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Great Wall Hobby G.W.H L4824 1/48 Su-27 “Flanker B” Heavy Fighter


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2 minutes ago, ijozic said:

 

Which softener did you use? I've only used Micro Sol and Set and I can't say I'm exactly thrilled with them (though they are super old so maybe they lost some or all of their effectiveness).

I highly recommend you GSI Creos Mr. Mark Setter.

Because when we talk with the decal print factory, I just gave them one bottle of this and my requirement is very simple: I need your decal to match this softner perfectly.

Then it turns out quite good, no longer that thick and hard GWH decal in older batch kits which was totally rubbish.

So I understand that it was not the print factory lack of the capacity, but it was our fault that we did not give them more detailed and specific orders.

Because they print decals for so many clients from various industries for decades, and they had no idea what kind of decal is suitable for model kits.

So, guys you can be quite confident about GWH kit decals now, they are performing much much better.

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12 minutes ago, haneto said:

But is it really necessary to achive it by that level?

Some big brands even do not go that far, e.g. Tamiya.

 

I'm seriously thinking if it's necessary to reduce such "hardcore" features going forward, since the cost performance(at least for manufacter) is really quite low.

 

Well, at least consider doing a poll before making a final decision regarding cutting down on such features.

 

Tamiya is not really something to directly compare with as their kits are less detailed in general and aim for ease of building. If I wanted that, I would buy their kits, but I never do as they are expensive for the level of detail given, IMHO.

Edited by ijozic
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7 minutes ago, haneto said:

So, guys you can be quite confident about GWH kit decals now, they are performing much much better.

 

So, MiG-29 decals had a noticeably thicker carrier film than your new decals? That would explain my struggling with them in some places (e.g. no step decals on the exhausts)..

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19 minutes ago, ijozic said:

 

So, MiG-29 decals had a noticeably thicker carrier film than your new decals? That would explain my struggling with them in some places (e.g. no step decals on the exhausts)..

I’m afraid yes, those old batch kit decals are really awful, honestly speaking.

But if your kit is the re-issued version(blue and white box) then the decal shall be fine, because they are printed by new standard.

Maybe you can send a mail to GWH or your local distributor to check for a replacement.

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I've tried emailing GWH but never receive a reply.

Regarding the small parts, just my two cent but for an old guy like me whose eyesight is failing, the less small parts the better. Still I will most probably get the Minibase Su-33/J-15 and GWH Su-27 when budget allows .... 😁

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1 hour ago, haneto said:

But if your kit is the re-issued version(blue and white box) then the decal shall be fine, because they are printed by new standard. Maybe you can send a mail to GWH or your local distributor to check for a replacement.

 

It's a reissue of the 9.13 kit with fixed pylons (though the new pylon pins don't match the holes on the wings anymore), but the box is still black so I guess it's the old decals then. I'm almost finished with it anyway.

 

Besides the thick film which bothered me at places, the other issue were the decal instructions which are often not showing the exact location and orientation of some tiny decal (e.g. just a line with a number is showing the location roughly). Another big issue was that quite a few of the decals went completely unaccounted for in the instructions.

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22 hours ago, falcon91352 said:

 

If the model is becoming good or even greater is primarily laying in the hand of the modeller. The numer of parts is not the most prominent indication if the model is becoming great or not. If the kit detail is not going far enough, simply help yourself with the aftermarket or scratchbuilding. By the way, creativity is one fascinating aspect of this hobby.

 

Perfectly put !

;-)

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I prefer bigger decals too. I am just done with AMK MiG-31, was tired as hell after all those tiny stencils and there still were pylons left. You can't even imagine how happy I was when I noticed all those stencils are just collected in 4 big decals which are easy because transparent film lay down very well and even if not then I'd be ready to cut it along panel lines.

 

I'm not gonna buy stencils, will use kit ones. Anything exotic in the box or typical Russian+Ukrainian+Chinese?

 

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To be fair, I was speaking based on the most recent experience with the GWH 9.13 kit. If the decal film on those was known to be way too thick and the new one has no such issues, I'd be OK with bigger stencil patches, of course.

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Hi guys
 
This time, the L4824 single-seater Su-27 has prepared a total of 6 markings to choose from.
After all, the production and service countries of the Su-27 are destined to have countless colorful coatings.
This time, we can only choose some more representative ones ( of course it is also our personal preference).
 
