:D

ok My 2nd build for the GB
and with the amount of modification i'm nt sure if can finish in time for the GB.. but i'll surely try my best... :D

Subject
As the title suggested SU-30MKM as ordered by our TUDM.
Since we have no idea what it would look-like.. so my reference will the India's SU-30MKI which have quite a few reference on the net already..

Painting
As this has not been confirmed by TUDM, i'll follow as what being proposed by Scale NUtz... a Green + Grey Splinter camo.. since i believe this is the MOST appropriate scheme for any Su-27 family (see i italized "believe", my opinion only :D )

i hope my choice of paint scheme wont violate the Merdeka GB objective and rules since some minght consider this to be a "what IF " scheme thus not appropriate for the GB.. if this is the case.. do let me know... :D since it would be a few months before i can paint this but as of today.. Splinter Camo it is.. :D

Kits
- MiniHobby Su-27UB 1/48 scale

Decals
- Scale Nutz "Bonus" decal that came with their TUDM MIG-29 decals

that's it for now...

the first picture will be the box shot.... will update in abit with more shots...



Enjoy!!!

kuman

OK..

as promised...

here are the first couple of pictures from the work during the weekend..

ohh this kits is a copy of Academy kits... a poor copy that is.. so no PE parts etc.. so the PE parts are being replace with plastics replacement...

i started the build with the intake... since i havent decide on what to do with the cockpit yet...

The FOD
in Academy kits.. this will be in PE.. but with this MH kits.. it supplied with a plastics..a poor replacement..

the size a bit small .. so i fix some plastics card in there and it become complete again.. ohh noted that my mod doesnt have the "jaring-jaring" effect to it :(
maybe i can put some small jaring (wire mosquito net) on the plastics card to simulate this... hmmmm ideas idea.. :)



the FOD inside the intake..


Behind the FOD, tused to support the extension.


somehow the nacelle will not fit well with the underbelly of the craft.. so i need to do something to make it expand to the underside appropriately... so as u can see here.. i used some sprue and thick plastic-card cut to size tosupport the intake end..


thats it for now..

kuman

You sir, are a very brave man... looking forward to see your build.

Kuman,
Go for the defence grey scheme, you wouldn't regret a single day mate. Trust me?! ;)

Kuman,

Just a suggestion though, rather than putting the mosquito netting on the addded plastic card, I would advise you to get the wire netting and replace the whole grill. Just cut the plastic card to the size of the intake and glue the wire netting onto it. By doing this you will have a better and more alligned grill.

Just my two cents though... :D

defence grey scheme? is that the same color as the FA-18 i saw last week? or a lighter shade of it? can provide the color code Brutus. If it is the same color, then i "might" consider and taking ur word for it.. ;)

masterqq
well. brave can even begin to describe my horror/nightmare when i dry fit the 2 fuselage halve together last nite.... scary mis-aligned.... this sure will be a VERY long session of putty-sanding-putty-sanding-party :D

druid

- that what i mean.. wire netting... :D
but instead of readily have that at home..i have a plastics netting instead - like those they use on the kitchen cabinet... so u sed thatinstead just to see how it would look-like... more below.. :D

================================

UPDATE

-as i mentioned earlier.. last nite i get a lil busy with the plastics netting and plastics card. and attached are the results....


- Side by side comparison between the original "mesh" and the custom made one... obviously the center part is the new one.. :D



- How the new one fit inside the intake.. fit very nicely



- The overall parts & stuff for the whole assembly... notice i already finish both of the "mesh"...




==============

Which is better guys? i do think it does look better than the original ... maybe after spraying it would looks much better...

any suggestion guys?

thanks and enjoy

kuman

It's not the same color as the F-18D though, it's the same color of the present MiG29. I wouldn't know which FS number as I've never build a Malaysian MiG yet. :P

Kuman,

Medium Sea Gray is a good match... H335

:lol:
UPDATES
- ok.. now that the plane already been officially handled over to TUDM... i can continue my work...
- tp my suprise... luckily i didnt continue on it as what i intended to do last time. else it would be a total waste since the final MKM "physical" configuration is VERY different from the one i intended to make... with all those bump & humps & antenna... a lot of scratchbuilding although a small ones only...

