1/48 Kittyhawk Sukhoi Su-17 M4 Fitter-K

[IanG]

This will be my next build, Kittyhawk's 1/48 Sukhoi Su-17 M4 Fitter K, belonging to the 274th APIB, 1998.
Will be built largely OOB, but will use Master Model's pitot/antenna set, and an Armoury resin multiple bomb rack (something not supplied in the kit). I also have a HAD Models corrected mach-cone on pre-order too.
I intend to use Hataka paints for the camouflage.
The kits surface details look very good, and there are a lot of parts, plus a huge selection of weapons to hang off the pylons.
PLEASE NOTE - I am well aware of the bad press this kit has received. Frankly I don't care......I will build it, and it will be good!!

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[Fridgy]

Looking forward to your build mate. All of your build are excellent and great to watch come together

[IanG]

Looking forward to your build mate. All of your build are excellent and great to watch come together

Thank you Mick.

[IanG]

Cockpit all finished.
There are a lot of parts for this, especially the seat. Belts are kit supplied PE.
The main instrument panel is finished with the supplied decal, matt varnished, and gloss on the dials . There are decals for the side panels too, but I chose to paint those instead.
All finished off with a Ultimate dark dirt wash, and sealed with matt varnish.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

One of the issues I'd heard about, is the joining of the fuselage parts, and how bad the shaping was, and that nothing mated up properly. All I can say is I didn't come across that at all.
The fuselage comes in 6 pieces, 3 for each side. The instructions suggest building the 3 sections, of front, mid, and rear, as separate subsections.
What I have done is join all 3 sections together, thus making a complete fuselage half. This was done laying the sections on a flat surface, then cementing the parts together. Only one piece didn't quite mate up properly, so with a small weight placed on top, this helped to "squash" that parts into shape. It worked. A little bit of Vallejo Plastic Putty to tidy up the joints, and hey presto!! So I now have 2 fuselage halves ready for a final assembly.
Ooooh, and I found some Armoury Su-17/22 resin wheels. Think I might use those.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

While I wait for the HAD Models corrected Mach-cone to arrive, I am working on other areas of the build. So some things are being done arse about face, but the result will be the same.
I've finished the foreword wheel bay, and front undercarriage leg.
They are primed with Tamiya's Fine Surface Primer. As the colour is very close for the bay's, I just glossed it, then used some Flory Dark Dirt wash, highlight with white.
The wheels are painted with Mission Models Tire Black, and the wheel centres are Akan's Russian Antenna and Wheel green. Weathering is Tamiya's weather master sand and light sand.
This was all then finished with a couple of light coats of matt varnish.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

There will be bombs......a couple of R-60's, and a couple of fuel tanks too.........but mainly, there will be bombs!!
My chosen load out for the Fitter. May not be 100% accurate, and I've no doubt somebody will point that out, but tough poo!
Anyone contemplating building this kit, be warned. The instructions on the placement of pylons is a little unclear. Some pylons have locating pins, but no locating holes on the part to be joined. And there are no instructions for the building of the multiple bomb racks either.
I also found I'd got a set of Armoury resin bombs racks and OFAB-100's.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

Now juggling different sections of this build at once. So a bit of a lengthy update.
-Bombs are sprayed & glossed, ready for decals.
-Pylons black primed.
-Wing sections are started, and I've had a couple ideas I'm trying out.
-Firstly, as shown, is the way I've fitted the Master gun barrels. I cemented the cannon, and cut off the required amount. I used some rolled up Tamiya tape as a tube, and fitted the metal barrel into the front.
-Secondly, the wing wheel bays are very shallow, so I used pieces of plastic bags, cut to the shape of the bay. These were sandwiched in between the top and bottom sections of the wings, instant mask, and can be cut/pulled out at the end of the build.
-Lastly, the airbrakes are fitted, in the closed position. Fit is not great, as KH want you build them in open position. So the Vallejo plastic putty got another outing.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

I absolutely love Master-Models products, but their pitots for the Fitter are just outstanding!

