Flunked Flanking... DONE!

Donald Dickson II
OK, so this is the next project after the yellow submarine. I am doing the pictured pattern. The color call outs in the kit are NOT what I see in this picture. Any help would be appreciated.

Scott Dutton
Perhaps try Akan colour sets, they have some schemes and they include the colour names in case you wish to match to a different manufacturer

Augie
Hi Don, Let me have a flick through my Su-27 stuff, I think I have one for this with valid callouts.

Chris Greathouse
That's an intense camo pattern

Augie
Might help don, hope so.

Michael Phillips
Count me in! Great subject choice too 🙂

Donald Dickson II
Thank you Augie! I will double check what Russian stuff I have with that and see whats what.

Scott, my first thought was Ammo ( I just got their Israeli set), but Akan would work as well I would think. If I dont have something already I will check those.

Michael, I snagged this kit right when it came out. Scale Model Graveyard did a bulk purchase for its members giving us a good price right out of the gate. My son split it with me. I am building it for him, and he likes that pattern. Were it for me, I would be doing the purple one.

Donald Dickson II
So those are the three modern Russian exterior colors I have. The pale blue is not in play. The grays might work, Id have to test them. I checked Ammo and they dont have the set for this scheme. Aken however does. Im gonna check the ones I have, but thinking I will be ordering the Aken set.

Donald Dickson II
Oooo, and just noticed in that pic and confirmed with further pics. The cockpit is that cool funky Russian blue. 😄

Donald Dickson II
Got a little work in on this one. Cockpit on its way. Akan paint set ordered.

Jos Jansen
Oh yes, Iam definitely in...!!

Donald Dickson II
Got the Akan paints. TBH, the dark gray doesnt look quite right in the bottle. Will have to do some testing.

Augie
Don, worth testing but in my experience with them, they dry to right colours.. they test them against real samples..

Daniel
many splintery builds lately, watching of course! Interested how the test turns out, I heard you cant get more accurate in Flanker paints than Akan

Slavo Hazucha
How did I miss the start of this one?!

My Flanker has a friend! 👍 👍 👍 Most color call-outs are full-bull according to what my eyes see in the pictures too...

Here is a nice collection of pics:
milavia.net/aircraft..allery/su-35-902.htm

Getting really smart from those is really hard, particularly on the dark color. In some pics, it has a clear bluish component, on others it´s almost as "plain" gray as the dark gray on the Aggressor Hornet... Not sure if the thing actually did not receive a re-paint during the testing... The "blue touch" color is also definitely different to what is the dark tone on some splinter Su-57´s...

I decided to mix my own colors (Covid-19 situation helps a lot with such decissions... 😄):

I´ll take:
- MRP US NAVY white for the white
- I´ll mix MRP MEDIUM GREY FS 36375 + a little bit of yellow for the light greys to make them slightly more "zesty"
- Then separate & add a bit of white for the bottom tone & a bit of black for the top one
- For the dark tone, I´ll combine MRP DARK GREY FS 36118 and INSIGNIA BLUE FS 15044 (Kittihawk paint-manual says this IS the actual color, but no-way...)

In any case, enjoy the kit, I´m really looking forward to your next steps!!

Donald Dickson II
Augie, hopefully that is the case. Otherwise I will have to go the Slavo route and start mixing.😉

Slavo, thank you sir! You hit on what I am seeing. That dark color looks blueish to me.

Michael Phillips
The dark color is tricky. It almost looks like the Russian eggplant color. I wonder how close it is to that.

Augie
Not sure on that Michael, depending on light.. its almost like the Dark grey they used to use on RN phantoms and the like 🙂

Donald Dickson II
Michael, you need your eyes checked dude.😉 That is NOT purple. LOL

Slavo Hazucha
Russkie colors tones are peculiar slippery eels, quite like the man leading the country for some time now...

It may be close to the eggplant tone, hard to tell on splinter camo pics, but I think the prototype camo color has a more genuine blue touch...

There is also something fundamentally wrong with the eggplant color's material quality, just drop "Su-34 Syria" into Google and browse the pics - after a week in the sun, the Fullbacks look worst than the old Su-24's standing next to them... 😄

Michael Phillips
Indeed Slavo, and I agree the prototype is definitely a bit bluer, but has a similar L* value hence the reason I even mentioned it.

