Trumpeter 1/32 SU-25 A Frogfoot

[BarryW]

This was an impulse buy. My original plan was to do the 1/48 HKM B17 after my Spitfire. But I read some good reviews of this kit and found one available. So here it is...

This is an ugly mud churner of an aircraft. The Russian equivalent of the A10, but it has some great colourful camo schemes, four with the kit. I am not an expert on modern Russian aircraft so I have a lot of research to do.

It has just been delivered today and I have not done any research, at all, not yet decided on a scheme or obtained any aftermarket or paints.

i have decided two things though: To try out one of the3D decal interior detailing set and, naturally, a set of canopy masks. These are now on order. The detailing set is on order from Russia so I am not sure how long delivery will be.Otherwise I think this might be an OOB build.

Scheme and paint next...

Anyway, to wet the appetite here are just a couple of pics...

The box is big and sturdy..


and it’s packed with plastic.


Tomorrow I will dig in and see what we get....

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Hey Barry,
Colour schemes? Look through some of the Czech aircraft over the years.
But if you want something that REALLy stands out, look up the 'Celestial Hussars'... At, least that's how their name translates.
That transfer sheet though... So. Many. Stencils!

 

[BarryW]

Hi Steve
I am minded towards a Czech aircraft. No decision yet.

 

[boatman]

WELL Barry id love to see it done in the russian colours but thats just my opinion
chris

 

[BarryW]

Here are the kits parts, spues labelled and ready..


I would guess that over half of the parts are weapons and pylons, all pictured here, labelled but in the box:


I have decided on the Czech scheme below, as I rather like the sharks mouth and nose art, not to mention the colourful camo scheme. I have been able to identify all the MRP colours needed which are now on order. It does mean taking a bit of a risk with the Trumpy decals but looking at the scheme the only real risk is the sharks mouth itself. Most decals are rather small so hopefully they won’t give too many issues.



Here is the bench, all set up ready....

Note the gaps for the new paint on order. For those interested I have ordered MRP032, MRP049, MRP164,165,166,167 and 168 plus MRP290. Those cover the cockpit, wheel wells, antenna covers and camo scheme.

As you can see there are a huge assortment of stores and I have been looking at builds and studying the types of stores carried. I noted that no pylons are included for the outer positions though holes are there! I have ordered a resin set for this.

my initial thoughts are as follows:

Inner to out - 5 positions each wing....
Fuel tank (every build I have viewed has one - but a gun pod is an alternative)
Laser guided bomb - KAP500L
Large unguided rocket - S250-K
Rocket Pod - UB-8M1
Air to air missile - Aphid

If anyone has any suggestions or comments they would be welcome, specially if you have some knowledge about SU-25 weapon load-outs.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Looks a bit of a thug doesn’t it. Looking forward to you waving your magic wand at this one.

 

[BarryW]

I will not be able to do a great deal while I await the detailing set and paints but I will start pulling together the stores tomorrow.

I did do a test fit of the large fuselage sides. Perfect, just perfect. The Trumpeter plastic is so much better suited to larger models than Revell or Airfix simply because it is much less prone to warping. I have a feeling that this will be a great build.

 

[therapy]

Wow Barry! You have so much space and all in one place!

Nick

 

[BarryW]

Wow Barry! You have so much space and all in one place!

Nick

You need space for large scale kits. It is just one end of my garage. The missus restricts me to it!!!!

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Barry,
That must be the most well laid out workbench I have ever seen...
You can go off people, y'know!

According to some photo references I have, the outermost fifth pylon usually carries an air-to-air missile, for self-defence. Also, be aware of what ordnance and stores the Czechs do, and don't use - they do have some unique items with detail differences - my references are not good on specifics though

 

[BarryW]

Barry,
That must be the most well laid out workbench I have ever seen...
You can go off people, y'know!

