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Here is
my Kopro 1/48 Su-22M-4 ‘Fitter’. The kit was enhanced with the following
aftermarket sets:
Cutting
Edge
Exterior
detail set
The set
contains speed brakes, inboard and outboard flaps, slats, chaff dispensers,
rudder and inner wing inserts,
Soviet
Smart Weapons Set #1
I only
used AS-11 Kilter air-to-surface missile.
Exhaust
Nozzle
Much
better than the plain kit exhaust.
Cockpit
The kit
fuselage sidewalls were thinned for the CE cockpit tub to properly fit. I did this using a cordless Dremel to expedite the process.
The cockpit was paining using a mix of Model Master Duck Egg Blue and
Russian Interior Blue. Here are some pictures of the finished cockpit.
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Eduard
Photo etched set (External fuel tank
details, main undercarriage, rocket pods, heat exchanger outlet, pitot
sensors, main boom, nose aerials and tail antennas). A note about this set: I
used this set because I had it already, but if you have the CE cockpit,
the Eduard set is not really necessary.
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Part
Exterior
detail set and boarding ladder. Instead
of purchasing the Eduard set, get the Part boarding ladder. It is very nice set
and easy to assemble.
Equipage
Resin
wheel hubs and rubber tires.
Painting
I used
Model Master paints. Military Brown FS 30117, Dark Tan 30219, European Green
34092 were used for the upper part and Model Master II Air Mobility Command Gray
FS 36173 for the bottom part with Floquil gloss clear and flat clear prior and
after decal application.
VJUGA system
container BA-58 was scratch built as it is used for control of AS-11 Kilter
missiles.
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Siren
RHAW sensors in wing leading edge were scratch built.
I
used the kit decals, which are petty thin but still manageable.
Panel
lines were highlighted with black oil paint wash. |
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on image below to see larger image |
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Conclusion:
Although
I had heard really bad things about this kit, the kit was really fun to build
and also gave me the opportunity to use resin accessories other than the
cockpit. As most of you know, the main problem in the Kopro kit deals with the
fuselage halves alignment, but I didn’t find this really difficult to solve.
The fitting of the rest of the parts is very acceptable. Patience really gives
you the best results.
The use
of the Cutting Edge exterior detail was really easy and enhanced the kit a lot.
The end result gave me confidence to put my hands on a SOL Su-35/37 conversion,
but that would be another story. Now the Fitter is next to my Revell Mig-25.
Juan
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