I finally found and ordered an Su-26 kit. Seems like such a scarcity of these civilian aerobatics in plastic scale kits. (why?? IMO they are the coolest kinda plane of all!) It is my very favorite airplane. In 1/72 scale no less so scale matches my Su-32/34 and Su-47 models, sweet. And since it's fixed gear I won't need a stand, YAY.
I understand that the A-model kits aren't great. Anyone ever build one of these? How did it work out? Any advice? I'll also be glad to have any advice on getting a good paint job on such a tiny model.
I did it some years ago. Well, it's a short run kit so this means some flash, soft plastic and some grossly oversized parts that must be replaced (such as the wind balance triangles). Anyway the basic airframe components are there so it's just a matter of filling and sanding :)
The panel lines are overdone, so are best filled (usually aerobatic planes are so clean that you can barely see them). The "clear" parts are not exactly crystal clear, but they are usually tinted "smoke" so this helps hide the problem. I used tamiya smoke and it turned out like the real thing. Also I suggest you to open the holes for the side windows and add some rod inside the fuselage.
The decal sheet is so-so. But there are some nice schemes you can do using decals from the spares box. I did a white/red scheme using stripes from a solid red decal sheet (for the smaller stripes) and red paint for the bigger ones. A lot of masking, but then the results are very nice.
The only "big" problem is that the kit is a kind of hybrid between the prototypes and the production planes. The prototytes had slots in the engire cowling, while the production planes have small exhausts and also the windshield is a little different. If I remember correctly the kit has the production windshield with the prototype slots (however it's not too difficult to make "production" exhausts with some plasticard, and then you can make a lot of different paint schemes).
As almost all paint schemes are white and another color (usually red or blue) I suggest you first of all to prime the model (with either a light gray or better a white primer) then add the white and the other color. To get a super gloss look, if you are using an acrylic paint as final clear coat I suggest you to spray a light overcoat, wait some
5-10 minutes and then add an heavier one, then wait another 5-10 minutes and add a "wet" one. This way the underlying paint is still "gummy" and so you can spray a "wet" coat with less risks of paint runs. Of course try first on a spare model....
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