According to some photo references I have, the outermost fifth pylon usually carries an air-to-air missile, for self-defence. Also, be aware of what ordnance and stores the Czechs do, and don't use - they do have some unique items with detail differences - my references are not good on specifics though

Thanks Steve
I have done several searches and have a problem with definative answers. I will prepare ahead a variety of ordnance and keep it under consideration.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
Enjoy your builds and with a name like Frogfoot I can't miss this
Jim

 

[BarryW]

Paints and aftermarket for this build are starting to drip in.

while waiting I have been working on the stores below. I will prime these tonight and the colours for them have arrived.


I am am still debating between the fuel tanks and gun pods.

Worth adding that fit is excellent.

 

[Dave Ward]

Barry,
I have the 1/48 KP Premium Su-25K in the stash, and that has a pretty comprehensive chart showing all the iterations for weapons loads on the real aircraft. The outer pylons ( called 1 & 11 in the chart ) only carry R-60 AAM. Problem is with the chart, it calls the weapons by their Russian names, ie PTB-800, Ch-25, SPPU-22 etc, but the plastic parts aren't named in the assembly instructions and there aren't that many, either. The finish variations in the KP kit are North Korean, Ukrainian, Luhansk Peoples' Republic (?), and Czech.
If you would like, I'll take a picture of the chart tomorrow & post it - my scanner is defunct!
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

Barry,
this is the armament chart:

All you need is the Russian designations for the weapons!
Dave

 

[BarryW]

That is brilliant Dave. I will be able to cross reference with the Trumpy instructions and work that out when I get it on a bigger screen. Many thanks.

 

[Dave Ward]

That is brilliant Dave. I will be able to cross reference with the Trumpy instructions and work that out when I get it on a bigger screen. Many thanks.

No problems - if you have difficulty reading it, PM me your email address, and I'll send you a larger .jpg file, or even a .pdf file
Dave

 

[Jakko]

All you need is the Russian designations for the weapons!

The real problem, of course, is that too few sources use these, and stick to Cold War NATO names even when the proper Russian designations have been known for decades.

 

[BarryW]

Fortunately the Russian designations for most of the ordnance ties in with the instructions. However some of the ordnance identified in the chart are not provided while items are provided that are not in the chart. But it does give me a good idea of the mix of load-outs that were used, combined with some Googling.

I have settled on these so far:
Fuel tanks on the inner pylons.
Aphid R-60 ‘s on the outer

I am minded that the other three items on each wing are:
UB-8MI - rocket pod
KAB-500L laser guided bombs
S-250L large rockets

I might instead use ZM-500 or S-24B bombs or perhaps FAB-100 x 4, the KAB-500KR and S25-L are also options I am considering.

decisions, decisions....

still waiting for key components, the Quinta set in particular, in the post from Russia.

 

[BarryW]

The am below has arrived:

yes, I know I intended mainly a oob build but I needed the pylons as no outer pylons are in the kit and the pitot tubes are very prominent....

The Quinta studios 3D detailing set is still on the way from Russia and it is that which is holding up the build. Incidentally, I see that Hannants are stocking these with this set costIng £29.99. I ordered mine from Russia at a cost, including postage of a little over £32. John.... it would be great if you could stock them, much prefer to source from you!!!!! I am really looking forward to see if these sets are as good as they look....

Anyway I have been working on the stores, painted them and applied decals.

These being Trumpeter decals, they are crap. They often get them wrong, colour and detail included but the worse characteristics of them is illustrated below: A tendency to splinter into many pieces and poor colour registration.


The good news is that I saved it and pieced it together without it completely falling apart.


Nothing I can do about that registration....

Long thin decals are always problematical. There were five to go around each laser guided bomb. Splintering meant trying to apply four, then three per bombe, then - well I simply gave up on them. No good at all.

No massive problems with any of the others though the Aphid missiles need some touching up with black paint.


Above they are waiting for decal solution to dry.

When it comes to the main decals I will use some liquid film to try to give them some strength. It is the shark mouth that might be the more problematical.

I still have to apply a varnish coat over the stores and apply some weathering. Hopefully, by then, the Quinta set will have arrived. If not I will build the engines which won’t be seen.....