Russian Su-33 Flanker D by CDW - FINISHED - Trumpeter - 1:72 Scale

[Canute]

That aqua green/blue shade is pretty much a universal color for Soviet/Russian cockpits. Photos I saw of the MiG-25 Belenko flew to Japan in 1976 were that shade. We modelers had to scramble to come up with something close. Now we're in a Golden Age of modeling paints. 😄

[CDW]

3 hours ago, Canute said:

That aqua green/blue shade is pretty much a universal color for Soviet/Russian cockpits. Photos I saw of the MiG-25 Belenko flew to Japan in 1976 were that shade. We modelers had to scramble to come up with something close. Now we're in a Golden Age of modeling paints. 😄

But I am not 100% sure it’s the same for the more modern aircraft. I keep noticing that kit instructions call out a different color for the more modern Russian aircraft. Need to check references.

[CDW]

Here is a photo I found on the net for the Su-33 Flanker D cockpit. My kit came with a pilot figure, and I may use it this time around. Usually I don't use it.

 

Edited August 8, 2022 by CDW

[Danstream]

2 hours ago, CDW said:

But I am not 100% sure it’s the same for the more modern aircraft. I keep noticing that kit instructions call out a different color for the more modern Russian aircraft.

As Canute said, the green-blue color is pretty common for modern jets, see f.i.:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cockpit_of_Sukhoi_Su-27_(4).jpg

 

Never trust color callings of kit's instructions without at least a sanity check.

Kind regards,

Dan

[CDW]

58 minutes ago, Danstream said:

As Canute said, the green-blue color is pretty common for modern jets, see f.i.:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cockpit_of_Sukhoi_Su-27_(4).jpg

 

Never trust color callings of kit's instructions without at least a sanity check.

Kind regards,

Dan

Agree 100% on the reference check. There are surprisingly few photos of the Su-33 cockpit on the net, but the ones I have seen show what I would call a blue-gray and black color combination, but not the aqua color seen on earlier Russian aircraft. I have what's supposed to be the aqua cockpit color in Mig Ammo acrylic but it does not look like the photos.

Edited August 8, 2022 by CDW

[Egilman]

Russian plane cockpits are some of the hardest colors to figure... Not a whole lot of good photography of them.... Blue/Grey or Blue/Green? heck of a decision to make...

[CDW]

Just now, Egilman said:

Russian plane cockpits are some of the hardest colors to figure... Not a whole lot of good photography of them.... Blue/Grey or Blue/Green? heck of a decision to make...

A lot of it will be the amount of light in the photograph. Shadows are going to make it look darker, too. In any event, 1:72 scale lends to the most artistic license for interpretation. So little of it will ever be seen, it's like dancing on the head of a pin. Now the fuselage colors become much more relevant to me but the cockpit, not so much. 

[CDW]

Just for grins and giggles, I made color sample swatches of 5 different paint colors from my inventory:

1. Mig Ammo interior turquoise green (Russian cockpit green)

2. Mr Hobby Acrysion emerald green

3. Mr Color aircraft gray (Trumpeter call out)

4. Mig Ammo ocean gray

5. Mr Color air superiority blue

 

Which of these 5 colors do you think most closely represents what is seen in the cockpit photo?

Edited August 9, 2022 by CDW

[Canute]

#5 matches to the last cockpit shot, for my eyes. May be the Russian jets morphed away from the Soviet era aqua cockpits. Go on what your photos tell you. Anybody who can argue differently needs to show evidence.

[CDW]

1 minute ago, Canute said:

#5 matches to the last cockpit shot, for my eyes. May be the Russian jets morphed away from the Soviet era aqua cockpits. Go on what your photos tell you. Anybody who can argue differently needs to show evidence.

At this point, my cockpit is already painted and I have no desire to go back and change it, but for future reference, I agree that #5 is the closest match to the photo color. Just goes to show how futile it can be to try and trust the paint manufacturer or model company.

[Canute]

Kit instructions are suspect with respect to color recommendations. Happily, we have a lot of great resources nowadays, thanks to the Internet.Looking forward to your paint scheme.

[Dave_E]

FIVE. 

