Hasegawa Su-33

Hasegawa box art.

'Idolmaster' box art.

Upper and lower one-piece mouldings - the unprotected upper wingtips suffered damage in the box.

Note the split radome.

One of two weapons sprues.

Sprue D.

Clear parts.

Decal sheet with four options.

Idolmaster re-mould in lurid green plastic.

Idolmaster instruction sheet.

Massive Idolmaster decal sheet.

Cockpit tub with decals for instrument panels.

Flaps cut away for modification......

Poorly fitting airbrake.

Leading edge RWR aerial is too small.

Scratched 'Sorbtsya' ECM pod...

.... fitted to the wingtips.

Cutaway flap at top - cut into constituent parts with hinges and slots added.

Fitted in place on the trailing edge.

Horizontal stabiliser in the takeoff position. Note the thickness of side panels on the tailboom.

Tailboom side panels being made thinner.

Assembled and ready for painting.

Note the 'squareness' of the spine.

Underside view.

'Square' spine profile.......

..... compared to the Airfix kit.

Kit exhaust nozzle.......

Compared to Aires resin replacements.

Pilot from the spares box.

Finished model.

The colours are not quite right...

Scratch built blast shield.

Diorama with Su-33 'Hot to Trot'

Later photos using Trumpeter's J-15 deck section.

Ken Duffey

Oct 2016