I just received the Trumpeter kit for review. I got started on this beast last night at a local Build and Bull session and what I see so far, I like. I have heard/read various threads on other sites about the shortcomings some have found like the spine, engines and canopy to name a few. I'm just tickled pink to see a 1/48 scale release of this kit. I will get better pics up of what I got done last night as soon as I can reshoot them. The lighting last night was not the greatest. I am hoping to have this bad-johnny complete in the not too distant future. Better pics and more info to follow soon. Stay tuned.
Thanks, "Q"
teaser shot-

Very cool Matthew!

I will watch closely and follow as soon as I get the kit

all the best

Steffen

As promised, a little more info and some better pics. This is a big kit. The box is the about the same size, and bigger in some cases, than some 1/32 scale kits. As I stated above, last night I was able to get the cockpit, ejection seats, forward bulkhead, radar, and wheels assembled.
Starting with the ejection seats- they are a multi piece effort, and look good once assembled, and should look better under paint. The shoulder straps look a bit light on deatail and might be better off replaced. The option is there.

The cockpit is somewhat basic, but again, should look the part once painted up and looks good with the seats installed. The IP can be handled two ways, with a decal or by painting the raised details on the panel. I might use a combination of both.


The cockpit fits well between the fuselage halves.

There is a nice radar included that would be a shame to cover up with the radome. Might just have to keep this area open.


The rear end or boat-tail was next. It is made up of 12 parts. There are some issues in regards to the engines being too far apart, and based on the pics I have found online, they are. Is it a game ender, depends on the builder. It won't be for me.

The nose wheel well is made up of 5 parts and was a bit tricky to assemble as it kept wanting to twist on me. Patience prevailed and I got it assembled and takced onto the bottom of the cockpit floor.

The refueling mast attaches to the forward most bulkhead and helps keep eveything in place and provide some backing for the ass end of the radar to mate to. The probe is also moveable and could be installed once building and painting was complete.


The last item I tackled were the wheels. The attaching points to the sprue were pretty good sized and I dinged my wheels up a wee bit. Hopefully I will be able to sand those areas out. It will be easy to paint them and then install rather than having to mask them.


Thanks for following along. More to come soon.
"Q"

What I have gotten done today is the complex landing gear assembly. The nose gear can be assembled either using the plastic part (H6) or use either M1 or M2 which are metal nose gear struts. The difference between the two struts is that one has a load to it and is compressed, and the other doesn't. I opted for the compressed one. I have a bit of seam cleaning to do yet on the nose strut as you can see in the pic.

The main gear legs are complex assemblies to say the least. When tackling these, it would behoove the builder to work on them one at a time as it is easy to get parts swapped around as I almost did it. Since the kit has some weight to it, Trumpeter included white metal inserts for the legs to help keep it from bowing over time. The white metal parts are trapped between the stryene legs. If you look closely at the pic, you cansee the white metal knuckle peeking out. There are lots of little doo dads to add to the legs, which I believe are various hydraulic fitting found on the 1:1 item. I will check my reference pics, but if so, it seems it would be a snap to add these lines and hook everything up at some point. The legs look every bit as busy as the real pics I have on hand.

More work and pics to follow as progress is made. Thanks for tuning in.
"Q"

Looking forward to this build, always liked the "Fencer". It looks a bit like a Russian version of the F-111. Ha ha Keep up posted. Russell

Homework be damned!! Work continues with the Trumpeter SU-24 Fencer. I got the main landing gear bay assembled and installed the swing wing function on top of them. The fuselage is split into four pieces; two aft and two forward that trap the cockpit. I learned long ago that it is easier to deal with just two sides than four. I glued the two forward pieces to the respective back halfs, then joined everything up dry for alignment. The rubber bands in the pictures are helping hold it all in place while things dry. I sanded down the thickness of the mounting plate for the afterburner cans as it was an extremely tight fit back there. A few figure 8's on the sanding pad and the fit was looser and much better. The seam on the bottom of this beast is going to be a chore to keep straight and clean up. I decided I will dress and clean the top portion first as this will be most visible once the build is complete and it is a really nice fit here which is nice for a change. When assembling the swing wing gears, ensure you do not glue the securing tab as it is really easy for the glue to ooze out and fuse the gears in place. Trust me on this one. I tore mine apart and let everything dry thouroughly. The tab/plate that my #11 blade is pointing at is the one I am talking about. Seems that this whole assembly will fit in the fuselage tight enough that there is no need for gluing it. Would have been helpful if this was mentioned in the destructions, but alas there is nothing there. So far this thing is going together well. I was pleased to see that the mad riveter has found employment elsewhere. The detailing on this kit is very nice and there is plenty of room for the superdtail minded to do what they would like. As you can see by the last pic, this is a hge plane for 1/48 scale. More updates to follow. Painting should commence soon as my sub-assemblies are just about done being built. Stay tuned, more to follow.
Thanks, "Q"