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

The wings went together very well. Flaps needed some work, to remove the moulded struts from inside, so that the flaps sit flush to the wing. This is a result of Kittyhawk's insistence that you assemble the wings with the flaps drooped. Photos of the Fitter I've found, seem to show the control surfaces flush to the wing, when parked on the flight-line.
A nice touch is that there are complete canons included, not just a barrel sticking out of the wings leading edge. Access panels can be opened if desired. I kept them closed. The ends of the barrels were removed, and the Master Model brass barrels have been fitted.
The movable part of the wing is located with a peg in the main wing, that goes through a hole in the movable section. To make masking and painting easier, I cut a slot from that hole, so that the wing can pushed into place at the end of the build.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

Some good news, my resin mach-cone is on its way from HAD Models, yay! Smile -
The fuselage has been dry fitted, with the wings, tail, and spine. Now it's starting to look like a Fitter!
I've also painted, and weathered, all the weapons and tanks that will hang underneath.
Overall, I'm still enjoying this build. What IS all the fuss about?

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr


Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[Elve1984]

looks great, great colours you used on the weapons and fuel tanks.

[Avgas]

Looking fab, pit is excellent.

[IanG]

looks great, great colours you used on the weapons and fuel tanks.

The bombs are in the Ultimate grey primer, the fuel tanks are Vallejo Blue RLM65, and the missiles are Akan's faded white. All weathered with Ultimate's dark dirt wash.

[IanG]

Looking fab, pit is excellent.

Thank you Dave

[IanG]

Welcome to the Kittyhawk Fitter nose-job!
The HAD Models resin corrected Mach-cone has arrived. This is a superb piece of casting. Crisp detail, and needs no trimming, or sanding.
So on with the task of fitting it.
I found it easier to remove the locating pegs and locating holes, from the intake area. It also cleans up the intake in the process.
Using a piece of white-tack, I pressed the nose into it, so it's held in position.
Then I adjusted it to get the right alignment, dry fit the other fuselage half, and a final adjustment.
Remove the fuselage half, spot some medium Zap onto the rear of the nose, where it meets the intake walls. Let it set, then run some more Zap along the join.
Hey presto, it fits!!

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

Having got the Mach-cone, cockpit, and engine installed, the fuselage halves have been brought together. The fit is pretty good, with not much filling required. All the remaining "lumps, bumps, and pointy things" are now fitted.
So now it looks a lot like primer time!

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

So, a little bit of colour is added. Hataka paint used.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

That's the first two camo shades airbrushed.
I had to use Vallejo's Burnt Umber, for the dark brown. The Hataka colour I had planned to use was not dark enough.
The other colour is Hataka's Sand-Yellow (RLM-79).
The greens will be Hataka's Field Green and Dark Green.
These have been applied over a Ultimate black primer, marbled with a light grey.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

Well that's the camouflage finished, and I've had my first go at a bit of post-shading.
The Hataka paints have come out well, and mixed well with a little bit of Akan's Faded White, when applying the post-shading.
I've also done the exhaust cowling, the blast protector areas around the wing canons, the swing-wing roots, plus the 2 pitot antenna's. These were done with Vallejo Metal Colour Steel.
The antenna covering on the tail is done with Akan's Russian Radome Green.
I shall let this dry, and I can now think about some glossing.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

Got the decals applied, and there are more on there than it looks. Quite a few stencils, which are a translucent yellow/green, so they don't show up very well. At least they don't need blending in.
I'll let them set, and then it'll cracking on with the weathering.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[AdamLuscombe]

That looks awesome, great work

[IanG]

That looks awesome, great work

Thank you Adam.

[IanG]

The decals have been sealed with some Alclad Aqua Gloss, then a wash with Ultimate's Dark Dirt.
A couple of misted coats of matt, and I can now start the weathering. I'll be using a mixture of Humbrol's Weathering Powder, and Tamiya's Weathering system.
Photo's 1-4 show some of the surface detail picked out by the wash.
Photo 5 shows a start on the weathering on the underside.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[shortCummins]

this is TOP DRAW work, something for all of us to aspire to

rgds
John(shortCummins)

[IanG]

this is TOP DRAW work, something for all of us to aspire to

rgds
John(shortCummins)

Thank you John.

[IanG]

It now has legs!
Oh, and the weathering is finished too.
Next job, hang all the loud bangy things off of it.

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Untitled by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

All completed!

Ian G-16 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

viewtopic.php?f=45&t=22498

[Aeon]

this is TOP DRAW work, something for all of us to aspire to

rgds
John(shortCummins)

I second that.