Paul A H Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 (edited) Following on from my review of the brand spanking new Zvezda kit of Russia's new fifth-generation aircraft (see here) I've decided to get stuck in with a little build review. As per usual, the builder has to assemble the internal components first. In the case of the T-50, this means the cockpit and the engine air intakes/main undercarriage bays. The cockpit is nicely moulded but lacks any kind of raised detail. Instead, the instrument panel and side consoles are represented by decals, which I have yet to apply. The air intakes are full-length, which is a nice touch. Because of their complex shape, and the fact that the outside of the intakes also forms the inner halves of the main gear bays, these items are a little bit fiddly to put together; I had to use some Tamiya tape to hold them in place while the glue set. Once together though, they look nice. If the builder takes care, little clean up work is required as the seams are hidden in the corner of the angular shape of the front of the intake. Having performed a quick dry fit, it looks likes the intakes will require a little fettling to fit properly inside the fuselage. I'll be building this strictly OOB, by the way, so if you are interested in the shape issues reported with this kit, you'll be able to see for yourselves and decide whether to buy the kit or not. Edited January 6, 2011 by Paul A H 1
general melchett Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 Nice start Paul, but as mentioned in the WIP I think I'll hold off until all the shape errors can be identified. Good for Zvezda but it might have been a bit more prudent to have waited a while to iron out all the alleged shape problems, though this was probably mastered from early Sukhoi test drawings . From the info I have on the aircraft it does seem that there are several significant errors particularly around the intakes/wing angle and dorsal spine but we'll have to wait and see..(nothing that a bit of placcy tickling can't sort out I'm sure), oddly it appears that the horribly expensive 'Resin' model suffers from similar problems only more the topside engine nacelles!....no way am I knocking the fact that they have bought one out, it's still really great to see it particularly at that price. Would be nice if the rumored 1/48th HPH one makes it to production......
Mike Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 Would be nice if the rumored 1/48th HPH one makes it to production...... Wouldn't it? Good work so far Paul
Paul A H Posted January 7, 2011 Author Posted January 7, 2011 (edited) I think Zvezda's 1:72 version sold out within a week of going on sale at Hannants, so it would seem there is definitely a market for a 1:48 version. It would be a big old kit, but it would look great, particularly if it had all the ordnance bays included. Re: shape issues, there is clearly an issue with the upper fuselage/engine nacelle blend, but I think the determined modeller could sort that out with some milliput. The issue with the engine intakes is interesting, as the outline of the kit intakes seems to match the real thing when seen from directly below, but from the side, the rake of the intakes looks too steep. I think, therefore, the issue is that the intakes are a little too flat on the kit. As I said though, I want to build the kit oob so everyone can look at the pictures and decide for themselves if there are any issues and, if so, how significant they are. It is, after all, for each modeller to decide for themselves what they want to do with a particlar kit. Andy you are right, the resin kit is reported to have some issues too. I think there is a new version of that kit with a redesigned upper fuselage on the way; you will have to take a look and see if you think they have succeded in capturing the look of the real thing. From what I've seen so far, the T-50 would seem to be a very difficult shape to get right! I'm particularly interested to see if Zvezda have captured the purposeful nose-down stance of the real thing. If they've pulled that off, I think I could forgive any other errors! Edited January 7, 2011 by Paul A H
AnthonyWan Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 I think Zvezda's 1:72 version sold out within a week of going on sale at Hannants, so it would seem there is definitely a market for a 1:48 version. It would be a big old kit, but it would look great, particularly if it had all the ordnance bays included. If they did decide to go 1/48, they'd have to seriously tweak their measurements and shapes..there's some noticeable error (as you mentioned ) Either way, watching intently to see your take on the 1/72 version -A
general melchett Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 Very true Paul...it has even more of a 'hooded cobra ' look to it than the Flanker............and you've just got to love that camo scheme!!!I think there's also a shape error with the rear end as well but I'm sure it's nothing a bit of fettling can't sort out, From what I've seen so far, the T-50 would seem to be a very difficult shape to get right! Hey ...maybe that's what the Russians wanted all along!!!
