BIG Russian Jet Groupie GB

Dean30 is/was our GB leader, but the gist of this GB is simple- it has to be a Russian-built jet fighter that has a western reporting name that starts with "F"- Flanker, Fishbed, Flogger... etc.

So whats the rules of this build, forgive me its been awhile since I have been on and things have changed

Hope to see it, PB.

Yer welcome! :-) And that's also a great deal at Sprue Bros.

Hope everyone is well. I'm just biding my time until the Kitty Hawk MiG-25 hits the shelves in a couple of weeks. Can't wait. If life doesn't get in the way, will be my fall/winter project. Will post updates here.

Thanks Porkbits for the heads up!!

Me being the kind of person who is not into modern jets, the Mig 29 is the only modern jet I like, and being Polish I had to get the Eduard kit..

Also Sprue brothers has the Great Wall Hobby Mig 29 on sale as well!! $56.99 on a kit normaly $80

Life's good, I'm working on a F-14D after all these Russian jets....  

Hey, guys:

Noticed that Squadron here in the States is having an online clearance sale, including the Eduard Ltd Edition MiG-29UB for US $42 and the Revell Mig-29UB for $36. No way to know how many in stock, but there you go.

Hope everyone is doing well!

PB

yeah, the F-15 doesn't usually look too grubby for some reason... the ghost grey scheme appeals to me.

Lol, If I had not just finished a 7 month build I'd probably join you but, I'm going for a 1/48th Chinese fighter next, the big cat can wait, I have had it a few years so a while longe wont hurt. I cant wait to see your build, I think the F-14 is one of the only western fighters besides the F-18 that's frequently dirty and grimy, could rival the Russians for dirt with it?

Trumpeter..  couldn't find the Tamiya kit and it is just a bit too pricey for my tastes.   I also figure I'm good with Trumpeter's kits so why change up now?   I've got a truck-load of AM for it coming to my door today...

But yes, I need a change of nationality for a while (and since I planned on building American this year, I had better get to it).

Nice! From big Russian to big American. :-) I need to build one of those.

Which kit?

Russian jet builders beware...    I'll be digging into an F-14D sometime very soon.   Time for a change on my bench.

I agree, Dean; with some a/c you just can't see the lines. Sudanese Flankers sound like a good example of that. :-)

For the Sudanese Flankers, to use your example, I'd guess that they have more sun-effect weathering and fading than they would accumulated grime in the panels just because I can't imagine them actually getting much flight time compared to other foreign operators with better operations budgets.

I don't know about the Tamiya finishing sprays, but I imagine that they have a gloss and a dull like Testor's does.

I guess you guys are right, but I have to say I think it's the Sudanese Flankers are matt green/brown camo and its nearly impossible to see the panel lines, having said that I agree it adds realism, even though it may not always be realistic which is an odd concept. At any rate I think I will use artists oils over a really good gloss finish and see what becomes of It. I know the acrylic/oil routine but does anybody know, is Tamiya clear a gloss varnish?

Yeah, Dre and Dean, I constantly go back-and-forth re: panel line debate. Since we're building in scale, anything that makes a model look less toy-like helps, but I've also seen panel line washes WAY overdone. I think it depends on the subject.

In any case, it's truth that you can never overdo a Russian plane. :-)

texgunner, thats amazing, keep it up! i will have to defiantly try it out. if we where doing german planes i would do the 262 from red tails. haha

I agree that real life Aircraft don't usually show the weathering that we like to give our models, but a model without some panel washing just looks unfinished...   solid black is too strong, but a medium grey is just right for panels IMO.   Payne's Grey seems to me to be the best match for the grime I see on operational aircraft.

I don't know if one can over-weather a Russian airplane...

Nice picture, you know again I notice the panel lines are not visible on the real aircraft from this distance. I remember the Sea Harriers on HMS Illustrious they were dirty around the aft fuselage but not around the front, Even at that they panel lines were not visible, or on the Embarked RAF Harriers. Or any aircraft from a distance with the odd exception. I say this as I have ruined a million models over some years frying to get the panel lines right, and I still sort of wing it even now as I have not got one technique that works every time, I must be doing something wrong!

Thank you, Vance!

Here's a pic of the actual plane (in case you guys wanted to see the real thing):

GREAT finish on the Su-25, Porkbits. I like the tail art, not something you see often on Soviet machines.

I just ordered a set of No. Korean/Iranian decals for my MiG-29, for whenever I get back to it...

connorMcclain

im might build the 1/48 Mig-17F fresco C

That's one of my favorite planes!  You should give it try.  Here's a few pics of mine, the Hobby Boss MiG-17F:

im might build the 1/48 Mig-17F fresco C

Deal!

Easy, just buy the stuff from a super market, Lager, Cider, Blackcurrant, I can't believe a bar has not got those 3 ingredients lol, If you ever come to Belfast for whatever reason just get in touch and I'll buy you one lol.

Dean, no one here in KC seems to have the bar stock to make this drink, not even a higher-end steakhouse!   I feel lucky to find Guinness stout on tap here in the heartland... but the beef is out of this world, tonight I'm fat, dumb and happy on rich red meat (God help my cholesterol).

Based on the photos I've looked at for the last year, that OEZ/Kopro is definitely more accurate- things like the doors in the right places, that shroud over the driver's seat, the ladders.   Trumpy just kind of winged it on those things.

Yeah, I can see a little terror going down when those decals hit the water...I hate huge decals.

Thanks for the compliments, Dre! You guys are gonna start making me think I'm a decent modeler. :-) :-)

Unfortunately, I don't know the story behind the Bison decals (haven't taken the time to do any in-depth online research). From the photos I did find, though, it seems like this bird was retired and then maybe restored for display or touring or something....? There is an early photo of it under wraps and looking badly weathered, then a later photo where it's all shiny and new. Who knows? Never can tell with the Russians. :-)

You can imagine applying those decals was definitely a Cold Sweat Moment. Yikes. I went overboard on the decal solution to make sure they didn't rip.

And all the decals came with the kit. The Eduard limited editions are expensive, but you get a lot of options for markings and profiles. I think the Su-25 limited edition came with six. If you're bored, you check out the instructions here:

www.eduard.com/.../1178.pdf

In any event, reviews indicate that the OEZ/Kopro kit (on which this Eduard rerelease is based), is still the most accurate Su-25 model available (even though it came out in the late Eighties and isn't 100% accurate, either). I don't know anything about the accuracy of your Trumpy, but I think the Monogram Frogfoot was based on an early prototype, not production aircraft.

Cheers,

PB

Dean- no, I haven't yet had a chance to try one of those....