-The IFR location
i end up making the hole in the fuselage instead then only i realized it not suppose to be a hole after all.. just a lil bit of "deepen" area for the probe... so here is what i got...missing is the probe itself.. which i'm thinking of using a brass wire for it...


Cockpit area
- Lucky for me i didnt seal the cockpit in the fuselage yet before i can see the final layout... now the cockpit is modified to look at least 10% similar to the MKM cockpit. :) this is going to be a closed cockpit afterall.. so this is where it stands.. :D
- the plastic strip also added in the cockpit to seal the gap there (darn MHM kits:D )


Inside the fuselage
- Just a "bonus" view of the inside of the fuselage.. those plastics strips is used to hold the cockpit in place since i find out that the original holding/glueing place for the cockpit is very "fragile"


that should be it for now... last nite i manage to join the upper and lower fuselage together after a few "brute force" methods...

the tail also modified already... more pictures in due time.. :)

enjoy

kuman

Wah..... nice progress so far...and "brute force" methods... fitting teruk sangat kah?

Updates
- Ok again this is taking shape already.. since now i got all the parts (at least most of it :D)
dry fitting the "shoulder" for the canard on the fuselage...

enjoy the pictures below.. :D

Parts Layout
- The "white" thing on the side is the initial sheet to make the canard shoulder... but at last it proved to be useless with my scratch building skill :( so i settle with the "donated" canard & shoulder from my Kitech SU-35 parts...
- next is ti putty the shoulder to the fuselage.. later tonite (i hope)



The Nose
- This si the nose that was "kemek" i posted in the earlier thread.... it seems thatthis fits nicely but the sahpe is a bit off at the bottom.. so i think i'll need to sand it a little-tiny-small-bit only....



i applied some putty alerady on the rear end as well..

more soon.. :D

enjoy..

kuman

Looking good there Kuman. You're right about the plane needed a "nose job" though. :lol: Looks wierd with the current nose.

UPDATES June 12, 2007

Finally.. after much much much sanding & puttying... i manage to get the canard-shoulder in place and align to the fuselage like i want it to be... i'm not sure how many layer of putty i used but i figure maybe half of the Tamiya tube already gone :D

Canard-Shoulder
- underside view



- topside view



- After application of Mr Surfacer 1000 to check for miniscule "oddities" and it seems there's still a few more need to be iron out.... errr can i just use the Surfacer to "tampal" those small small holes?



====================================================

Bumps on the FOD side
- hmm this is tricky....
i dont know what to use to make these bump/antenna on the intake side.. but i try using the sprue tree and sanded to shape.... luckily the bumps are small.. so i think my so called scratchbuild will be ok... need to add a lil bit of the small sheet to make the thing on the top of the bumps...

- To make way for this new "bumps", the original "wing" on the FOD need to go...

- As you can see the one closer to you already got the "wing" removed.. the one on the backl is next.. :D

- Here are the bumps after much sanding


- The bumps on the intended location
- and i still need to sand it a lil bit more once the glue dried, and need to add a very tiny bit of putty to make it "blend" with the FOD




The TVC Nozzle
- this one also tricky... but luckily some one in ARC gave / show the way to position the nozzle so we have the drop-rest-feature of the TVC nozzle.
- i'll let the picture do the talking :D

- Initially, i put some plastics sheet in the gap to make as a base to the putty later on


- they i putty the whole thing to make it conform to the fuselage.. of course.. more sanding and ptyying afterwards...
- also i cover the nozzle so that i dont have to scribe the engine back later on and to avoid unnecessary accidental putty.


Question
Before i go i want to asked 1 question ( i think i already asked it above) :D
-errr can i just use the Surfacer to "tampal" those small-small holes after i've done puttying & sanding?


that should be it for now...

until next update which would consist the following
- sanding the nozzle+fuselage join
- preparing the wing ailerons (is this what they call those little-movement-on the front of the aircraft wings thingy?)

nJoy :D
Lan/kuman

Nice progress... kuman. keep it coming.

You can use Surfacer 500 as filler. It shrinks a little though so watch out for that.

Alternatively, you can try using superglue. Dries faster but don't wait too long as it will become harder than your plastic.

Good luck :)

BTW, how come you're not using Academy's UB as a base for mods?

thanks... i only have Surfacer 500 at my disposal.. so i guess this will have to do for now. :(

and imran did suggest for me to use finer grit sandpaper to sand away the tiny holes etc... i'll tryt hat as well..

as for the big question WHY MiniHobby? apparently this MiniHobby SU-27UB is the only one i can afford to test my skill on... at the asking price tag for the academy (during that time) i was turn-off by the idea of modding it... since this one is a copy of Academy ones anyway (minus the PE and rubber tyre).. so this will have to do for now.. :D

thanks for the input guys.. :D

kuman

Updates June 15, 2007

aiseh... more updates from this guy you might think... :D

ok just minor ones today.. since my neighbour is goping to have a wedding ceremony tomorrow so last nite was a lil bit busy helping them out thus resulted in minor updates today.. :D


anyway...

Canopy
- i had to remove the original IRST from the screen since its not suppose to be in front of the screeen instead to the right of it...

Before



After



- and my canard shoulder still receiving its dosage of a few layer of Surfacer 1000 to remove all the tiny2 holes there :((

====================================================
Questions
Canopy Sinkhole



How to remove this sink hole? anyone can give me some pointer? i was thinking of using a white glue got better ideas guys?

thanks

kuman

Bro, use CA. It's fast and effective. Mr.S1000 is good for fine scratches but not for filling holes.

The canopy sinkmarks are on the underside of the sill. Probably won't be obvious once paint is applied. You are doing closed canopy right? Maybe just fill with future if you want but there's not much else you can do about it unless you want to remove it by sanding. Note that if you sand, the canopy might not fit flush anymore...

Kuman... I can see a lot of good modeling skill and technique you used on this kit, surely I think you have advance from the rookie to skill modeler, by completing this kit, you won't have any problem to build any other kits in the market..

And how you remove the original IRST, the separation look very clean..

Kuman,

Looks like you're making good progress. Got the decals yet?

I'm with PoohBear on the windscreen ejector pin marks. It won't be visible once you've painted up the frames, so I'd suggest leaving it as is. If you insist on filling, go with super glue, as is sands smooth as plastic and clear as plastic once polished too. Do not use accelerator, though, cos it can turn the CA yellow (not a problem if not used on a clear part.).

CA= gam gajah right?

when i refer to tiny holes i'm refering to this tiny holes


maybe Surface 500 will do a much better job.. ;)

and yup.. mine will be closed canopy since i dont think i'm able to do anything with open canopy yet.. :D and i'll follow your instruction here and just fill the little sink hole there with some future.. and you're right abt sanding it.. might create a whole new set of problem already...

masterqq

- this the most modification i even did on a model.. and there's still "puluhan" mod that need to be done.. all those bumps etc :( hope there's enough time.... :(

as for the original IRST removal, i used the normal cutting blade (RM1 /piece ones) with a new blade and just scrape the pieces bit by bit... but stop before it actually level with the base canopy..

then i take out my 1000 grit sand paper and sand away.. again bit by bit since this is a very small section of the canopy... but i'm still not really pleased with the end result... i guess its time for some good'ol polishing to really remove the IRST mark there.... again.. the first time for me.. :((

there's more work to be done on this canopy alone... :blink: more headache coming

kuman

Careful when doing this as superglue fumes can fog clear parts.

Yes, gajah superglue. :)

Aidy

yup aidy.. i got the decals.. thanks.. :D good ooking decals i must say.. :D

poohbear

thanks for the heads up... hmmm this got me really worried... hmmm maybe i'll just leave it a lone for now.. :D

i think the Gajah Glue will give me a lot more headache in terms of handling them.. :D

thanks guys.. keep the comments coming..

Lan/kuman

Good Morning....

another round of update from me... :D

Updates
- i'm a bit concern about the front canopy section of aircraft... so last nite i did some trial using some bluetack.... what do you guys think of it.. should be ok? i need some suggestion .. :D

Mine

Real one


here is another view of my "blue-tack"ed canopy..


Nose Job
- Below is the layout of the nose radome...i'll need to work on the radome as it seems that the one i have is totally out of spec compared to the one on the background...

** more update on this one as well.. :D sanding already started on the nose..

Canard-little front wing
- i have to scratch build this since the one i have from other kit is just too big an too thick.. so i used a plastics sheet and cut to size... :D
- what you see here is fresh out of sanding factory... later i'll stick it to the fuselage.. but for now i guess this will do...



**note that the one on the background is a bit smaller.. :D


Room
- After a few nights working on this MKM now my room is a mess ..
ohh and i work in the floor... somehow the table dont really enough to all the work needed to be done.. :D and thanks to the Japanese Table aslo.. makes cutting plastics sheet much easier.. :D




- and the SAAB antenna under the fuselage also already been worked on using plastics sheet as well.. but somehow forgot to snap pictures for you guys.. :D

-- Any suggestion is is welcomed on the look of the canopy above....

thanks guys..

Lan/kuman

Kuman,

A professional advise here.... Do not use Blue Tack to add details on model kits!!! hahaha... just kidding...

I think it looks ok but you still need to correct the nosecone though... it looks very strange comparing to the line drawings... It looks like it has a bulge under the nose lah...

Just my two cents though...

Updates

just some minor ones only... been busy sanding and puttying the intake join to the fuselage underside...

front SAAB Antenna
- completed the front underside antenna and fitted to the MKM already... as you can see.. there are gaps that need to be taken care off... maybe some glue in there would fix it...
- also the 2 forwarding Radar also fitted already..





Front Landing Gear
- also find out that the front landing gear is screwed... so need to modify the existing one.. since i dont think my skill with scracthuilding is "workable" at the moment.. so i'll do some minor ones like adding wire etc...



Intake Cover
- I also decided to close the intake as per delivery picture.. so need to scratchbuilt that as well... below is the cover not yet finish of course.. still need to add the handle and those circle-ly patten on it as well...



Nose Cone
- Nose also done.. from my eyes it seems to be ok... what do you guys think?
or maybe i need to add "ketajaman" to the nose to match the picture hmmmm




Mishap
- ohh when trying to handle the wire to fit to the landing gear... i accidently have a lot of those CA (gam Gajah) all over my fingers... since its a 3 seconds glue... so i end up the next hour scraping the glue off my fingers using the knife.. ouch... so becareful with it guys.. :D

as usual .. all comment's are welcomed guys and really need any pointer as well..


Lan/kuman

Kuman,

Not to be the pain in the behind now but I still think the nosecone looks a bit wierd. It looks like there is a bit of bulging on the other side of the nosecone (the one beside the landing gear.

I would suggest you to cut some plastic plates according the shape of the drawing and rebuild it to the corrected shape.

It's just my opinion though. It's up to you in the end. ;)

As for the gaps on the antenna, rolling a tiny bit of Bondite under there will make your life easier than putting superglue because it's a very big gap there (from the pictures lah).

Kuman.... Pulun...Kuman.... nice progress so far..

Oh yes, can you pass me that line drawing after you finish building later..

Nice to see some progress.

Lan,

To save yourself the hours of scraping superglue from unfortunate fingers, keep some acetone handy. Acetone will dissolve the superglue so you don't have to slice off a layer of skin or two. Before someone tells you to get nail polish remover, please be aware that many nail polish removers are now acetone-free. Be sure to check the label.

About the radome, it should actually be symmetrical. The 'bulging' of the underside of the real thing is an optical illusion sort of effect, as the shape and angle relative to the horizon makes it look like the slight bulge is there.

Kalau rajin, I'd say go with druid's suggestion of rebuilding the radome.

Thomas,

You can get some SU-30 (though not MKM) drawings from airwar.ru which I think are 1/72 scale. Enlarge to by 150% to get 1/48.

imran... as a friend once said ".. no pain no gain.." :D

thanks for the suggestion on the nose job... at this stage i would be lucky if i can finish this in 1.5months time until we hit the Merdeka GB... :D but.. i might get lucky and then i'll work on the nose as you and aidy suggested.. :D

.. the gap.. i was thinking of forcing some of the Green Putty in there.. but i guess the Bondite solution would be good also.. will try that one tonite... :D

Aidy
- should have told me yesterday about the acetone.. :D but no worries.. i did lost a few layers of skin.. but all already removed and i end-up with a red fingers and palm.. :D
- next time .. i'll take note to spare some acetone.. hmmm i do have nail-polish-remover.. need to check the label then.. :D

masterqq
- pulun is the capital word that my daughter told me as well when she saw me walking to the modelling room...

her exact words ... .." tu dia.. abah pulun.. abah pulun, sampai ketaq-ketaq kepala.." followed by a giggles :D :D ...kids these days.. :D cant live without them.. :D


thanks guys.. will try my best..

