recall her name) was a TV personality and the wife of Tom Jones, an aerobatic pilot and the organizer of the air show.  We left the show on Saturday afternoon.

 

 

This is an old thread, but there are several details posted here that I'd like to correct for the record.  Katsu Tokunaga may have gotten an air-to-air photo shoot of the Sukhois while they were in OKC, but he did not fly with Viktor.  There was only one flight approved, and it was meant for  David North of Aviation Week Magazine.  Officials in Moscow nixed that flight because the US had rejected their offer to let a US pilot fly in the SU-27 in exchange for letting Viktor fly in a frontline US jet. Mikhail Simonov, director of Sukhoi, wanted to make a goodwill gesture, so they let me fly.  I was a TV reporter at the CBS affiliate in OKC and had flown previously with the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds. (I am the woman in the photo Scooby posted.) I was not the wife of Tom Jones, though he was a dear friend.  It is hard to express how devastating his death was to all of us in OKC and to the group from Sukhoi. We all loved him dearly.  At any rate, just wanted to correct your references to me. Thanks.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 9 months later...

Sorry to be That Guy who necros old threads (annoys me, too), but while doing some research for my L4823 build, ran across these postings, and I have to say this is probably THE most epic thread I've ever read. 😃 It has *everything*--drama, suspense, malfeasance, accusations, arguments, insults; there are treatises on the model making business including kit design, molding, and marketing; in-depth panel line dissection and detailed analyses of Su-35 shape; rivet counting on par with the best in the hobby; detailed info about mold injection processes; I learned about post-Soviet Russian military aircraft industry including materials, construction, and overall strategic plans; I learned about a few aftermarket goodies I should buy for my build (Amigo nozzles and Galaxy masking set--and one to avoid, specifically); there was a debate about the role of aftermarket in the hobby; I learned about ISC Chicago; ARC peeps got into it with the guy who actually helped design the kit and he gave it right back; there are detailed post-mortems and critiques of the kit once it was released; and all through this madness, Gabor provided continuous insight into the process of working with a manufacturer to design a kit, including all the pitfalls, problems, gotchas, and negotiations that are part thereof all while defending himself against pretty much everyone.

 

AND, if none of that were enough, the thread basically ends with a US news reporter registering an ARC account to fact-check a post made months ago lol. How many times does THAT happen in the modeling world?

 

Well done, everyone, well done. All of this will make my build better. 

 

Word. 

Edited by Porkbits
Link to post
Share on other sites
14 minutes ago, Porkbits said:

Sorry to be That Guy who necros old threads (annoys me, too), but while doing some research for my L4823 build, ran across these postings, and I have to say this is probably THE most epic thread I've ever read. 😃 It has *everything*--drama, suspense, malfeasance, accusations, arguments, insults; there are treatises on the model making business including kit design, molding, and marketing; in-depth panel line dissection and detailed analyses of Su-35 shape; rivet counting on par with the best in the hobby; detailed info about mold injection processes; I learned about post-Soviet Russian military aircraft industry including materials, construction, and overall strategic plans; I learned about a few aftermarket goodies I should buy for my build (Amigo nozzles and Galaxy masking set--and one to avoid, specifically); there was a debate about the role of aftermarket in the hobby; ARC peeps got into it with the guy who actually helped design the kit and he gave it right back; there are detailed post-mortems and critiques of the kit once it was released; and all through this madness, Gabor provided continuous insight into the process of working with a manufacturer to design a kit, including all the pitfalls, problems, gotchas, and negotiations that are part thereof all while defending himself against pretty much everyone.

 

AND, if none of that were enough, the thread basically ends with a US news reporter registering an ARC account to fact-check a post made months ago lol. How many times does THAT happen in the modeling world?

 

Well done, everyone, well done. All of this will make my build better. 

 

Word. 

Ha!

Link to post
Share on other sites
On 12/9/2018 at 4:46 AM, dehowie said:

Rather than worry about resin copies of yiur radome Gabor how about you use your powers to convince GWH we need a fabulous SU-27...😍

 

On 12/9/2018 at 6:15 AM, B.Sin said:

Use the   Force Gabor!

 

It is obvious that at the time I had absolutely no right to say or comment in any way the question about the Su-27 kit design. In todays business world things like this are not preannounced. There is a good side and bad ones as well to it, but it is a decission of a manufacturer, I do and have to agree with it. Believe this is the right way!

 

 

I did not have the force, but did have real down to earth "some" work in the new project   : )  : )   : )   : )    that you can find and see in other forums here on ARC.

 

 

Oh, yes concerning the nose cone. I am sure some aftermarket manufacturers will come up with a "correction" nose cone for the Su-27 kits also just to get on the bandwagon and earn few pennies. Good luck to them. 

 

 

Best regards

Gabor

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

One quick question and then I'll let this thread die (have Googled around but haven't found an answer) - what is the correct gray for the radome if I'm doing the eggplant scheme for L4823? I've seen medium gray, gull gray, semi-gloss gray, netural, etc, so seems like no one knows for sure....

 

Thanks!

Link to post
Share on other sites

I would say GWH got the color for the radome wrong in the instructions (at least for the eggplant scheme). Neutral grey is a pretty good match - MRP makes a special paint for the radomes and dielectric panels for the Flankers but it is very, very close to Mr Colors neutral grey and comparing with photographs this seems to be a very good match.

Link to post
Share on other sites
On 8/6/2019 at 2:43 AM, Solo said:

I see there is new Su-35 coming:

 

Boxart Su-35S "Flanker-E" L4823 Great Wall Hobby

 

Is there any information on how this new one will differ from the existing Su-35s?  I have the current one (still in the box).  Since the subtitle on the new box refers to 'air to surface', would the only difference be the weapons?  Or would GWH also have upgraded the cockpit to the same standard as the yet to be released Su-27 has?  Does anyone know?

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...