Flankerman Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 The latest from A&A Models growing range of obscure Soviet aircraft - the 1949 Sukhoi Su-17 Type 'R' :- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-17_(1949) Box art.... Fuselage and port fin insert..... Wings, tailplanes and upper wing fences.... Engine, wheels, cockpit etc... Two decal sheets, open or closed canopy and etched fret. Not shown are the self-adhesive masks for the wheels and canopy. Painting guide - keyed to Humbrol enamels..... The plastic parts are well moulded in light grey plastic with fine engraved panel detail. This is a very comprehensive package which includes self-adhesive masks for the canopy and wheels plus etched-brass parts for the ejection seat belts and undercarriage struts. I already have a Type R in my collection - from Legato... But this new kit from A&A is in a totally different league..... and I can't wait to get it started... Ken Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ya-gabor Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 Hi Ken, What an aircraft. Looks both strange and interesting! Wasnt this the one where they had the whole cockpit to eject in emergency? Lets see what you make of it! Stay safe! Best regards Gabor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flankerman Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 I've started.... Being a typical short-run kit, all the components have large sprue gates and all parts have to be 'cleaned up' and 'fettled' before assembly... The nosewheel bay is made up from four parts, the mainwheel bay from five....... The cockpit (which doubles as the intake trunk) has eight parts (not including the etched seatbelts).... The jetpipe is in two halves - with a turbine face and two-part central cone..... All the sub-assemblies (minus the ejection seat) ready to fit(?) inside the fuselage... Note that the nosewheel bay is attached to the cockpit rear bulkhead). Ken Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flankerman Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 Meanwhile...... The intake/cockpit, main wheel bays and jetpipe are installed into the starboard fuselage half... The port fuselage half was (with difficulty and lots of clamping) cemented in place ......... it was only when the cement had set and the clamps were removed that I discovered that the intake splitter was not aligned vertically and the nosewheel bay was offset....... So I took the drastic action of splitting the fuselage halves apart - and 3 rounds and lots of fettling later, I finally beat it into submission...... There were still visible joint lines along the spine - and bottom of the fuselage... requiring filler..... But, once sanded down, the joints look OK-ish.... Onto the wings - they are moulded in upper and lower halves - with the lower as an insert to give a sharp trailing edge.... Guess what? - the lower insert needes thinning down to eliminate the inevitable 'step' ...... They say it's character building......... Stay Safe... Ken Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 An interesting subject! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tomcat Trebor Posted May 17, 2020 Share Posted May 17, 2020 Looks like you have filler in the same places as mine which l am building now, the nose was the worst part. I also found that the Fowler actuators under the wing did not line up so had to cut and replace them. Regards Robert Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flankerman Posted May 18, 2020 Author Share Posted May 18, 2020 23 hours ago, Tomcat Trebor said: the nose was the worst part I do wish that these limited-run companies (Modelsvit, Amodel, A&A etc) would provide a separate nose ring...... Trying to get a smooth intake without any slight gaps at the extreme tip is almost impossible when you only have the two fuselage halves forming the lip.... Stay Safe Ken PS - Re the Fowler actuators - just checked mine and they look OK - the wings are attached to the fuselage - and guess what ? - they need filler at the root. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarcB Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Flankerman said: I do wish that these limited-run companies (Modelsvit, Amodel, A&A etc) would provide a separate nose ring...… What I usually do in those circumstances is to separate the nose ring from both fuselage halves, using a fine razor saw, and glue these together to form the intake ring. It's then much easier to putty/sand/improve the nose ring. When the rest of fuselage is assembled, I then glue the nose ring as if it was a separate part, transferring the possible joints to the fuselage sides where these are much more easier to attend. MB Quote Edited May 18, 2020 by MarcB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flankerman Posted May 18, 2020 Author Share Posted May 18, 2020 Great solution to the nose ring issue MB A little progress....... Wings and tailplanes attached..... Type R was actually built - but never flown due to political interference - which eventually led to Sukhoi OKB being deactivated. Ken Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flankerman Posted May 18, 2020 Author Share Posted May 18, 2020 The Type R has three chordwise fences on each upper wing - and A&A provide them in plastic. They are very thin (almost scale thickness) and very delicate - but have large flow gates that must be carefully removed and cleaned up. There are engraved lines on the wing surface showing where they go - but they are just butt-joined - although, mercifully, they went on OK... What you might call 'Wing Fenced'....... Ken Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 Oh, I like it!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flankerman Posted May 31, 2020 Author Share Posted May 31, 2020 Primered....... .... ready for the silver overall.... Ken Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ya-gabor Posted June 1, 2020 Share Posted June 1, 2020 Hi Ken, Looks very nice! ! ! Stay safe! Best regards Gabor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flankerman Posted June 4, 2020 Author Share Posted June 4, 2020 Thanks Gabor..... Following a final rub-down of the grey primer, I sprayed the whole model using a rattle can of Halfords 'Aluminium'. The front end was polished to highlight the detachable nose section and the decals (six red stars) applied....... The whole lot weas sealed in using a rattle can of Games Workshop 'Purity Seal' - a great satin acrylic varnish..... All it needs now is the addition of the wingtip navigation lights and the undercarriage........ .... which I am dreading.......... The whole levered-suspension maingear is very weak - there is a very poor location at the top of the leg inside the wheel well (almost non-existant) - and there are no locating tabs for the front fork, nor the trailing links - they are just supposed to butt-join to the legs... Just look at the raised 'dimple' at middle top - that's supposed the be the mainwheel axle !!! If the wheels were at right-angles to the leg - and the axles were longer - it would be slightly stronger - but the strain on those trailing joints is going to be problematic. I'm beginning to lose the will to finish it....... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted June 17, 2020 Share Posted June 17, 2020 Almost there my friend....gotta see it through! I remember seeing blurred pics of this aircraft passing in articles of Aviation Leak back in the 50's (my university had the old volumes which I spent hours poring through in the 90's). Of course they didn't have a name for it, weren't even sure who made it...I think one caption suggested it might be a Farmer subtype. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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