An interesting thread on ARC Forums discussed this color. Although not really pertinent to this build, it is worth checking out if one ever does want to use that color for an Su-30SM, Su-34, or Su-35 build.

arcforums.com/forums..e-winner-is/page/12/

Sorry to derail your thread a bit Donald!

Slavo Hazucha
Since it´s derailed allready, let´s ponder on it a bit, I think the topic is quite interesting...

Michael I checked the thread and it´s a good discussion I think - I actually want to do one "eggplant" Sukhoi in the mid-future (maybe another 34, one of the checking the Kitty hawk kit, or a 30SM, so I follow your works closely - will see...).

My very personal conclusion is that the color:

A: has very strongly changing "blue/violet" component depending on light conditions
B: fades rapidly and loses most of the "A" component in the process, ultimately turning to "simple grey" within time

I think all planes in this color are affected, the more UV they get, the paler/grey the color (which must be of really low quality, since the paling quickly occurs "wildly" irregular on one plane in harder conditions...). The MRP tone IMHO is correct for "brand new few hours out of the paint shop" - older planes already have some fading in them, although unless in "accelerated conditions" as the Syria Su-34, this may happen evenly on the entire plane and do not appear as "weathering".

I really think the RAL 7015 color comparison is taken on a plane that already suffered some paling, so my humble conclusion is that it is a legitimate color choice, depicting a realistic state of this color on a plane of certain age in certain light conditions 😄

My personal approach in painting therefore is to take one particular photo I really like and try to capture the "spirit" of that picture/machine as well as I can, +/- reasonably freely diverting from exact color numbers and adding drops of black/white/blue/yellow to grey tones to get what pleases my eye😉

Donald Dickson II
Michael, no problem at all my friend! These discussions help everyone who reads them. Plus I havent really done anything on it the last couple days anyway. LOL

As I said, were this one for me, I would be doing the plum color. I have Academy's SU-27(which needs a correction nose I believe???) in the stash. I may do that one plum if its appropriate.

Slavo Hazucha
Well, while many things are possible in post-Soviet Russia, a Russian Su-27 in eggplant grey - while not entirely unimaginable as some pro-active DIY-repaint - would be quite an oddity...

According to my best knowledge only 30, 34 and 35's in the late 2000's and through 2010's got the color and it got discontinued after unceasing criticism of being "Too NATO-like" and now it's back to camouflages...

Maciej Bellos
Joining in late, in what appears to be an interesting conversation. Definately a source of info for my 72nd Su-35S build.

Donald Dickson II
Slavo, I was hoping you would say you knew of an exception damn it. LOL I guess, when I get to it, it will be the 3 blue pattern.

Maciej, this is exactly why I love these conversations. Always learning from the masters. 🙂

Donald Dickson II
Between jumping from this to the Yellow Submarine and back and having bench time restricted to how long the puppy can remain downstairs with me before getting into hazmats, progress has been slow. BUT, the cockpit is done! I made "straps" to hold the folded belts out of lead and used blue marker. Better than just having straps magically remaining folded against gravity. LOL

Donald Dickson II
I HAVE done some work on this. Spent a lot of time going through pics trying to figure out the correct color for the wheel wells and gears. Pfffttttt. Clearly, there isnt a "correct" color. I mixed the interior blue with white and dark gray and got something close to a number of pics I saw. That will do. I will post pics after I work on it later tonight.

And I am not looking at the rest of you alls builds anymore. Really, I feel like the kid allowed at the adults table.

Augie
Dont be daft don, you compete with the best of em 🙂 better than me thats fer sure

Donald Dickson II
Thank you for the kind words Augie. But better than the queen of the brush?

OK, so I totally forgot to go back over the top part of the wheel wells with the grayed down blue. Didnt realize it until I was fitting the halves to gether. So I either go back and spray the lighter color or say screw it and just go with gray. Not sure yet. And I am going to get an after market set of exhausts. The ones in the kit are absolutely awesome but for one thing. They ONLY are straight out and I need them to be pointing down. So.

Donald Dickson II
Ordered down turned nozzles and paint masks from the 48ers. See how long that takes.

