Flanker Frustration!!

Hi Jimbot,

Even though you had to order another kit to get the instructions, just take heart in the fact that you now have a full set of spare parts.  From what I have heard, Trumpeter is extremely difficult to get parts sprues from if you screw something up, or discover something missing or broken during your build.  I imagine Zvezda might be a similar situation.  

Hopefully the Vallejo colors work out better for you than they did for me when I tried them on a non-Russian aircraft.  The colors they had for the SAC SIOP camo I was doing on an FB-111A were completely wrong, not durable at all, and took FOREVER to cure.  Recently, I bought a set of AKAN paints from Linden Hill for the Su-25M1 digital camo scheme...and there was a big issue with those.  The issue was that the bottles are fairly small, and all 6 of them were only filled about 1/3 of the way.  Since I had already bought a bunch of MRP paints for the other parts on the aircraft, I went back to the MRP site and ended up finding all the exact colors I needed for the camo scheme...and actually got full bottles with those.  Hopefully you have better luck with the Vallejo paints than I did, but if not, MRP paints are excellent quality, easy to use, and give you a rock-hard cure in less than an hour.

Sprue Brothers sells MRP paint, and HobbyWorld USA does as well.  The MRP web-site has a pretty cool search feature on it that lets you select the country of origin of the aircraft you're building, along with the aircraft type.  They have lots of Flanker, Mig-29, and Su-25 camo colors for many of the different countries that fly them.

Did the painting of this hybrid Su-25M1 cockpit with about 99% MRP paints.  Some of the smaller details are Vallejo model color and Tamiya, but the vast majority is MRP airbrush paints or MRP aqua/figure paints.  If you want to go crazy with your cockpit, have a look at Quinta Studio 3D decals too...pretty sure they make a set or two for the Flanker variants.

Hello!

Sorry to hear about your problems... Should something like this happen again, don't buy another kit for the instructions... For most modern kits the instructions can be found on the net, like in your case:

https://www.mojehobby.pl/products/SU-27-SM.html

A little research would help you with the colours, too - as they fade, weather and so on, you don't really need the EXACT color (no such thing really exists actually) - reasonably close could give you a beautiful and realistic model, too. I usually look at photos, try to find orders and specifications and I look what other modellers are using - usually gets me all the info I need..

Good luck with your build - now you can make two! - and have a nice day

Paweł

Just to be clear, it wasn't only the instructions I was missing but the entire rest of the kit! All I have is the body only and everything else is missing including gear, tail plane, canopy, weapons, pylons, gear doors, etc. I might still have the decals as I usually seperate them from the kit, bag them and store them in a file. I really haven't looked as they will do little good without the rest of the parts.

I hope the Vallejo paints work because I have always acheived my best results using enamals and never have had the best of luck using acrylics. I may look into the other paints mentioned as well.

Thanks

P'S. Can you point me to the MRP website? I can seem to locate it as "MRP"

Oh man that stinks! I'll second what someone mentioned earlier about Vallejo paints, sometimes they take weeks to cure, sometimes they don't, just seems to depend on the batch you get. They are great for brush painting details, but hit or miss with an airbrush. 

If your using Vallejo,save yourself some grief and use their thinner and flow improver,makes a big difference with dry tip.Some people use Liquitex improver instead.

jimbot58

P'S. Can you point me to the MRP website? I can seem to locate it as "MRP"

No problem.  It is https://mrpaint.sk/USA.  They're an acrylic lacquer and absolutely trouble-free.

Here's another link for results that are targeted toward what you're looking for:

https://mrpaint.sk/farby/lietadla/USSR?page=1

Jimbot

Bummer to have to buy another kit but it's not the end of the world.  I agree with Eagle on MRP paints.  I often go to their site to navigate paints and then purchase them from Sprue Brothers.

Eagle

Nice work on the cockpit.  What was used for the belts?  They look like they have some texture.

wpwar11

Eagle Nice work on the cockpit.  What was used for the belts?  They look like they have some texture.

Thanks!  The belts are part of the Quinta Studio cockpit set for the 1/32 scale Su-25.  Really easy to work with and they do have a fabric-like texture to them.

