1/72 Hasegawa Sukhoi Su-27

by Jan Manninen

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The model depicts a plane from the 23rd IAP, Dzemgi air base, which is situated in Komsomolsk na Amur, in the Russian far east. The markings come from the excellent Linden Hill set, from which I chose the "Red 55" with the very effective shark mouths on the intakes. This aircraft in question had quite unfaded appearance in the reference photos, so the colours are rather clear here too - especially when compared to the usual worn and faded looks of the Russian Flankers. Some weathering was made with diluted black enamel and the same method was used also in highlighting the panel lines. The paint job was made completely with hand brush by using Humbrol enamels.

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The "Sharkmouth of Dzemgi" was done mostly OOB, at least for the fuselage and main parts. Photo-etch parts used in the cockpit, afterburners and various inlets and outlets come from the kit. Also the seat is original with some modifications. Being made from white metal, it actually felt somehow more real than the aftermarket seat I was going to use! I added some harness and other minor parts to the seat, which also acts as a ballast. Some wiring was added to the landing gears, not only acting as brake lines, but also as electric wire for the landing lights. I scratchbuilt some details to the gear wells too, including some fuel hose and wires and also tried to imitate the electronics equipment in the front landing gear well.

The FOD guard of the "Red 55" could be the later version, whereas the kit provides the earlier three-holed variant. I chose not to modify it as it's made from white metal and is quite a precisely detailed masterpiece. Only the two support bars were added from thin plastic sprue.

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The variation in colours on the engines and the engine covers was made with ordinary enamel paints. First the covers were painted with silver, then a hint of blue, brown or black was mixed with Satin Cote and a bit of silver again and brushed according to pictures of the real machine.  The final extra details were the infrared sensor 's "ball" made from ball bearing, IFF rods made from PE and the amber coloured HUD lens that was achieved simply by colouring the lens with orange highlighter pen and then applying Future on top of it.

Jan 

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Photos and text © by Jan Manninen