Slavo Hazucha
Donald, you got the color quite right!

I use the supposedly correct one: mrpaint.sk/index.php..49&product_id=98 - but it appears that there is a strong variation of less-green/more grey going on and it is possible the wells of the prototypes were actually painted in the Russian primer: mrpaint.sk/index.php..a&product_id=146 - appears to be the case on some Su-30 variants prototypes in the 2000´s... 😄

Which nozzles did you get? I got the AMURS and am really happy with them, but would really like to get some unbiased intel on the Reskits or Amigos since I probably won´t finish with just one nozzle-swinging Flanker...

In any case, keep up the good work, I for one am very much looking forward to what you do & say about the Kittyhawk Super-Flanker! 👍

Nathan Dempsey
Sorry I'm late to the show. 🙂

Donald Dickson II
Slavo, I got the Amigo, so i will certainly let you know what I think. I was going to get the AMURS as I have seen and heard good things, but they were out of stock. So we shall see.

And thank you for the confirmation on the color. I honestly was battling with myself over which to do. The Russians dont seem to have a set standard on that and I was really just guessing. And not 100% sure if the pics I was looking at were actually 35s or 30s or what.

Nathan, not that far into it sir! 🙂

Donald Dickson II
Wings on. Tail fins just fit but not glued on. I wont attach them until later on. How they are engineered with the stabs is rather neat and works well. I will have to take pics to illustrate.

Donald Dickson II
OK, so the tail fins and stabs. First, they have a hole to snap the horizontals in to. This allows them to move. You have to glue the wedge thingy that goes into the tail fin on as it is a separate little piece. The fuselage has a cut out that I couldnt figure out at first. Until I put the tail fins together and was like Aha! Once the tail fins are on, it all ties together. I like how they did this. I have yet to decide at what point exactly I am going to permanently attach them.

I got some work done on the intakes last night. You know how I always bitch about intakes? These are wonderful! Yes, there are ejector marks to take care of, but they are inside. They consist of just three parts and a piece of PE. Once together, there is very little I feel the need to fix up. Much better than any others I can think of offhand. I am beginning to think a lot of the criticism I see of KH kits is just Tamiya zombies tearing up anything not Tamiya. The only issue will be attaching them to the body. I have to fiddle some more, but there does look like there will be a mild gap.

I decided to try the Akan paints to do the intakes. Grabbed the light gray from the set. Glad I chose to do it on these parts. I discovered they have to be thinned. Won spray worth a damn straight up. So I used some rubbing alcohol. Did the trick, though I did a bit much. Once I get to the body, I am definitely going to have to do test shots to make sure I have it right.

Slavo Hazucha
The fins & stabs assembly looks solid - my GWH kit's fins come together in a way that does require some filling...

Haven't build or bought a KH model myself yet, but from what I hear their older stuff is "tricky", but the KH Flankers & Fullback are actually good... As for the intakes, they appear to give all you can ask for, hope they also fit nicely to the fuselage!

Donald Dickson II
Well, I got the exhausts yesterday. Not bad on shipping time considering they came from Cyprus. LOL Also got the mask. The exhausts look great on first look. We will see how they go. The masks are gonna be a challenge. You have to figure out on your own which sheets have which portion of the plane. And not sure how they are gonna act trying to peel them. But we shall see on this as well.

I got the intakes on. Once I realized I had part of the wheel wells on backward, they fit just fine. Like I said, the instructions arent the best and if you dont pay really close attention...

Donald Dickson II
So, there are the intakes. A tad bit of putty and it will be good.

Slavo, I really like the way the exhausts look. I would say you can get the Amigo product with confidence.

Slavo Hazucha
Thanks for the pics, they really look more than adequate & the separate outer/inner feather rings are more than the Amur set offers...

Project looking good in all aspects! 👍

Donald Dickson II
Thank you sir. 🙂

Approaching paint time. I have decided I will prime in light gray. The plane is clearly freshly painted and little to no dirt or fading or splotchiness. So black basing isnt called for. It needs to look fresh. Obviously the wheel wells, tires and exhausts are dirty, but not the body.

I am going to do the body paint. Once done I will remove the tail fins, mask and start on doing the Alclads for the exhausts.