[CDW]

One of the benefits of doing an exercise as above...I now know that Mr Hobby Acrysion emerald green is a near match (and a viable substitute) for Mig Ammo turquoise green (Russian cockpit color). The Mr Hobby Acrysion line of paints are acrylic, but readily reducible using Mr Color 400 Levelling Thinner (lacquer). Like Tamiya acrylics, Mr Hobby Acrysion paints ARE NOT water-based acrylics, but instead a sort of hybrid acrylic that can readily be thinned with IPA or lacquer thinner. Mig Ammo acrylics are water based. Try thinning them with lacquer thinner and you will have a mess on your hands. IMHO, either Tamiya or preferably Mr Color paints thinned with Mr Color 400 Levelling Thinner give a superior finish. The downside with Tamiya paints is the small line of colors. However, they can be custom mixed to achieve the color desired using the colors from their range of paints. At one time I found a online resource for the mix ratios for various popular colors, but I have lost it.

[Canute]

Might have been IPMS Stockholm. They have a lot of info for color of paints.

[CDW]

45 minutes ago, Canute said:

Might have been IPMS Stockholm. They have a lot of info for color of paints.

Thanks Ken. I will check it out and see.

[Egilman]

Three for the outside of the Panel Hood & Five for the Panels themselves with Black instruments...

[CDW]

Fuselage halves fit together very well. Very little cleanup will be required. That’s the way I like it. Particularly at this small scale, too much sanding will obliterate the fine recessed details and it’s a ton of work to restore it if lost.

 

 

[Old Collingwood]

Here is a close up of the cockpit of a Ukrain Su27  I  took at RIAT  airshow.

 

OC.

[CDW]

The kit provides the option for extended or folded wings and stabilizers. I chose the folded wings option which includes dropped flaps. Extended wing version has flaps raised.

 

 

[CDW]

Wing fold dry-fit preview.

 

The wing fold hinge detail is very good straight from the box.

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Looks great Craig - very cool subject too, I'm in for this one!

[CDW]

Just now, Landlubber Mike said:

Looks great Craig - very cool subject too, I'm in for this one!

Welcome aboard Mike!

[CDW]

Don’t forget to put some weight in the nose to prevent her from being a tail-sitter. I used BB’s and glue to fill the nose cone. Instructions don’t specify how much to use (or to use any at all for that matter). I put 17 grams inside.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by CDW

[popeye the sailor]

look'in really good so far  

[CDW]

1 hour ago, popeye the sailor said:

look'in really good so far  

Thanks Denis. A fairly new tool, she's going together without many issues so far.

[Landlubber Mike]

Hey Craig, that color test you showed earlier is very interesting.  Unfortunately, you can drive yourself crazy looking at colors from different manufacturers to figure out what colors you need.  Sometimes the kit manufacturer includes suggested colors, but in some cases, I've found that the recommended paint manufacturers list is narrow (hard to find Mr. Color paints sometimes) or the paints themselves aren't exactly on point.  I try to locate paints using FS or ANA colors, but that isn't always a perfect solution.  And then there is the issue of deciding whether to stick only with acrylics, or branch out to new manufacturers.  I originally started with Vallejo for being water-based acrylics.  I still use Vallejo for interior or small detail work, but found myself more and more moving to Mr. Color and Tamiya for broader paint jobs like fuselages, car bodies, etc. - the paints stink and are a little more difficult to use as you have to use thinner (Mr. Color Leveling Thinner 400 is excellent as you say!), but it gives you a much more durable and consistent finish -- and, to me at least, seems a little easier to thin for shading and highlighting, etc.

 

If anyone is interested, I found these paint charts to be very helpful - who would have guessed there were so many colors used by the US: 

 

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2004/01/stuff_eng_interior_colours_us.htm

 

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/stuff_eng_colorcharts_vallejo.htm

 

https://acrylicosvallejo.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/historical-color-references-guide-for-aircraft-and-afv-series-vallejo-colors.pdf

 

 

[CDW]

Just now, Landlubber Mike said:

Hey Craig, that color test you showed earlier is very interesting.  

Thanks Mike. Those charts will come in very handy. Saved them for future reference.

[CDW]

Unless something unexpected puts me sideways, should get some paint down on this model over the weekend. The build details have been sparse, this will primarily be a pictorial on the paint and finish.

 

 

[Edwardkenway]

Looking good Craig!!

[CDW]

4 minutes ago, Edwardkenway said:

Looking good Craig!!

Thanks Edward. Most of the build time will be building and painting/decaling the weapons. There are a lot of them.