One of the more prolific Russian fighter designs of recent years also happens to be one of the largest. Sukhoi’s Su-27/30 series aircraft have seen numerous variants developed and deployed with many air arms around the world. Kitty Hawk has released a new kit of one of the latest variants, the Su-30MK Flanker C in 1/48 scale, which makes for a large model.
Kitty Hawk includes decals for five options from three air arms, although some research will be needed to verify their accuracy, given errors in the Venezuelan flag and insignia coloring. A packed sheet of stencil decals is also included. The big Sukhoi is designed with numerous open panels to reveal internal details like the cannon, engines, and radar. You’ll be on your own to arm your Sukhoi though, because no stores are provided. A fret of photo-etched metal (PE) provides seat belts and other details.
If you’ve built Kitty Hawk’s Su-27, you’ll see several familiar parts. In fact many sprues are marked “Su-27” because of the shared nature of the components. Beware, this leads to occasional errors in the instructions. For example, the wingtip rails are not mentioned or illustrated.
Cockpit detail is adequate. Decals detail all the panels except for the upper sidewalls. However, the decals aren’t mentioned in the instructions. I painted over the odd gray color of the displays with clear blue. The heads-up display comes as a PE frame with clear panels. The PE part was too wide, so I made new clear parts.
Full engines are included for the interior, too, with many accessories molded separately. You may wish to install the accessories as you mount the engines in the airframe to avoid guessing their alignment beforehand. I had to square off the recess in the fuselage to install the refueling probe base. Fit of the fuselage with all internals in place was very good.
I wanted to build this Sukhoi closed up to feature its sleek lines. As I test-fit parts, I determined that the kit is really designed to be built opened up because every panel or part had to be adjusted to fit closed. Want to model the airbrakes closed, be prepared to grind away nearly all of the airbrake interior and bay. Plan on much such work if you want any panel closed.
The Sukhoi features full intake trunking all the way to the fan faces. The instructions ignore the part number difference for the auxiliary air intake screen (Part B48) for the “open mode” suggesting use of the closed part (B47) for both open and closed. Test-fitting showed 1/64-inch needed to be trimmed from the rear of the internal trunk to allow the external intake shroud to mate correctly with the fuselage.
Once trimmed with a rotary tool, the intakes fit well enough. However, I was disturbed to see the starboard intake had a square opening for the main gear because of a molding defect. Out with the rotary tool again to reshape. Further examination showed missing axles on the main gear legs due to a molding problem. I have seen other kits that did not have these issues, so check your box for quality. More test-fitting revealed the horizontal stabilizer mounting holes are molded 1/32-inch too far forward to clear the fairings on the stabilizers. I removed material from the fairings to get them to fit. Undercarriage attachment fairings on the lower part of the intakes do not have positive location points, which presents difficulties when fitting the main gear later. The landing gear itself is sturdy and well detailed, after I added my own axles.
The canopy boasts numerous detail parts, including what I believe is a system for helmet-mounted sights (parts H6 and H8) placed in the upper center of the main canopy. My chosen version did not carry this equipment based on my references. Mirrors are included, but they have no definitive placement locations, which led to their loss when I mounted the canopy to the windscreen. (All but two now reside on the cockpit floor.)
I mounted tubular details that run along the canopy rail as far inboard as I could, but they still interfered with the main canopy’s fit. The windscreen, in contrast, fits well and should be mounted at the same time as the infrared search dome. The instructions show the windscreen mounted too far forward, but it is obvious from the parts how they assemble.
The huge vertical fins and fairings unique to the Su-30 were blessedly free from issues, with perfect fit to the gentle contours at the tail.
I settled on the very handsome Venezuelan three-tone gray scheme with the bright 5th anniversary markings. Web research suggested the colors called out by Kitty Hawk were too dark. I ended up painting with Hataka Orange Line colors – white gray (No. C154, FS36628), light gull gray (No. C048, FS36440), silver gray (No. C189, RAL 7001), with my middle gray color matching Kitty Hawk’s light gray. The tail colors are Hataka insignia orange yellow (No. C066) and Tamiya flat red (No. XF-7).
Unfortunately, as I was adding the nicely printed decals, I realized the Venezuelan national insignia and flag colors are incorrect: They should include blue, not black. The kit’s color profiles suggest the gear doors are red inside, but only the edges should be red. Unmentioned, the airbrake interior is red. Always check your references.
At just under 50 hours to build, this kit caused fatigue. It isn’t designed to be built with any optional parts in anything but their open position (at least, not without significant modification). You would do well to check the part quality in your specific kit to avoid having to correct poor molding. Depending on the scheme, you may wish to research markings accuracy prior to choosing an option. In the end, you can arrive at a nice looking Su-30, but be prepared to put in significant effort to get there.