Donald Dickson II
Light gray sprayed for primer. Give it a couple days to set and I will start masking. Likely work on the exhausts tomorrow.

Donald Dickson II
OK, so I sprayed white in the areas it belongs and broke out the masks. Dear God they were a waste of money. There is ZERO guidance aside from LG, G and DG to designate the colors these random shapes are supposed to mask. Nothing on the sheets to tell you what part of the plane they belong to. But Don, you say, cant you just match the shapes to the plane? No. Not in any meaningful manner. Something designating the actual part of the plane they belong to would really be helpful. Though the tail fins ARE separate. But no matter what, they are too large. ARGH.

Daniel
Hey Donald, worked with these masks once on a F-16 and I was in the same desperate place^^ its better than cutting your own, but you definitely have to use some fantasy applying them😉 I tried to start in the middle of the model and worked my way to the outside, that worked ok. they are not designed to end flush with the models edges but protrude a lot. I advice meditiation music during application. Happy puzzling😢

Donald Dickson II
Daniel, I walked away from it and beat the hell out of a pillow.😉 LOL

So, i managed to figure out the ones for the white areas. It says light gray, but to my eye its white. So i then went through and sprayed the areas of the dark gray. I did that instead of the med gray because there is less masking to do to cover the dark. If I had done the med Id still be working the masks. It shouldnt be too bad covering the dark with the med. And its not going to be exactly right pattern wise. But thats how it goes. It'll b close.

So I started on the exhausts. Either I did the ends too light, or the mid part too dark. You cant tell in the pic, but there are good blue and purple shades. I gotta figure out what Im gonna do with them.

Slavo Hazucha
Cheers Donald - The Flanker masks really are a challenge - luckily I could train a bit with the smaller Hornet. The idea is you start with the Dark Grey surfaces painted, then put the "DG" marked masks on... Next you should paint white, add the "LG" masks on and do the Light Grey... Everything marked "G" does not go on the model at all in this scenario...

Once you work out how the plane is projected on 2 sheets each top & bottom, it´s actually possible to use them... 😄 The overhangs are massive, best align the mask edges to respective panel lines or details on the surface & leave the rest hang as much as it wants to... Also I strongly recommend reducing the adhesiveness quite a bit, in default state they are certain to take some paint off😉

Donald Dickson II
I didnt go dark gray first because I didnt want to try covering it with white. How it was projected on the sheets I still have no clue. What I am seeing on the sheets isnt jiving with the pics. At least not to my eyes. But I am managing. Somewhat. LOL Thank you for the clarification though. 🙂

Günther Decock
Already a nice job, Donald.

Donald Dickson II
Thank you Gunther. 🙂

OK, so the main painting is done. Needs a lot of touch up work. The masks did not have sharp edges once they were separated. Plus I didnt spray enough dark gray in areas. It will cure for a couple days then I will tough it up and mask around the engine area to do the alclad.

I am fairly happy with it. 🙂

Greg Baker
It looks pretty sharp to me. I always want to lay down the lightest coat of paint first and then apply the darker ones on top, but sometimes that really isn't feasible. I've driven myself nuts trying to accomplish that before, but I haven't seemed to got the hang of apply the paint in reverse.

Donald Dickson II
Greg, same here. But given the pattern, it makes zero sense to try to mask the med gray. I managed to cover the dark fairly well, though it would have been a true bitch trying to do the white over it.

Bryn Crandell
Don't know how I missed this one. Looking great so far. I am definitely going to have to get the correct exhausts. Colors are looking good so far as well.

Donald Dickson II
Bryn, the exhausts in the kit are excellent. They just are straight back only. If you do it in flight, they will work great. Just no bueno with the gear down.

Bryn Crandell
True. I plan on doing sitting on the deck so the new nozzles would be a necessity.

Donald Dickson II
Well, I totally recommend the set I got. Not exceedingly expensive and very well done. I like that the inner ring is separate. Its going to make painting it easier AND it looks great.

Donald Dickson II
OK, so I took a close up of one of the lines between colors. When I peeled the masks off the sheet, the edges were fuzzy, so that was the result. That one was actually not bad. So I had to re mask those areas and spray the edges. They look much nicer now.