The replacement kit arrived today and still the whole thing baffles me! It is very well packaged, with an outer box that is mostly blue and yellow and inside is a very sturdy brown corrugated box that closes completely. Now that I have this in my hand, I tested my theory that perhaps I knocked the original into the waste can by accident. The box nearly fills the entire standard kitchen size basket and makes it seem even more unlikely that this is what happened to it.

I still search through my hobby room and still that kit can not be found. The only other possibility is that a wormhole somehow opened up into that room, a being stepped through from another dimension, and took my kit! This seems as improbable as the thrash can theory, but I got nothing else! I may never solve this mystery!

As yes, I quickly removed the new kit from its test fit in the waste basket just to be safe!

jimbot58

The only other possibility is that a wormhole somehow opened up into that room, a being stepped through from another dimension, and took my kit! This seems as improbable as the thrash can theory, but I got nothing else! I may never solve this mystery!

If it did go through a wormhole, you'll suddenly find it in a place you already looked.  Its just a matter of catching up with it in time.  Maybe you'll even get to meet the being that took it.    Glad you got your replacement!

Eaglecash867

 

 

jimbot58

The only other possibility is that a wormhole somehow opened up into that room, a being stepped through from another dimension, and took my kit! This seems as improbable as the thrash can theory, but I got nothing else! I may never solve this mystery!

 

 

If it did go through a wormhole, you'll suddenly find it in a place you already looked.  Its just a matter of catching up with it in time.  Maybe you'll even get to meet the being that took it.    Glad you got your replacement!

 

No doubt you are correct! One day I will run across it in some obvious place when I am not even looking for it! Then there will be a forehead slap that can be heard for miles!

Also of note: the kit is now listed as "out of stock" on the Sprue Brothers website. I may have gotten lucky in this regard and got the last one they had available. I did not check the LHS because it it across town and such a PIA to visit during the whole pandemic thing. I have become much more reclusive as of late because of it and do not venture out much.

It really is a very nice kit for $25 with 210 parts with all the sprues packed in individual bags. I remember picking it up at my LHS as a curiosity - I wanted to see just what a kit from such a far place might be like. The main drawback is the most of the kit instructions are in Russian with some English tossed in. It does have paint call outs for Humbrol colors and actually had forgotten that I had bought some of these back then from somewhere. Hope they are still good. It also calls out for another brand of paint I can not determine as they are named in Russian.

210 parts for 25 bucks?!  That's a great bargain! 

The Russian paint they reference...is it AKAH?  If it is, you can find the Akan paints state-side at Linden Hill Imports.  Just be aware that you might not find Akan paints to be a good value.  I ordered a set of 6 of them for my Su-25M1, and every single bottle (small bottles) was only about 1/3 full...pretty sure that's how they come from the factory, since they were in a sealed package and there was no evidence of leakage inside the bag.

MRP-195 is a good paint that matches the unique color of Sukhoi cockpits if you're looking for a place to start.  

Do You Do This?

    I have stacks of reference books all over the place. One fell over. Aha! there's that De-Havilland Otter I was missing. How'd it get there?

Eaglecash867

210 parts for 25 bucks?!  That's a great bargain! 

The Russian paint they reference...is it AKAH?  If it is, you can find the Akan paints state-side at Linden Hill Imports.  Just be aware that you might not find Akan paints to be a good value.  I ordered a set of 6 of them for my Su-25M1, and every single bottle (small bottles) was only about 1/3 full...pretty sure that's how they come from the factory, since they were in a sealed package and there was no evidence of leakage inside the bag.

MRP-195 is a good paint that matches the unique color of Sukhoi cockpits if you're looking for a place to start.  

 

A lot of parts yes! The kit includes many extras, including a boarding ladder (5 pcs.). 2 wheel chocks (6 pcs. total) 2 pilot figures, sitting and standing (5 pcs.), and a stand to build an 'in flight' version (2 pcs.). The kit is a little on the over engineered side - one example is the nose landing gear being 8 or 9 peices with the mudguards. Rear tires are 3 pieces by themselves with 2 tire halves and these are attached to a hub! Yikes!

The paint they list in Russian shows as 3BE3(*)A with the (*) being a character wikipedia says is their equivilant to the letter "D". Didn't seem to see that one on my keyboard!

Hello!

