Written by 9:10 pm On the Bench

WIP : Trumpeter 1/72 Su-30MK2 TNI-AU Pt. 1 – Construction

This one has been on my to-do list for a while: a Sukhoi Su-30MKK deployed by the Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Udara (TNI-AU). The plan is to finish this by 17 August, Indonesia’s independence day. Let’s see how I deal with a fixed deadline (I’m usually not good with it).

I first took a look at the canopy and there’s a very visible mold line running down its length which needs to be cleaned up.

Before dipping the canopy parts into Future I decided to dryfit them to the cockpit: the front canopy stands proud.

It looks much better after a trim but looking at reference photos the panel line where the canopy meets the fuselage shouldn’t be that pronounced. Some work will need to be done to smooth out this area. In any case, the two canopy parts are getting a dunk in Future first.

In the meantime, I’m moving on to the cockpit. I first sprayed the parts the standard interior color of Russian aircraft, Mig AMMO Interior Turquoise Green.

It turns out though that the TNI-AU Su-30 doesn’t use the same color for their cockpits as the photo below shows. Note also the lack of a prominent panel line between the front canopy and the nose.

I added some white and blue into the Mig AMMO Interior Turquoise Green which I think matches closer to the photo ref.

The instrument panels are all decals. Fitting on the side consoles required trimming though.

The ejection seats look good for the scale and since I’m closing the canopy, they’ll be more than enough.

The decals make the cockpit look sufficiently busy.

The instructions call for the cockpit to be fitted onto the nose gear well on the bottom half of the fuselage but I attached it to the upper instead to get a better fit. I added plastic plates for a more secure fit.

i then did a quick dryfit of the main parts to see how the fit will be. Overall it looks to be OK.

There are noticeable steps where the intakes meet the rear sections of the engine housings.

Oof… the bottom half looks to be short shot which caused the big gap. This will definitely need to be addressed.

How hard can it be really? /ominous music…

Build Log
Pt.1 – Construction | Pt.2 – Construction | Pt.3 – Painting
Pt.4 – Painting | Pt.5 – Finishing

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