Sukhoi Su27B "Arctic Flanker"

Russia’s answer to the F-14 & F-15 fighter jets, the Su-27 Flanker ushered in a new era of Russian military aircraft design, becoming one of the finest combat aircraft of its time. It was first introduced into service in June 1985 and since then the twin engine multirole fighter has been developed into many generational variants, some of which are still in use today. The plane boasts some astonishing feats, including a (at-the-time) record breaking rate-of-climb of 59,000 ft/min (1770 m/min)!

This model has been on my wish-list for a long time, basically ever since I got my hands on the F-14 I wanted to build its direct opponent as well. Despite the current world events, I opted to stick to my plan of the Russian arctic camo scheme, which formed the inspiration for all the USAF aggressor jets. The jet itself will be displayed in-flight and build straight from the box with only a minor cockpit upgrade; the focus will be on the paint work instead.

Gallons of Paint

Posted on October 29, 2022 by Niek Nijsen

She sure is a thirsty beast when it comes to paint. Obviously, I could have seen this coming a mile away. I mean when I first introduced this kit I mentioned the size of it, and somehow all of that needed covering at some point.

Well, that point has come (and gone) and I’m pleased to inform you that she’s now displaying her arctic camo close to how I envisioned it. Due to her size, I used primer from a spray can (still Mr. Surfacer 1500) which made quick work of the priming stage. Once that was dried, I began with the underside of the aircraft. Since I’ll be using a blue colour, I decided that instead of using black, I would use a brown tone for pre-shading, as it will be less “in your face”. I’ve got plenty of bottles left with versions of brown which were previously used for the King Tiger and Stuka projects.

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Oh dear, that's big

Posted on May 05, 2022 by Niek Nijsen

You’re probably thinking I already have enough models on my desk, which in a way is absolutely true. Then again, they’re all in a phase where for some reason I can’t get any further; they’re either in the waiting list for paint or I’m waiting on items to arrive before I can continue. So, I figured that since I wanted to build this model straight from the box, it would be a good time to put together the Flanker that I recently acquired.

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