The first painting is also on the box art: Su-27P "Red 01"
Russian Navy Baltic Fleet 689th Independent Red Banner GvIAP
Kaliningrad Chkalovsk naval air base, Russia, May 2003
Production serial number: 36911027920
 
The 689th Regiment(GvIAP) is the Russian army's long-standing ace fighter regiment. During World War II, the Soviet Naval Airforce's top ace Pokreshkin came from this regiment. After the war, the regiment has undergone several reconfigurations, and the Su-27 fighter has been reinstalled at the end of 1989.
The 689 GvIAP is a relatively rare frontline unit that still uses the unupgraded version of the Su-27, and its appearance rate is also very high-as long as it is the Su-27 that "flies" with NATO aircraft over the Baltic sea, it is basically the 689th regiment. Including the Su-27, which drove away the F-15 with a near-impact method, is also a typical example of the 689 regiment's sturdy style.
In recent years, the Su-27 of the 689 regiment has been renumbered after renovation. The single-seater is from the Red 88-99, and the two-seater from the Red 100-104, and almost every one is named after the hero of the Soviet Union, and on the left side of the fuselage they are painted with the St. Andrew's navy flag-these can help us easily distinguish the Flankers of the 689 regiment.
 
In the L4827 Su-27UB kit, I have already given the famous Red 64 and the Red 100 decal of the same airframe in 2020.
Then this time L4824 must naturally complement each other. The cover is the same period as the Red 64: the single-seater Red 01.
The most famous painting of Red 01 is the "Snake Mouth" + "Cobra", which can be said to be the most aggressive and eye-catching one of all the Su-27 paintings.
I have compiled some paintings used in different periods in the past and present of the Red 01.
Please enjoy the pictures with comments.
All photos are collected from Internet and copyrights below to their original authors(I left all markings to show my respect to original authors).

Su-27P “Red 01” Boxart by Anastasiia Chumak
a01.thumb.jpg.a8b0a663cb34f784cc0b0c735948fb40.jpg
 
Profile of "Red 01"
a02.thumb.png.1f2450518ba40612e2516236b835cf9c.png
 
Marking chart of "Red 01"
a03.thumb.png.0ce634e9f98a1cb2c12653cd0e2dfda8.png
 
1997 condition, at this time there was only "shark mouth" applied
 
 
May 2003 condition which we provide decal. The "shark mouth" of the nose was replaced with a more vicious "snake mouth" with viper eyes. The right vertical tail was also painted with a cobra pattern.
 
 
Autumn 2003 condition, the difference from last one is that the cobra pattern on the right vertical tail was erased.
 
 
In 2012, after nearly 10 years the camouflage and number fonts on the fuselage were all re-brushed, but the number is still Red 01 unchanged
 
 
The condition at the end of 2016, like the other 689th GvIAP Su-27s, tactical number changed to the "bigger numbers": Red 99, and the RF code was added.
 
 
Condition at the end of 2020, after refurbishment and overhaul (at least it can be confirmed that a pair of side strip antennas have been added according to the later batch standards), she returned to 689th GvIAPp.
The camouflage color tone is completely different from the previous one, and she was named "Yekaterinburg" (the corresponding Russian is written in the left air intake), and she is still in service today.
To be continued.
Edited by haneto
Remove pictures due to copyrights issues
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Hi guys

 

Since there is potential concerns about photo copy rights, I have to upload the profiles of 6 markings for upcoming GWH L4824 1/48 Su-27 “Flanker B” kit.

(Suppose to discuss more interesting background history of each airframe with you guys to have more fun, but unfortunately lack of my summarized photos, very little can be discussed...)

04FFEB55-2EEE-46CD-AB26-F0EC819B065E.thumb.png.0937d29d501926f8906628eff2c53d11.png92EF00CB-AB58-4178-8828-E75AB19F3182.thumb.png.f352590a2ba7abb55db3cc82dfaf4c41.png

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8 minutes ago, Tapchan said:

If I wouldn't plan to do Eritrean one then I'd go for Red 04 stationed in Poland 🙂

The green nose "Red 04" is designed to match the "Red 63" from same regiment in L4827 Su-27UB as well(what about a "Dual Flanker" airfield diorama?) . 😁

I personally would like to add Eritrean one very much, but had to replace it with the Ukrainian one to show our respect and appreciation to the box art author who is Ukrainian. 

(of course the adequate reference of the "Blue 56" to draw accurate camo pattern, is also another reason.)

Edited by haneto
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1 hour ago, haneto said:

Hi guys

 

Since there is potential concerns about photo copy rights, I have to upload the profiles of 6 markings for upcoming GWH L4824 1/48 Su-27 “Flanker B” kit.

(Suppose to discuss more interesting background history of each airframe with you guys to have more fun, but unfortunately lack of my summarized photos, very little can be discussed...)