And today I received my new Grex Genesis GT airbrush. I have been getting by with a couple 50.00 cheapo brushes, but they both are pretty much toast now. I got my moneys worth, but it was time for a real one. I had handled them at a model show a year or so ago, and really liked the feel of them. I used it tonight.

OH MY LORD! It was orgasmic how well this thing sprays! The control over the air and paint flow with the trigger is incredible. I can wait for the next SEA plane I do freehand. Best model equipment purchase EVER.

Patrick Hagelstein
Saw this one popping by a couple of times, but didn't react. Oh my, Donald, you had a tough one with those masks, I hope things go better now! Especially since you got your new tool! Looks very ergonomic with that trigger setup. I'm hooked to Harder & Steenbeck, so I'm curious about your experiences with that Grex.

Donald Dickson II
Patrick, I highly doubt I will be buying that brand again. Maybe for that God awful 4 color pattern the Viggens have, but otherwise, nope. LOL I can manage myself I believe.

First impressions of the Grex...AWESOME!

Patrick Hagelstein
😄 👍

Slavo Hazucha
never worked with a gun like this... sounds great, have to find some to give it a try... 🙂

Donald Dickson II
Slavo, I am loving it. Its much more natural for me. I shoot a lot, and this just falls right into my hand like a nice little .380. Also, if my finger gets tired or crampy, switching to the middle finger works just fine.

So, I stripped the exhausts and went at it again. They are still dark, but a little better, at least in person. Glued them together. Did the first coat of white on the interior feathers. Will do another coat then figure out how I want to do the staining. Tried to get a decent pic of the inside to show the rings, but kind of hard with the droopy nozzles.

Donald Dickson II
Not sure if they look good or if the look like silver lollipops. But there you go. Gotta do some more minor painting since I totally forgot about the fin thingies on the bottom. Then I will do all the weapons then decals.

And I REALLY hate acrylics. They are FAR too fragile. There are more nicks and scrapes on this thing. Give me enamels any day.

Patrick Hagelstein
That's why I shifted to lacquers! Indestructible!!! Except when you touch them with Kryptonite, ie lacquer thinner. 😄
The exhausts look really good! 👍 Nothing to complain here! 😉

Donald Dickson II
Weapons built and primed. They have everything you could want to load on here, but only 2 of each. So regardless of realistic or not, this sucker has a whole array of boom makers.

Günther Decock
Nice job. Donald. I'll sit back and relax

Donald Dickson II
Thank you and welcome! 🙂

Choppa Nutta
Oi Don this is coming along great !!
how did I miss this one ? 🙂

Btw what's with the weird angles on the exhausts ?
is that part of its thrust vectoring ?

Augie
Thats really coming on well don!

Donald Dickson II
Choppa, the exhausts are drooped when the plane is powered down, hence them pointing down.

Augie, thank you! 🙂

Soeren R.
Great work so war Donald - the exhaust looking nice!

Slavo Hazucha
You are really prepping it up for all situations!😉 FOX 1-2-3, bombs & AGM's - ready for the apocalypse!

Donald Dickson II
Slavo, yep! LOL My son said oooo, an Ace Combat load out. LOL Its for him, and we arent going for a certain plane or mission. And like I said, they only have two of each weapon in the kit. So why not? It can kill everything! LOL

Donald Dickson II
Soeren, thank you! Not quite where I wanted them, but they dont look bad so I am going with it.

Donald Dickson II
Thank you Roland. 🙂

Legs on, masking off the canopy. Weapons painted. Decals tonight. 🙂

Donald Dickson II
Drivers side done with the decals.

Patrick Hagelstein
Some British guys might disagree.... 😛
But the left side looks great! 👍

Donald Dickson II
Patrick, I cant help it some folks dont know the correct side of the road to drive on.😉

Patrick Hagelstein
😄 😄 😄

Slavo Hazucha
Decals sit on the camo nicely! I´ve heard stories about KH decals being hard to de-silver, these look fine! 👍

But... I really don`t want to be "that kind of guy" - so take this just as a friendly mention - the "BBC ROSSII" on the fins was never used on the 902-black prototype - it´s only used on service aircraft - I have a few sources and the one&only time it makes an appearance is in the KittyHawk paint & decal guide... Same goes for the blue-outlined stars - they only have a simple thin red outline on the real plane. I just thought that if you care, better mention it now, if you are more of a normal person, I´d say it´s totally OK to go with what you like!😉

Donald Dickson II
I was wondering about those stars. But, they are the only ones on the sheet. I do have a sheet of just Russian stars, I will have to check if they are closer AND if there are ones the same size. Anything I do to remove them will lift the paint as well. I glance at this stuff wrong and it peels off. I am surprised I was actually able to use the masks. Though I did de tac them some. As for the BBC ROSII, that is shown being on this plane in the directions. I am NOT impressed with the directions for ANY of this kit at all, so not surprised that is wrong. The odds are these things will just have to remain wrong. This one hasnt been a get it like the real thing project from the start. Refer back to the insane load out.😉 LOL

As for the decals performance, yep, they are doing just fine. They handle solva set well and settle in nicely. The finish of the paint is glossy enough that I dont need to coat before applying. So kudos for the physical quality of the decals even if inaccurate.

And please do point stuff out like that without hesitation sir! Had this been a project where I was going for a certain plane then it would certainly bother me and set me off looking for the right stuff. LOL

Slavo Hazucha
Well, if you´re asking for the full treat 😄 - KH is basically providing decals & positions for a standard service Su-35 - but those were issued in the "Eggplant" and light blue-gray camo-patterns... Only the Prototypes however sported custom camos, the 901 the "desert" yellow-green-brown and the 902 the arctic splinter one. This pattern seems to have been somewhat of a construction bureau´s favourite, re-appearing on at least 2 PAK-FA/Su-57 prototypes. Also a short-lived 904 Su-35 prototype used it, but afaik it never made it to combat units with either the Su-35 or the 57 - the latter one seems to adopt the Minecraft pattern for early-series units (both the 2 samples shortly popping over to Syria and the crashed series-one seem to wear that pattern...).

Other notable prototype differences are:
- different position lights config:
- 2 sets on the fins, one in front/below the stars and a horizontal one slightly above the line of the wings (not there on "standards"😢
- a set behind the cockpit (also not there on standards), but none on the lower nose
- Cy Sukhoi logos on the "continental driver´s" side, one dark behind the cockpit, one white in the dark grey section on the fin
- prototypes have 2 "hockey stick" antennas on the bottom centerline front & aft

Nothing dramatic appart from that (on the visual side) - if you complete it according to KH, you get a "what if" frontline Flanker in glorious splinter camo... 🙂 I got "inaccuracies" on mine too in the digital cockpit with the 2 iPads in the config as provided (and used) on my GWH kit...

Donald Dickson II
Well, that actually works in this case then. My son picked this pattern based on what is in one of the Ace Combat games. And we all know how accurate they are *eye roll* A blend of prototype and front line isnt bad for this. BUT, it does make my eye twitch in general. Releasing a kit like that is NOT the way to go IMO. Either have it be the prototype, or front line. Or if you want to have both, fine, provide the right options, not a mish mash.

Clifford Keesler
Wow Donald, how did I miss this one? It is looking outstanding. Very nice job.

Slavo Hazucha
I joined the Ace Combat club with the 6 on the X-box 360. Had lot´s of fun ever since, including the current one on a PS4... Actually my re-entry into plastic models was a bit motivated by my son liking the odd nose of the Su-34 and wanting us to have a "flat-pressed" Sukhoi 😄 So I really like what you´re doing here 👍

Donald Dickson II
Thank you Slavo. 🙂

Methinks Jasper may be a bit confused here...😉 LOL But thank you!

Jasper Breur
Oops, I seem to have commented on the wrong post 😉 Nevertheless, the compliment still stands. Some very nice work on display Donald!

Slavo Hazucha
The confusing splinter camo just proves to work in every situation 😄

Jasper Breur
Just goes to show how effective camouflage can be! 🙂

Donald Dickson II
If someone is confusing my work with Slavo's, I will take that compliment EVERY DAMN TIME.

Greg Baker
Who wouldn't?

Clifford Keesler
You are surely right, I would too any time. The guy is a master. Just like Keeza, and to many others to name. Donald how is that Kitty Hawk kit? It is on my list of must have kits.

Donald Dickson II
Greg, thank you. 🙂 You are FAR too kind.

Clifford. The kit itself is fantastic. Fit is great. Perhaps a bit too much flash here and there for a high end kit, but thats my only complaint about the plastic itself. The only reason I got aftermarket exhausts was I wanted to pose them drooped and the kit only has straight back as in flight. They are lovely, but not what I wanted to do.

The directions SUCK ASS. You have to be experienced to figure them out. And even double checking what I was doing I had to go back and fix something that wasnt clear.

See the above exchange between myself and Slavo about the decals.

For someone of your caliber, I would highly recommend with the caveat of be prepared to figure stuff out on your own. It builds out beautifully.

Clifford Keesler
Thanks for the info. I know how bad Kitty Hawk instructions suck, having built the F-101. Acadmey instructions run a close second. The decals on my F-101 were great.

Donald Dickson II
One last update pic before I finish her off. Having to figure out what pylons for which weapons with little help from the instructions. Internet pics have been more help.

Slavo Hazucha
- R73´s on wingtip rails = check, although commonly used on the outermost wing pylons too, but look better on the tips
- R77´s on outermost wing pylons - While some sources state this option, I only saw this once, on 901-black prototype and it were the red ones (fakes) - I´ll suggest to put these on the center wing pylons, most common spot for them on Su-35 configs and also used on the 902-black most times and on frontline aircraft the outermost wing pylons either house another pair of R-73´s or stay empty and mid-long range AAM´s equipment starts on the center wing pylons
- While the innermost wing pylons, Intake pylons and centerline pylons are all listed as potential carriers for the KH-31´s or the bombs, I observed:
- never saw heavy bombs on the Intake pylons, Su-34´s sometimes carry the Kh-31´s here
- never saw 2x really heavy stuff on the centerline pylons in flight, if so, the front one is used only
- 3 heavy (1000kg+) bomb configs usually go 2x innermost wing + front center pylon, empty intake pylons
- in mixed configs, the heaviest pieces usually seem to always end on the innermost wing pylons

- concluding - my recommendation would be:
- R-73´s on the wingtips
- outermost wing pylons empty
- R-77´s on central wing pylons
- KaB1500Kr´s on innermost wing pylons
- Kh-31´s on intake pylons
- centerline pylons empty

Or just take any freedom you judge proper...😉

Donald Dickson II
Slavo, thank you sir! The ones you see in the pic are already glued on, so they are where they will be. LOL I based the positions on what was in the KH instructions. Of which I posted a pic. I had already decided only one big boy on the center pylon, so thats all good. I have the Academy SU-27 in the stash. When I get around to that one I will be much more concerned with accuracy and reality. This one is really loosey goosey.

I presume your recommendations would be similar for the 27?

Donald Dickson II
OK, unrealistic make Slavo's eye twitch weapons load out and all, she is done. 🙂 I will work on getting better pics tomorrow. But she came out lovely I think. 🙂

Nathan Dempsey
Nice work Donald. Looks like the camo came out great 🙂

Augie
Really nice one Don!

Clifford Keesler
Very nicely done Donald.

Greg Baker
Meh... I've seen better. (Don's the sensitive type... can't let too much success go to his head...)

Donald Dickson II
OK, better pics. 🙂

Thank you all! I am glad and flattered you all like it. Except Greg. He can kiss my butt.😉

Greg Baker
Well, I mean, it's good for you... 🙂

Daniel
This is a nice splinter flanker, congrats don 👍

Donald Dickson II
Thank you Daniel. 🙂

Greg, left cheek. 😛 LMAO

Slavo Hazucha
Great finish Don! Splinter Flanker standing proud & armed to the teeth! 👍 Made me re-play the ship-killing mission in Ace Combat 7 with this one today!😉

Found out another interesting detail - the flare launchers on the stinger are on top on the KH kit - correctly covered on your build as they should be on 902-black - this is a prototype feature, on serials they are turned downwards. In any case, was a pleasure to watch😉

Donald Dickson II
Thank you Slavo! I love all the details! As I said, I will be putting them to use on other builds in the future. 🙂

Jos Jansen
That's a beautiful Flanker...!