catcow1234 Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 Nice work. I'll be watching this one as it's a future build of mine
Paul A H Posted January 8, 2011 Author Posted January 8, 2011 I've installed the engine intakes and found the fit to be... interesting. There is a locating point at the back of each intake that the intakes have to fit into first. Then the other ends (front) of the intakes have to poke outside the lower fuselage piece but inside the splitter plate (for want of a better description). The walls of the main gear bays that are part of the intake assembly also have to line up. Naturally they don't line up very well; when one join looks ok, another will pop out. I think the lower fuselage is slightly warped, which would explain part of the problem. Anyway, with a bit of perserverence, glue, clamping and shouting JUST FIT! WHY WON'T YOU FIT?! the whole lots fits together eventually, although it looks a bit agricultural. I'll clean it up as best as I can though and I do think it was worth the trouble for the benefit of full-length intakes. On the outside, the fit of the joints between the intakes and the splitter plates (someone please correct me if I am using the wrong term) is pretty good, but by the time I had got mine to behave, the excess of glue made them look a bit messy. Fortunately, photos of the real thing seem to indicate there is a pretty smooth blend between these parts on the real airframe, so I've filled the joints and will sand them back to a smooth finish. There are a couple of ejector pin marks that will show up on the roof of the main gear bays, but these are easy to fill and sand down. Here are a couple of photos of the whole thing taped together for a test fit. Nice, huh? I'm hoping the intakes are the only fiddly part of the build. Once they, and the cockpit are in place, the fuselage can be buttoned up and the bulk of the hard work will be done.
Paul A H Posted January 9, 2011 Author Posted January 9, 2011 (edited) Having sanded down the ejector pin marks and the front intake roofs, the rest of the kit really falls together. The upper and lower parts of the fuselage fit together really nicely, although they have to be taped together while they dry to stop the seams popping out here and there. As mentioned above, I think the lower part suffers from a little warping. The stabilators and vertical tails just slot into place without any fuss at all. The vertical tails have two pins to hold them in place, but if the builder wishes to pose the tails deflected (the T-50 features all-moving vertical tailplanes) it shouldn't be too much trouble. The seams require minimal cleaning up - one of the benefits of the stealthy shapes that are a feature of 5th generation aircraft! The front intake covers are not glued in place in this picture, hence the gaps. Here's a close-up of the cockpit. The decals are ok, but I would definitely have preferred some raised detail in here, even if it were fictitious. Off to do some priming then, and a reminder to self to pick up some more Alclad grey primer if I go to the Milton Keynes show. Edited January 9, 2011 by Paul A H 1
davidsm Posted January 9, 2011 Posted January 9, 2011 Thats looking an interesting build. REally would mind getting on of them.
Paul A H Posted January 11, 2011 Author Posted January 11, 2011 The forward part of the canopy and the pitot tube have been added, and they really help the model to take shape - it's starting to look like the T-50 now! To compensate for the simplicity of construction, there is a nice splinter camo scheme for the (currently) lone prototype that requires a bit of masking and spraying. I've sprayed the light grey parts with Tamiya Sky Grey and the white parts with Tamiya Flat White with a dash of Sky Grey added to tone down the starkness. I know a lot of people complain about masking, but it's one of my favorite parts of the build. Weird, huh? 1
Robert Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Looking good Paul. It will be interesting to see how the completed model compares to the real thing. Robert
Mike Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 You're doing a lovely job so far Paul - looking forward to seeing the finished result
Smiffy Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Agree. Tis looking good. When I get around to doing mine, I'm thinking I may do it as time of first flight. Unpainted alloys and primer.
Paul A H Posted January 12, 2011 Author Posted January 12, 2011 No dramatic developments today, just more maskin' n paintin'. The dark grey is being applied now; I'm using Tamiya Dark Grey acrylic paint. As I type this, the dark grey pattern is finished, so I just need to mask and paint the unpainted engine areas with some alclad. I also need to paint the rear canopy and the undercarriage doors. I really should have prepared all these parts and painted them with the rest of the airframe, but I never seem to get organised enough to do that - I guess I just get carried away with the big bits! 1
Col. Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Enjoying the progress of your review build Paul and all the more so as you are making a cracking job of her.
Metallicus Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 cracking build! Nice to see something different for a change!
Paul A H Posted January 13, 2011 Author Posted January 13, 2011 More masking and spraying... I've painted the natural metal fuselage around the engines as well, in various shades of Alclad (well, two shades of alclad tinted with different Humbrol enamels). I'll either crack on with the undercarriage next, or do the decals. Probably the undercarriage so I'll have something interesting to write about! 1
Col. Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 Good effect on the engine areas Paul. Sure this thread is helping shift a few more Zvezda boxes.
Irishgreek Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 Love the work you did on the natural metal!
F111Fan Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 Oh, that is just fabulous! I don't care about the shape issues, I'm getting one of these when I go to Lowestoft in February!
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