Now back in the old commie times they taught everybody to read and write in Russian as a foreign language... My grandpa who learned (and taught me!) german during the WWII always told me "you should know the language of your enemy!".

Now "звезда" in Russian - "zvezda" - means "star". We're talking about their house paints.

Like I wrote before - some research should get you the "ballpark" colours in your favourite brand.

And yes, I think Zvezda kits are most of the time bargains - very good value for the money. I was especially impressed when I built their Boeing 777 for my bro and the compressors in those tiny engines actually spun when blown upon from the front - no comparison with the crude, fixed in place compressors of the Revell airliners...

If you need help with russian please let me know, I'll try to help - other than that good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

Hi Pawel!

 Hey don't know about you and Easter-If you celebrate, have a happy one and don't eat the ears off your children's Chocolate "Yister Bunnyas" iif you have them and a Wife too. You've never said. I don't mean to presume! (That from a friend who I met in Panama on Easter Sunday many years ago!)he was from Zagreb!

Jimbot, I can try to help you as well with Russian.  Its been about 18 years since I visited there, but I still remember some of it.  LOL.

Pawell, I didn't know that about Zvezda kits.  I'll have to give one a try some day.  

My Grandparents came from near the Volga River region in Russia but were actually ethnic Germans that had colonized the area at the invitation of Catherine The Great in the 1700's. My familly had originally came from Prussia, not sure when but ended up emmigrating to Russia. Papers here in the U.S. show that they were considered immigrants from Dietel Russia when they came here, but they always considered themselves as Prussian, or at the very least German. They pretty much were insulted if you called them Russian.

So in a way, I'm sort of decended from Russian Immigrants.....

Pawel

 

Now "звезда" in Russian - "zvezda" - means "star". We're talking about their house paints.

Paweł

 

Now that makes sense as the logo for the company is a sort of stylilized star, which starts as a white, blue and red star and then becomes the flag of the Russian Federation! Nothing wrong with a bit of national pride!

Always try to learn at least one new thing everyday, I always say! Task done for the day! Check!

The kit does have a paint guide for Humbrol paint and I should be able reference from there. I have these colors on the shelf and some Vallejo in route. I've never used either brand so experimentation will be in order before the actual painting begins.

If I get stuck on the russian I will certainly give a shout out!

The Vallejo Flanker paints arrived this weekend, with a UPS tag which shows shipping from Niagra Falls, New York. The shipment was coming from Hamilton Onterio, which I guess is a hop away from Niagra Falls, a city that straddles the border between the US and Canada. Somehow it all works out, and it did arrive much sooner than the promised April 20th to April 28th arrival date. In any case they are here and really only cost me about 7 US bucks for shipping. What ever works is fine with me!

I've already began some painting of the Flanker with the Humbrol paints to try them out - they did take a lot of stirring, as they have been sitting for a very long time (plus who knows how long in the hobby shop before that) but they seem to be ok.. I may experiment a bit with "extra" Flanker body in the replacement kit. I do still have that Trumpeter Su-33 sitting up there on the shelf....

I still can not fathom what happened to the original kit, and still find myself peeking in the back of the closet, on a shelf, behind the desk, etc. just one more time.

Still the Flanker madness continues: Tonight I find the assembled intakes from the first kit. and some of the Eduard brass parts. I seem to only be able to find the fret that holds the exterior parts and not the rest of the cockpit set. This includes the HUD and a few parts around the canopy that are missing. What the heck, it's just money! I dropped a dime on another interior set and also a Model Master Pitot tube for the nose. As far as the exterior brass parts? I'm not hugely concerned at this point - I just want to finish the kit. I may use a few of the detail stuff.

Did I also mention I also located the outside sleeve of the kit box, but still the brown box that was inside is still MIA! I know I should just forget it and move on, but I may be a bit obsessive/compulsive....

Oh yeah I know that feeling...

If we were used to letting go lightly, we wouldn't finish any models, would we? Don't worry, you'll find it after you finish the Flanker...

Reminds me when I was building a 1:72 SP howitzer and I have absent-mindedly put the sprocket of it in the cap of Mr Mark Softer bottle (it's tube-shaped). I couldn't find it, had to scratchbuild a replacement and I have found it months after that howitzer was finished...

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł