This is the 1/48
Su-7BKL kit from Kopro. Currently, this small Czech company is the
only outfit that makes the Su-7 in 1/48 scale. I've read reviews on Kopro
kits and many of them were not positive. However, since one of my big
interests in scale modeling are cold-war era Soviet jets, I decided I had to
build this kit in Soviet markings.
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If you want to build this kit, gather some patience, time and a lot of putty.
To begin, there are ejection pin marks everywhere and flash needs to be removed
from at least half the parts. The biggest problem however is that nothing
in this kit fits. Putty is needed for the huge gaps between portions
of the wing supports and fuselage. In addition, putty is needed when
attaching the tail fin. There are other fit problems that are just too
numerous to mention here all of which require putty and/or gap filling
superglue. After the putty and sanding steps were completed, I rescribed
panel lines that were removed during sanding.
The cockpit is bare bones and the factory ejection seat looks like a box with
a shelf. Whether you have the canopy open or closed, I highly
recommend an aftermarket ejection seat. I fitted my kit with a 1970's era
resin Soviet seat from True Details. Add plenty of weight in the nose,
otherwise you'll have a tail sitter.
Model Master acrylics were used to paint the aircraft. 'Earth Red' and
'Dark Green' were applied for the camouflage pattern. RLM65 was used for
the underside color. Kit decals are nice and settle well into the recessed
details with Solvaset. I weathered the kit with an oil wash and pastels.
After much effort, this kit can be turned into
a fine model. I'm quite satisfied with the results and have a nice
addition to my Soviet cold-war era jet collection.
Eric
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