04FFEB55-2EEE-46CD-AB26-F0EC819B065E.thumb.png.0937d29d501926f8906628eff2c53d11.png92EF00CB-AB58-4178-8828-E75AB19F3182.thumb.png.f352590a2ba7abb55db3cc82dfaf4c41.png

 

 

Especially interesting are those of the 2nd batch to the PLAAF 2nd Air Division, since they also had briefly 3-digit numbers.

 

184818685_Su-27SK-2.Divpre2005-1.thumb.jpg.ce00c14483e1ba134f868cab5485d666.jpg

 

2015541401_Su-27SK-2Divpre2005old.thumb.jpg.5c060698c7b027bcd73f7ff4991c6865.jpg

 

And another option would be those from the famous 1st Air Division at Anshan with the Tiger head badge:

 

292993131_Su-27SKSu-27UBK11228-1.Divpre2005.thumb.jpg.a954eca7230d4543120da5918c94639a.jpg

1623847698_Su-27SKno.07Tiger-1_Div.jpg.214876a346ce79c2a98739b8379501ee.jpg

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7 minutes ago, Deino said:

Especially interesting are those of the 2nd batch to the PLAAF 2nd Air Division, since they also had briefly 3-digit numbers.

And another option would be those from the famous 1st Air Division at Anshan with the Tiger head badge:

 

Yes the 3 digits for 2nd Div. was applied in late 90s, which is no more the initial tactical numbers they had when they were just imported from Russia.

Regarding the Tiger head badge from 1st Div. , it is included in the L4827 Su-27UB kit.

Think maybe better to add more variants in the single seater this time. 😉 

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8 minutes ago, haneto said:

Yes the 3 digits for 2nd Div. was applied in late 90s, which is no more the initial tactical numbers they had when they were just imported from Russia.

Regarding the Tiger head badge from 1st Div. , it is included in the L4827 Su-27UB kit.

Think maybe better to add more variants in the single seater this time. 😉 

 

thanks!

That's interesting, so they got 2-digit numbers when being delivered, received 3-digit serials later in the 1990s before getting the new number scheme in yellow serials even later (2005 ? if I'm not mistaken), which was changed again in 2016/17 to the brigade pattern.

 

by the way, will there be a dedicated J-11A at a later date ... and also the J-11B and BG?

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18 minutes ago, Deino said:

 

thanks!

That's interesting, so they got 2-digit numbers when being delivered, received 3-digit serials later in the 1990s before getting the new number scheme in yellow serials even later (2005 ? if I'm not mistaken), which was changed again in 2016/17 to the brigade pattern.

 

by the way, will there be a dedicated J-11A at a later date ... and also the J-11B and BG?

Yes the numbering rule is something quite classified, so we can only refer to some certain pictures to draw the decal, but difficult to tell the specific reason...

 

Talking about 11B/BS, a very good question!

Many Chinese modelers asked me why not include some more colorful PLA schemes of Su-27SK(e.g. the yellow lion head) or J-11A, the answer is actually quite simple: besides some small differences such as navigation lights/warning advices added by Chinese, the stencil is all in Chinese for those airframes, unlike those 27SK in early days still wearing the Russian stencil.

 

To make the 11B/BS, some new parts are necessary: new cockpit instrument panels, new radome with added anti-lighting stripes, new WS10 engine nozzles, domestic pylons & weapons, and other small parts such as warning devices etc.

Actually these additional parts can also be used by J-16, the Chinese updated copy of Su-30MKK(but it will need more new molds for bigger parts such as fuselage, vertical fins etc.)

 

So I believe J-11B/BS is totally doable, if the sales shows confident enough I expect J-16/Su-30MKK as well. 

And once J-11B/BS is decided, the full Chinese stencil decal will be a mandate which could also be used by those Su-27SK in their late life or J-11A.

Edited by haneto
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7 minutes ago, ijozic said:

I'm glad there's at least one Cold War variant among the provided decals.

Flanker only experienced the last 2-3 years of cold war, especially the late batch with updated bigger tail boom.

So we tried the best...

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  • 2 weeks later...

A little update if you are still interested.

The updated canopy part with no more additional gates on the bottom, 0.4mm thickness, no distortion by same thickness and beautifully engraved rivets/panels.
I will receive my 10 boxes of final product version next week.
177748766_1137534783430212_7839234213590513938_n.thumb.jpg.0cd82515058f220e1e3ebe3ad1bc26c3.jpg174031071_1137534806763543_1311489651055176857_n.thumb.jpg.70e71b04ed6f6556618bdaa1cbeb4c13.jpg
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