Written by 4:38 pm On the Bench

WIP : Trumpeter 1/72 Su-30MK2 TNI-AU Pt. 2 – Construction

Trumpeter offers a ton of weapons to mount onto the Flanker. I went with a pair each of R-73E (AA-11 Archer), R-77 (AA-12 Adder), R-27T (AA-10B Alamo) and KH-31P (AS-17 Krypton). I couldn’t resist having the Krypton anti-radar missiles: TNI-AU SEAD!

I added pins using brass rods to the rails for added mounting points for the missiles. I’m also trying to use stretched sprue as the pins instead. I want to see if these would offer a stronger fit in combination with plastic cement.

Before attaching the intakes some pre-painting was required. The gearbays, intake ramps and the inside of the intakes were painted Mig AMMO Green. There are areas around the fuselage which will be hard to reach when the intakes are attached so I painted these black first.

The cut-out where the main wing’s lower section fits into the upper doesn’t quite fit right, resulting in a step at the joint. I added spacers of about 0.5mm into the upper wings.

What is it about always dry-fitting before committing the cement? 😀

The antennas around the rear canopies are all butt-joined so I added tabs to them with styrene plates and drilled out corresponding holes on the fuselage for them.

The exhaust fans were pre-painted Model Air Metal Jet Exhaust before assembly.

The intakes fit well but based on references, there are demarcations between the intake and the main body’s colors. I masked these off before putting the intakes together.

The intakes fit OK with a very slight step and a wider than usual gap. More elbow grease needed!

The front canopy is attached with cement and there are noticeable seamlines all round.

The gaps were filled with Vallejo Plastic Putty which can be cleaned off before it cures so only the gaps are filled. The putty will shrink slightly once dried and retain a ‘panel’ line.

Now on to tackling the nose issue. I first filled the gap with 0.25mm styrene plate. Checking the profile, there’s a obvious step at the joint.

What else did I do? Well, I used plastic plate.

I used sprue goo.

I also used epoxy putty.

I even used more plastic plate.

After what feels like an eternity I think I managed to address the worst part of the nose problem.

Who knew a nose job would be so complicated?

I think the final nose shape looks OK although you can still see a very slight sloping of the profile. I’m calling it done though. In hindsight, I should really have just bought the Quickboost corrected nose instead.

The other gaps and seamlines were minor in comparison and I was done in no time.

Gotta love the lines of the Flanker…

Before painting begins, I had to re-scribe the panel lines especially around the nose area. I sprayed gray to check my work.

I then sprayed the canopy frame with the same interior color I mixed up previously.

The fun begins next with painting this monster!

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

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