Lan

Another Round of Updates

last nite i manage to finish the upper SAAB Antenna and again i used the "stacked-placard" method to make the antenna...

its already been fitted to the fuselage but need to fill the gap below it first.. usign the method suggested by Imran..



Lower antenna
- The gap has been filled last nite.. need a bit more touch-up to make it fit.


Flaps or is it ailerons?
- since the kit provide option for a "down" flaps.. i'm going to make full use of it...
- 1 side of the flaps...


thats it for now.. enjoy the weekend guys.. :D

Lan

Hai Kuman,

Very good effort.....you really go for it ...keep it up. :)

Can't wait for finishing product. :).Hope can share some tips with you when come to painting and finishing, if you don't mind :)


dremel

:D :D

thanks very much dremel for the kind words... :D

sure..sure.. any help/tips during my painting job is much appreciated since my painting using Abrush still in the noobie stage.. :D

even at the current build stage also i could use some pointers and tips as well..

thanks guys..

Lan/kuman

Kuman, what substances that you use to make all those rivets & panel lines look nice & convincing?




I hope 1 day someones will come out with a Su-30MKM conversion set for Academy kit just to cater a lazy modeller like me. :lol: anyway nice progress bro!

musangpulut
- thanks for the kind words...

well for the rivet and panel.. it came with the kit... i personally dont think i got the "eye" to scribe the panel lines and make the rivet myself.. so i just settle for what ever panel & rivets that came with it.. :D

the reason that rivets is so "pronounced" because i initially thought that i can paint the engine first ... but later i decide that i need to polish the surface first... this leaving those in the rivet hole...

the reason for surface polish/sanding because the surface is rough... not fitted for an elegent fighter like this MKM..

ohhh yes.. i have to agree... someone need to come-up with the MKM conversion.. :D i dont think i'll be able to produce another MKM like the one i'm working on...

Lan/kuman

chayal en Kuman, model kit ni dah macam Hase quality... cakap MHM pun orang tak percaya.

Updates July 5th 2007

well.. i'm back with minor updates again..

after watching TRANSFORMERS yesterday.. got really inspired to do modelling after seeing those F-22 & A-10 in action... although it has nothing to do with SU-30MKM... well who hasnt watch it yet.. GO NOW!!...

ahem...ok back to topic....

Nose weight
- This kit is going to be a mjor tail-seater if i didnt put anything in the nose to balance it since i used quite a lot of putty and stuff on the tail section.
- so in the nose i used 2 "fishing weight" + 1 aquarium stone (the white one in the picture) + a couple of nails although the nail is a bit rusty and ir eally hope using this rusty nails wont make me regret using it later on...
- also regarding the nails.. i hope this wont trigger any alarm in airport if i were to transport this kit via plane :D
- the picture..


- the weighing/balancing process.. :D very traditional...:P



Flaps & Sidewinder thinggy
- the flaps is complete plus tonite i'll attached the ailerons also..
- the sidewinder thinggy will undergo sanding tonite to make it smooth join.




Rudder
- is this what they call for the thing on the vertical tailfin..?
- also (hopefully) will be attached tonite.... but i think i'll fit the tail fin last since i'm going to paint the engine first (errr i also think i already mentioned this somewhere earlier)
- pictures...





NEXT!!
- so tonite i'll glue those nose to the fuselage and start adding putty to it to make it level with the fuselage.
- Rudder & ailerons(??) will ne fitted at the respective place also.
- Hopefully i can get this ready for the weekend Surfacer treatment...

as always... this "thread" in serious need of your guys feedback.. and will not self destruct if you do... (..need to add this with the tone from Mission Impossible 3... which i just finish watching over the weekend :D )

thanks guys

Lan/kuman

wah .. sakan betoi MKM hang... coming along nicely.. :D

Found this link where the modeller is doing a Su30 MKM and MKI conversion... in 72nd. :)

Let me know if this has already been posted before...

You might want to confirm if the SAAB antenna on the spine is installed crosswise like you did or length wise like he did. I'm not so well versed in this bird to tell either way. :P