Thanks Russell. Yep, very similar to the Vark with those swinging wings. This is turing into a very nice build so far. Knock on wood.. Stay tuned for more. "Q"

I wonder who makes one in 72 scale? Russell

I think I've seen a 1/72 Fencer by Zvezda.
This 1/48 one looks cool though!

DML made a couple of them. I have one on my shelves. No comment on accuracy, but to my eye it looks like a fencer and is considerably less expensive than this 1/48 scale beast. I got a snow day from college so I am hoping to get some more done on this thing....maybe some painting. "Q"

I got a little more done on the Fencer this morning. I was anticipating getting some paint on her this morning too, but found out I had left my air valve open on my Co2 tank for quite some time and it was bone dry I assmebled the wings. Now, you can build this thing "Down and Dirty" with the slats and flaps deployed...and that is all you can do according to the instructions. You would have to remove the mountin tabs on parts C4 and C13 which are the leading edge slats and omit parts C12 and C3 which extend the flaps to configure it for the Swept and Sleek look. Seems odd that you can make the wings move for a swept look, but the slats and flaps are designed for down and dirty only. A minor hurdle if you want to go that route, but easy to do.

I assembled the intakes and installed them on the fuselage sides. I must have been tired when I put the forward fuselage halves together as I ended up with a small step/gap on the startboard side. I little flat sanding, blending and I was back in business. Everything blended in smoothly. I decided to add all the internals to one side to show how well everything fit together.

I then taped up everything to show how the wings can be be posed swept

or posed in the Donw-n-Dirty role.

I will have my Co2 tank refilled and get some paint on things this afternoon. Thanks for following along.
"Q"

Hi Matthew

man you are so fast ... incredible! and the beast looks pretty nice. i am really looking forward to get mine.

all the best

Steffen

Thanks Steffan. I got my Co2 tank refilled and got all the internal stuff painted and installed. I should be able to close up the fuselage halves tonight. The instrument panel was painted with the in russian interior green, then the decal was cut apart and placed on top of the IP. The cut potyions were then laid in. I decided to paint the consoles instead of using the decals as they didn't look all that great. Still lots to do, but with Spring Break and no school, I am hoping to get a lot done, if not complete this beast. More to follow. Thanks, "Q"

Dude, that kit really rocks so far. Lots of detail and a great subject. I hate you for getting it ...........but then again what you've shown us so far is WAY beyond what I would have been able to do. Cockpit looks awsome BTW.
Keep the pic's coming! Superb review man.


Hermon

Italeri make/made a 1/72nd Fencer. I used to have one but sold it to fund 1/32 models. It may have been a re-boxing of the Zvezda model...

But wait! There's more! The seams on this thing are quite long and I feel lucky I got them as close as I did. For whatever reason, the fit once everything was painted wasn't as nice as before and made for a rather labor intensive undertaking to line everything up. I had some hills and valleys on the bottom that no matter what I did, would not level out. I taped off the seam on either side and laid in a generous amount of red putty. If filled everything in nice a even. I'll probably have to go back in and fair things in, and overcoat the area with some Mr. Surfacer to seal things. The top seam was not nearly as bad, but I still had some putty to add here and there. Rather than take pictures of all of this, I shot it as it sits now on the bench curing/drying, The very tail end or boat tail, has two inserts on it; one top and one bottom. Neither fit well and required putty around the perimeter seam. Once dry and sanded, they should look much better. I will sand the entire plane with some 400 and 600 grit paper to smooth everything down, and then shoot a good primer coat to check for any further flaws. Thanks for looking and stay tuned. "Q"

