1/48 Sukhoi Su-7BKL 'Fitter'  

by Eric Hargett

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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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Photos and text © by Eric Hargett