/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520001.JPG
When Trumpeter announced their new 1/72nd scale Flankers, I was excited as I had read that all the other kits, with the exception of the newest Hasegawa, has several errors. Hoping that Trumpeter didn't toot their own horn and corrected the mistakes learned from their 1/32nd scale kit, I picked this one up.
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Inside the sturdy box, we find all the contents, except for the instructions, to be individually wrapped with many of the delicate parts further wrapped in Styrofoam sheets:
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520002.JPG
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520004.JPG
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520006.JPG
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520011.JPG
As can be seen in the second photograph, the fuselage halves, which are split horizontally, arrived held together with the Styrofoam sheets and a rubber O-ring around the nose. Below, we see the fuselage once the rubber O-ring and Styrofoam sheets are removed.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520003.JPG
This is Sprue A which contains parts for the single seat Su-27 as well as the common parts for the Su-27UB. An extra set of horizontal stabilators are included but only one is correct for the kit. Multi-part molds were used for the ejection seats seen on the right side.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520007.JPG
Sprue B had one of the exhaust cones loose and the correct radome for the subject. The intakes, with their long open areas to the sides, benefited from multi-part molds to get the scribed details on the sides.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520005.JPG
Su-27UB specific Sprue J with the cockpit tub and speed brake and K with the instrument panels to which one adds decals.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520008.JPG
Here we see the vertical tails on one sprue and the launcher rails on the other. This does lead one to believe many more variants are coming.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520009.JPG
The air to air rockets included are R-27 and R-60.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520010.JPG
Crystal clear canopies are included.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520012.JPG
Four sheets of decals are in the box starting with these which cover the stencils and the instruments for the cockpit.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520013.JPG
Here, we see the Su-27UB specific decal sheet with markings for two aircraft, red 64 with eyes and a mouth (yes, the reason I got it) and red 58. However, four complete sets of numbers, in two fonts, are included.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520014.JPG
The armament gets a dedicated decal sheet as well.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520015.JPG
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su-27UB0001.jpg
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su-27UB0002.jpg
I wished the 30mm cannon was molded separately so this lump must be removed and replaced with hypo tubing.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520016.JPG
The scribed surface detail is nice but a touch heavy. Sanding, when eliminating seams, will tone these down.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520017.JPG
The wheels are simplified and the rear (inner sides) lack the brake drum detail.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520019.JPG
The petals on the exhaust have a prominent seam on the inside and this is a candidate for detailing from a photo-etched metal set.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520023.JPG
Using the provided O-ring, we see that the radome has a nice outline but the fit is not very good thanks to the lower fuselage half gap.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520028.JPG
The starboard side fit better and this view shows it with the radome marked to be unused. The only difference I have noted are the chines along the sides and top.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520029.JPG
OK, the kit is not perfect but it is a variant I wanted and am happy with it. I am now shopping for new wheels (if I can find the Equipage set), new decals, and hopefully new photo-etched detail sets designed for this kit.
When Trumpeter announced their new 1/72nd scale Flankers, I was excited as I had read that all the other kits, with the exception of the newest Hasegawa, has several errors. Hoping that Trumpeter didn't toot their own horn and corrected the mistakes learned from their 1/32nd scale kit, I picked this one up.
------------------------------------
Inside the sturdy box, we find all the contents, except for the instructions, to be individually wrapped with many of the delicate parts further wrapped in Styrofoam sheets:
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520002.JPG
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520004.JPG
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520006.JPG
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520011.JPG
As can be seen in the second photograph, the fuselage halves, which are split horizontally, arrived held together with the Styrofoam sheets and a rubber O-ring around the nose. Below, we see the fuselage once the rubber O-ring and Styrofoam sheets are removed.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520003.JPG
This is Sprue A which contains parts for the single seat Su-27 as well as the common parts for the Su-27UB. An extra set of horizontal stabilators are included but only one is correct for the kit. Multi-part molds were used for the ejection seats seen on the right side.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520007.JPG
Sprue B had one of the exhaust cones loose and the correct radome for the subject. The intakes, with their long open areas to the sides, benefited from multi-part molds to get the scribed details on the sides.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520005.JPG
Su-27UB specific Sprue J with the cockpit tub and speed brake and K with the instrument panels to which one adds decals.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520008.JPG
Here we see the vertical tails on one sprue and the launcher rails on the other. This does lead one to believe many more variants are coming.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520009.JPG
The air to air rockets included are R-27 and R-60.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520010.JPG
Crystal clear canopies are included.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520012.JPG
Four sheets of decals are in the box starting with these which cover the stencils and the instruments for the cockpit.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520013.JPG
Here, we see the Su-27UB specific decal sheet with markings for two aircraft, red 64 with eyes and a mouth (yes, the reason I got it) and red 58. However, four complete sets of numbers, in two fonts, are included.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520014.JPG
The armament gets a dedicated decal sheet as well.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520015.JPG
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su-27UB0001.jpg
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su-27UB0002.jpg
I wished the 30mm cannon was molded separately so this lump must be removed and replaced with hypo tubing.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520016.JPG
The scribed surface detail is nice but a touch heavy. Sanding, when eliminating seams, will tone these down.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520017.JPG
The wheels are simplified and the rear (inner sides) lack the brake drum detail.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520019.JPG
The petals on the exhaust have a prominent seam on the inside and this is a candidate for detailing from a photo-etched metal set.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520023.JPG
Using the provided O-ring, we see that the radome has a nice outline but the fit is not very good thanks to the lower fuselage half gap.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520028.JPG
The starboard side fit better and this view shows it with the radome marked to be unused. The only difference I have noted are the chines along the sides and top.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10065/Su27UB252520029.JPG
OK, the kit is not perfect but it is a variant I wanted and am happy with it. I am now shopping for new wheels (if I can find the Equipage set), new decals, and hopefully new photo-etched detail sets designed for this kit.