Well it had to happen. I`ve ordered a JC Wings Ukraine SU-27UB and decided i will need to re-paint the radome/dielectric panel colours if it`s going to look like the real thing, as the green is too dark. I then thought; `Well, if i`m going to re-do those, i may as well alter that hideous radome join line that all JC`s SU-27UB/30 family suffer from`. I`ve got a JCW Indian SU-30 which i love, but i`ve been putting back altering this bird for some time now. Pulled my finger out yesterday and started it. If all go`s well it should look like this:-
Just to remind you how bad the original radome is:-
I started by filling the join line with filler, being careful not to get any on the orange paintwork which wasn`t going to be covered by the new radome line. I put tape on the stencil to protect it when i came to sand the filler down. I`m hoping i can keep it, but i may have to sacrifice it if it gets in the way when i come to spray the Radome. We`ll see.
Today, when the filler had set, i sanded it down and masked the new line between fuselage and Radome. Since the distance from the top of the original Radome to the canopy is pretty much correct, i started the tape from the original line and brought it down at an angle that followed the `droop` of the fuselage. Nothing scientific here, Just used my eye!
Painted the area to highlight any imperfections, which there is. So i`ll need to fill a bit more to get it all smooth. But i think the old bird is looking pretty good. She looks happy anyway!
In the next few weeks when i`m happy with the Radome, i`ll start spraying it and the dielectric panels a slightly lighter grey. (I`ll have to `move` the panels near the radome back a bit too, as they`re too far forward anyway). When this is done, i`ll start on the next Flanker! If you were going to do the mod yourself, i wish you well. It`s not as bad as i imagined. And if this has given you the impetus to do it or given you tips, then i`m happy!!
First coat of primer sprayed onto the radome. Needs a bit more filler to fill out where the original radome meets the revised radome/fuselage line. but looking good so far. The grey primer is pretty much the same colour/tone that i`m looking for when i come to spray the final coat of paint onto the model.
This is what always wanted to do with my Witty / JC Wings Su-30s! But haven´t found the courage yet .....
I so regret that Witty made the nose division line this way:
Its such a shame as apart of this, the SU-30 is excellent mold with decent panel lines. This radome division line and Hobby Master´s SU-27/35 & Mig-29 horizontal division lines in the front are two examples how easily you can destroy the look of otherwise excellent model.
Anyway great job, Carlo.
Do you plan to cement and putty also the pitot tube in place?
... doen´t the grey radome area appear rather long?
I really dunno. Maybe not. But something looks to me not quite right. Length of the radome? Its shape?
Maybe its only a missing pitot.
Or most probably its just a hyperfocal distance....
Probably just the focal distortion with the camera being nearer the nose section. Looks better on the close up pics. It`ll look better once the dielectric panels are moved back to their correct place. The distance from the top of the radome to the canopy looks the correct distance, so i worked from there. If i move the line further forward, the fuselage will look too long. Not much i can do otherwise about the shape unless i saw it off and replace it!!! (I`m not going there! ). Looks a million times better than the original though. Which is all i`m bothered about. It certainly has that Flanker `droop` now. Pitot tube i`ll leave as detachable so i can store the model back in it`s box. Once the nose is done, the dielectric panels just need masking and spraying. Easy part.
The most time consuming bit is waiting for the filler and paint to dry. `Just a little patience`.. required.
Ok, looking for final result. Good luck with the painting
On my "502" I´ve solved it (for the time being) by Witty stand. As the model is pointing upwards, the askew radome doesn´t look so weird. It definitely looks much better than when standing on the wheels.
Here`s another photo from further away without distortion. This looks a lot better than my previous effort.
Ok, looking for final result. Good luck with the painting
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On my "502" I´ve solved it (for the time being) by Witty stand. As the model is pointing upwards, the askew radome doesn´t look so weird. It definitely looks much better than when standing on the wheels.
I nearly had it all finished and painted when that nagging voice in the back of my mind wouldn`t let go. It`s what Ladia mentioned about the radome. He was absolutely right. The radome IS too long. Looks somewhat the right length with the original Witty radome, but not with the revised line. Thanks Ladia for calling that. Funny how it takes someone looking from outside to point things out.
I sawed off about 3mm from the nose and now i`m in the process of reshaping it. (Must get rid of that bulge underneath too) I must say it`s looking a lot better. I`m really enjoying this project. Here are some photo`s of the current state of affairs, with the next victim as comparison in the background! Is it me, or is that Ukraine Flanker`s Nose gear too long...?
Agree, your Ukrainian Flanker definitely looks somehow weird.
One of the reasons can be that Witty has made that NLG as fully extended (= based on "factory" drawings ..... fully extended NLG is stupid mistake often made also by other diecast manufacturers ...).
But i tell you what:
insert the NLG doors and your model will look much much better. I think this is what makes your model looking strange and empty.
Then your Flanker should look more like this:
While looking better, it still isn´t the correct Flanker´s nose dive stance imho. The reason I´d see in that fully extended nose gear. (lets say this is the correct set up in the first moment of start, with afterburners on ).
I nearly had it all finished and painted when that nagging voice in the back of my mind wouldn`t let go. It`s what Ladia mentioned about the radome. He was absolutely right. The radome IS too long. Looks somewhat the right length with the original Witty radome, but not with the revised line. Thanks Ladia for calling that. Funny how it takes someone looking from outside to point things out.
I sawed off about 3mm from the nose and now i`m in the process of reshaping it. (Must get rid of that bulge underneath too) I must say it`s looking a lot better. I`m really enjoying this project.
