Hello
Paweł Adamczyk, when we published the newsletter about the final stretch of the Tiger Su-22, decided not to wait and started building his model, and when we directed the decals to print, he already had the model ready to apply them. Together, we decided that this was a great opportunity to test this set in action before its release. Unfortunately, we did not avoid minor errors in the instructions, fortunately not significant, because elementary logic allows us to detect them.
Today we present to you the first (probably the most important) part of his article focusing on the biggest and most crucial elements of the Tiger painting, cutting through all discussions about whether it is possible and whether it fits ;)
SU-22UM-3K „707” TIGER 2017 Modelsvit 1/72
I bought the Modelsvita set some time ago and it immediately hit the wardrobe. Somewhere in my head I had an idea to make Fitter in Polish painting, but I was a bit discouraged by the fact that in the box there was a rather monotonous painting scheme for Black Boar from 8elt. The second thing was that it was a rather laborious and complicated model for this scale (one armchair consists of 25 parts).
The impulse came when I saw an announcement on ModelMaker's Facebook fanpage that the long-planned set with a beautiful tiger painting is just around the corner. I immediately started collecting photographic material and necessary additions to the model. When I finally dealt with the cockpit and the assembly of the entire airframe, I could finally start painting. For the camouflage I used a ready-made Hataka paint set from the Orange series dedicated to our Su-22 in the scheme that was used before repainting them in gray. The colors in this set reflect the real ones quite well, except for the C150 Blue-Green used on the bottom of the hull, which falls too much green, so I had to mix it with a bit of blue.
After reviewing the decal design, I decided to make my life easier and paint some areas on the airframe. First, with black glossy color FS17038 from the Bilmodel palette, I painted around the cabin with windshields and fairings and the hump behind the cabin to the place where, according to tiger stripes ended in the pattern. The next step was to paint the underside of the fuselage around the front landing gear compartment and around the landing light covers. In this case, I used the color 077 White PZL also from the Bilmodel palette.
When the long-awaited moment came and the set with decals came into my hands, I could finally start working. I received the test set without painting masks and instructions, but the excellent print quality and beautiful detail reproduction compensated for these shortcomings. The full kit for the Tiger gives us a huge field to show off to perform this original scheme. We can only use decals with all colors and stripes, we can paint our own colors with transitions from orange through yellow to white and put decals with stripes on the prepared surface or paint them from the masks that are part of this set.
Due to the fact that I did not feel strong enough to make such delicate color transitions on such a small area in 1/72 scale, I chose the first option. After some thought, I decided to start sticking the camouflage from the part marked No. 6, i.e. the tiger stripes on the hump behind the cockpit. At first I didn't know if I was doing it right because theoretically it would be easier to start from the front, but I fully trusted that everything was well sized and would fit.
I glued the mentioned part No. 6 by sticking to the edge of the rear cabin and the edge between the hump and the fuselage - the first cats behind the fences, it went smoothly. Now, however, the pressure increased because I had to face the longest element of this set, i.e. tracing paper marked with the number 5. I immediately knew that I would have to divide it into 3 parts so as not to make my life more difficult. I will immediately point out that the producer did not want to make us angry by making it in one piece. He just wanted to avoid shifts and color differences that would occur if they were different elements.
I divided this element into 3 more or less equal parts. I made the first cut in the place where the decal is the narrowest, the next one at the height of the rear cabin. I also started the application from the back and it's hard to describe the joy and relief that accompanied me when everything was nicely put together! The crowning achievement of this was the tiger head at the front of the fuselage at the air intake. I applied the other side in the reverse order, i.e. starting from the beak and ending with the hump. In this case, part 3 is also divided into 3 parts.
Then I started with the tiger motifs on the wing stabilizers. The inner ones are a piece of cake because we stick only 1 part (No. 14 or 15). A little more work awaits us with the external stabilizer where we need to stick 3 elements. I started with parts 8 and 8a (7 and 7a), i.e. those that are located on the vertical element of the stabilizer. A lot of attention should be paid when applying the decal with the number 8b (7b) which we place on the horizontal part of the leaf. You need to arrange it so that all color transitions match the decals on the stabilizer. Here in the manual there is an error, because the elements are swapped numbers, i.e. 7b to 8b and vice versa, fortunately, at first glance, you can see that something is not right here ;)
The rest of the elements of this sheet are nothing new for every modeller, although we can diversify our work a bit and, for example, paint the wing tips and elevators, the lower fin and the top of the vertical stabilizer with the appropriate shade of yellow and then use the sheet with only stripes. Finally, we add the squadron number, red and white chessboards (Pay attention to their proper placement according to the instructions!) and decals on the front cover of the chassis compartment. And so we can enjoy a beautiful scheme on such a beautiful machine, which is undoubtedly the Su-22UM-3K!
MY MOST IMPORTANT COMMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS DURING WORK:
1. It must be admitted that this is not a set for beginners and inexperienced modellers, although it does not mean that such people, with proper attention, will not be able to cope with this challenge.
2. It is important to perfectly match the first laid element of the main tiger motif on the sides of the hull and hump. If we pay enough attention to this stage, we can take care of the rest.
3. I treated each part pretty generously with decal softener. Personally, I use Microscale Set and Sol liquids, I don't know if they are the best but they suit me and I haven't tried others. You have to remember that we put quite large decals on the sometimes complicated body of the hull and you have to help them to adjust to various bends or protruding elements. In my case, I softened each tracing paper three times after laying, and finally, with a sharpened toothpick, I ran over all the deep parting lines of the model.
4. When arranging such large elements, it may sometimes be necessary to gently cut or puncture the decals to get rid of excess water or air from under them. This does not affect the final appearance because after drying such treatments are not visible.
FINALLY, I WISH EVERYONE A LOT OF FUN WHILE WORKING WITH THIS SET BECAUSE IT IS CERTAINLY WORTH ITS PRICE AND TAKE A LITTLE MORE TIME TO ACHIEVE THE RIGHT EFFECT!
Regards
Paweł Adamczyk