Zvezda 1/48 Su-25 Woes

[Salineated Michigander]

Has anyone here built the Zvezda Su-25 Frogfoot in 1/48?

 

I'm about half-way through the process and am quite dissatisfied with Zvezda's engineering, or lack thereof.  

 

The landing gear assembly process is laughably spindly and fragile and now that I've got it completed I doubt it's going to support the weight of the fuselage, especially after adding more than 40g of extra nose weight as the kit called for.  Not only that, but there's a woeful lack of functional connecting points and a maddening lack of illustrated details in the instructions so much to my chagrin I've realized the engine intake covers are going to require some meticulous puttying and sanding to get everything lined up. It's been very exasperating to say the least.

 

I tried to find images online of the Frogfoot's landing gear linkage but was unable to find detailed photos so I'm left to merely guess where things actually connect.

 

I may end up ripping the landing gear out altogether and just close the bays up in a 'in-flight' mode.

[Brenhen]

I just finished the construction stage of mine. I agree that the instructions are fairly vague, but overall I have been impressed with the fit. I went straight for the gear up option, and like that they included separate gear doors for an in-flight option, so i can't comment on the gear being weak. My biggest issue was with the engine pod system. That many pieces without a sturdy locating system was a recipe for misalignment. Mine required some sanding and filing to smooth out. All in all, I was more impressed than I was expecting to be. It's not a top tier kit by any stretch, but I did enjoy building it. 

[Salineated Michigander]

You chose wisely to forego the landing gear down option but I'm curious as to how you'll display it when finished.

 

As as aside, speaking of exceptional fit, I just finished the Meng Kamaz 4386 Typhoon and that was quite an amazingly good kit.

[VADM Fangschleister]

Not sure if this will help but after looking at the sprue shots and then photos of the real aircraft, I think their fidelity to accuracy is laudable but the reality of wanting to display the model with gear down is atrocious.  

 

https://dddimaxxx.artstation.com/projects/aRnGx0

 

Here's maybe another idea:

 

SAC Landing Gear for 1/48 Zvezda Su-25

Edited May 28, 2023 by VADM Fangschleister

[Tracy White]

I passed on this one due to the war.. now maybe I won't mind my OEZ boxing so much?

[Salineated Michigander]

On 5/28/2023 at 1:48 PM, VADM Fangschleister said:

Not sure if this will help but after looking at the sprue shots and then photos of the real aircraft, I think their fidelity to accuracy is laudable but the reality of wanting to display the model with gear down is atrocious.  

 

https://dddimaxxx.artstation.com/projects/aRnGx0

 

Here's maybe another idea:

 

SAC Landing Gear for 1/48 Zvezda Su-25

After wrestling with all the gear in their deployed positions, I ended up just supergluing the hell out of all of them and applying accelerator it to inconspicuously up inside the bay doors to harden everything up so hopefully it won't show.  Accurate? Oh, hell no, but at least the airframe is now supported on it's legs without fear of collapsing.  I also braced the front gear with brass rods to aid in the stability which helped a lot.

[DarkKnight]

aren't there metal aftermarket parts for this?

[ijozic]

On 6/4/2023 at 8:07 AM, Tracy White said:

I passed on this one due to the war.. now maybe I won't mind my OEZ boxing so much?

 

Well, there's also the upcoming Trumpeter one as an alternative. I have an OEZ Su-17M3 somewhere, but kind of doubt I'll bother with it when newer alternatives are available.