I´m really interested in your SU-30 project, Carlo. You say you sawed off some 3mm from the nose, right? From the radome, I guess? I´m just playing with those 3 milimetres in my head: what if you would cut out two "triangles" - 1,5 mm from the bottom of the fuselage and 1,5 from the top of the radome? Do you think that the result could be +/- perpendicular join line and correct length of the radome / nose?
No putty, no need to overpaint, just saw, grind, file, brute force , and the result is ... gem.
I´m really interested in your SU-30 project, Carlo. You say you sawed off some 3mm from the nose, right? From the radome, I guess? I´m just playing with those 3 milimetres in my head: what if you would cut out two "triangles" - 1,5 mm from the bottom of the fuselage and 1,5 from the top of the radome? Do you think that the result could be +/- perpendicular join line and correct length of the radome / nose?
No putty, no need to overpaint, just saw, grind, file, brute force , and the result is ... gem.
(radiation warnings could be decals).
Could it work this way?
Yes, i took it off the front of the radome. I think your suggestion could work. However. Cutting some off the top of the radome would make the overall radome diameter smaller, and result in a step. Plus, i`m not brave enough to grind and file that metal fuselage! There`s a lot of metal to remove even in that small triangle and without damaging the paintwork.... I can deal with plastic, paint, and putty! but working metal isn`t really my strong-point to be honest. I could see myself screwing it up, and putting a damn big file mark where i don`t want it! I`ll stick working with plastic/filler as i find it pretty therapeutic! Crazy? Yeah.., probably. The radiation signs i`ll hand paint and use masking tape to cut the 60 degree alternate triangles. I`ve looked for decals but from what i`ve found they only have one set in each for a single aircraft, which is understandable. Since i have three more Su-27UB/30`s to do, it would become pretty expensive for tiny stencils! Once i`m happy with the radome shape, the plan is to make a template out of card/plastic, so i get my other Flankers radomes the same shape. I used Tamiya Medium grey for the final radome/dielectric larger panels, and brushed Humbrol Matt 64 for the small wing root/fuselage panels, spraying Tamiya Flat coat over the top.
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While looking better, it still isn´t the correct Flanker´s nose dive stance imho. The reason I´d see in that fully extended nose gear. (lets say this is the correct set up in the first moment of start, with afterburners on ).
Yeah! Just like the HM Mig-29! As for the Ukraine Flanker. I may take some material off the top of the nose gear to get it to sit better, which also means replacing the supporting strut. We`ll see. I`m not too concerned at the min. Unfortunately/fortunately(!) this particular model came with minor issues, which have, and will be easily sorted. One actually will help me out big time. Both the small horizontal triangular stabs near the intakes were loose, and the right hand vertical stabiliser wasn`t glued in at all. This is very, very good, as this will actually make masking and spraying the large dielectric panels on it a whole lot easier.(So, Thank you JC!!). I also had a rub/abrasion mark on the clear canopy, but this was remedied with a smidge of Greygate plastic polishing liquid, thankfully.
Well, pretty much finished it today. Sprayed the radome and now i`m just waiting for it to cure before painting the radiation signs onto it. This will take a few days or so, so i thought i may as well post these pics:-
Does my nose look big? This is definitely the camera!!!! Ha ha!
Before and after:- Nope. After and before!!
The dielectric panels look a lot better and more accurate in the lighter grey for sure. I also moved the fin tip panel demarcation line down to their correct position. There are a few things to do yet though.
1 Rub down the paint once cured where it butted up to the masking tape on the radome, as it`s catching the light a bit. (I may mask and paint a very thin `false` demarcation/join line in dark grey if i can`t get it flush enough). It`ll look more `die-cast` too!
2 Replace the pitot tube (It`s not great) with an after market one.
3 Find some matching green paint to more accurately finish the green panel that cuts into the dielectric panel on the right hand vertical stabiliser.
4 Paint the radome radiation signs.
5 Find out if this aircraft had it`s cannon blast plates painted or left in bare metal, as i cannot find any photo`s of the right hand side of these parade aircraft as yet. I`m suspecting they were painted as per the model.
Things i wanted to do?
Well the radome on the real thing is quite `pointy`. Although i would have liked to shape it more accurately, i`m pretty sure the plastic radome is hollow, which if sanded too much may have resulted in going through the plastic. And i i`m certainly not going there!!
...And that`s about it really. Lessons learned on this one should make the next easier to do. It wasn`t a particularly long job to do, but like i said earlier; the longest part is waiting for the filler and paint to cure before moving on. All in all, i`m extremely pleased at how it`s turned out, and can`t wait to do the next lot of Flankers.
Finished painting the radome radiation signs, sensor, and cannon vents. I`m going to say it`s all done now for this particular bird.
Whilst i`m currently doing the other Flankers, i`ll be doing some interesting things to my Su-24`s very soon! Ha ha! The Russian birds first, then the Ukrainian Fencers next!
Whilst i`m currently doing the other Flankers, i`ll be doing some interesting things to my Su-24`s very soon! Ha ha! The Russian birds first, then the Ukrainian Fencers next! Attachment 357288
3Likes
Code Carlo4 Su-30!! Ha ha
). Looks a million times better than the original though. Which is all i`m bothered about. It certainly has that Flanker `droop` now. Pitot tube i`ll leave as detachable so i can store the model back in it`s box. Once the nose is done, the dielectric panels just need masking and spraying. Easy part.
, and the result is ... gem.