Thanks for the kudos Hermon. The cockpit is really nice for OOB. About the only thing I would change would be the seats. Some resin goodies would really jazz the office up nicely. I'm hoping these seams don't kill the deal for me. Nothing I hare worse than seams screaming at me at every corner. Hoping I was able to knock these things down enough. Will find out tomorrow.
Thanks again for the kudos. "Q"

No update for today as I spent all day tearing out a bathroom in my daughters house. Hopefully I will something tomorrow. Thanks, "Q"

Made some more progress on the SU-24 last night. Attached the tail and a few assorted pumps and bumps on the bottom. Attached the wings and wing gloves. Added some filler to a few spots and began sanding out the lengthy bottom seam. Assembled some more of the landing gear doors too. Pics to follow shortly. I need to get some homework completed first or run the risk of some bad grades which I can't afford at the moment... lol.
Thanks, "Q"

As promised, pics of what additional work I completed last night. The pic I took of the tail came out really blurry, so I will reshoot that one a bit later. Here is where it stands as of today, 3/22/10. Thanks for looking.
"Q"
ps. I will explain the last pic in the review, but trust me on this...save the installation of these pieces for last, you will thank me later!

Superb work so far Q, and some really neat solutions to tricky fit issues.

, take a look at VonCuda's P-39 build in the Pin-Ups thread, and tell me that aint your favorite nose art ???

In fact, that would make a superb personal banner for you !!

Cheers, D

Thanks for the kudos Damian. I have that particular nose art for my P-39, multiples in fact. lol I never really paid much attention to the Q on the nose though. Very fitting. Thanks for the tip-off
Thanks, "Q"

I was wondering when Murphy was going to raise his ugly head and I didn't have to wait long. There are a few glitches in the instructions/parts relationships. First off, there is a small scoop on the port side intake that is supposed to mount into a recess on the intake. Look as I might, there was no recess.


I sanded off the lip on the scoop and glued it on flush.

Moving on to the wing fences I encounted another problem. The instructions show that there are four slots for the fences to mount to; two top, and two bottom. Again, search as I might, no slots. I thought I might have missed something earlier in the instructions about opening the holes and went back to check...nope, no mention of them. I could have handled this a couple of different ways. I'm thinking I should have gone the other route instead of what I did choose, and that was to remove the tabs from the fence parts and glue them on. I must have removed just a tad too much material as I ended up with a pretty noticeable gap when all was said and done. Mr Disolved putty to the rescue! In going the route I chose my port side wing fence is slightly "tweaked" I suppose I will have to live with it and not allow anybody to view the model from directly above Live and learn from my mistake folks. I should have used the fences as a template and went ahead and drilled the mounting slots out with my Dremel. What is that about hind sight???




The bottom portion of the wing fence/weapons pylon is very "Dragon-esque" meaning that it is made up of several pieces when it could have been made up of a single piece. Why it is like it is beyond me...


I also added a few various scoops and such to the spine. The one that is closest to the centerline had a horrible seam on it that I treated with some more disolved putty. It should fair in well once it all cures out.

The last item I added tonight were the wing gloves (which I improperly labeled another part on this build) ooops.

They are a vinyl like material and I could not for the life of me located them in the box as I was looking for gray plastic...well duh...here they are. I had to trim each one down slightly as they were just a tad too long to fit correctly. Each one was tacked down with some CA and then a more liberal dose was applied once they were in position. A small dab of kicker and they were good to go. There is a lot of little nit-noid parts left to add, but I am saving those for last as I don't want to knock them off during painting, and final assembly. Speaking of paint, it should be going to the paint booth for its initial primer work soon. Hopefully this week end. Thanks for following along and stay tuned. "Q"

Okay talk about feeling like a total dumb a**. I went back through the instructions again this morning, and low and behold there are the steps for each of the set backs I encountered. "Cut remove", and "make holes" are written plain as day on the instructions for the areas that needed it done. How I missed that is beyond me.....but I did. Suffice to say, whatever screw ups I've had with this build have been mine...this makes two builds in a row that this has happened......sheesh. Moving on.... "Q"

I know it does not help, but

"Been there, done that ..."

keep the spirit, your build it really motivating!

all the best

Steffen