My Third 2026 Completion - GWH 1/48 Su-27SK Flanker B

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
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Great Wall Hobbies 1/48 “Su-27 Flanker-B Heavy Fighter Service in China”

Started mid-June, completed 21 September. My usual three month project.

This is a large kit chock full of goodies. In addition to the basics the following are included:

Resin wingtip ECM pods, nose landing gear door, landing lights and slam antennae

Pre-cut canopy masks for inside and outside

Thin PE sheets for reinforcement plates

Machined metal nose probe

Four sheets of decals including stenciling in Russian ad Chinese

External stores include R-27ER (Sparrow equivalent), R-27 ET (IR and radar guided version), R-73E (Sidewinder equivalent, B-13L rocket pods (Lau-10 equivalent). Pylons, launchers And rails are also included.

Although some areas seem over-engineered, (each main landing gear consists of 12 parts, nose gear has 19 parts) the fit is exceptional with a few exceptions – primarily around the nose radome.

The only aftermarket parts I used are Quinta cockpit (because I always do) and Reskit exhaust nozzle (because I’m not a fan of gluing nozzles together from eight petals).

Decals for eight (8) aircraft are included with large color-printed finish and marking details included for each.

Lately I have started with external stores and pylons including assembly, painting and decals before starting the airframe.

Decaling took three days for external stores (144 decals) and five days for the airframe (297) decals. There are probably another 50 tiny decals (approximately 1mm diameter) that I left out. The decals are apparently printed by GWH. They are thin, flat finish with very minimal carrier film. There are a lot of decals but they are well organized on four sheets and the instructions are very specific.

I used Mission Models paint, primer and gloss clear coat followed by a finish coat of Liquitex Satin Varnish.

The result in an impressively large model. I have included a photo of the primed Su with a 1/48 ZM F-4C for comparison. All in all a satisfying build. Once completed, picking the model up without breaking something off is a problem. But it is safely in it’s box after the photo sessions.

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8 Likes
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Really nice job. It’s such a great looking airplane to begin with and you put an awesome finish on it. Your metal work on the engines looks very convincing. Well done. :clap:

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That’s a great looking model! The size comparison to the F-4 Phantom was surprising. I knew the Flanker was a large aircraft, but I had no idea it was big like Rodan!

2 Likes
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RealG
Of course the iPhone’s wide angle lens makes objects closer to the lens look larger, but the F4’s wingspan is 38 feet while the Flanker’s wingspan is 48 feet. Significantly larger.

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Exceptional aircraft in performance and its massive dimensions.
Takes me back when I and a friend on impulse bought us each a aircraft model, F-18 Hornet, while I got the SU 27 Sea Flanker from Tamiya in 1/72.
He kept commenting on homuch larger and longer that aircraft was compared with his own kit. Cool times. I like the Sea Flankers additional nose canards, makes it look better.

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Excellent work; really nice finish!

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Cafecrawler - I also like the Sea Flanker. I have the Kinetic Su-33 in my stash along with camo masks, aftermarket decals for Su-33s in Syria. I had to “borrow” one pitot from that kit when one for my GWH plinked into some alternate universe.

Some day I will get around to the Su-33. But not now.

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Take your time, mention of after market parts comes with care to application.

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That turned out beautifully.

What really surprised me was the size of the thing. I’m glad you included the photo with the F-4, because the Phantom is a pretty substantial aircraft in its own right, and seeing the Flanker sitting next to it really puts the size into perspective. I had no idea it was that big.

I also think you did an exceptional job on the engine areas. That’s not an easy finish to make convincing with all the different shades of metal, heat staining and discoloration, but yours looks very realistic. The weathering on the rest of the aircraft is nicely done too.

And 441 decals! After recently spending about 28 hours doing all the stencils on an F-4 myself, I can definitely appreciate what you went through there. :joy:

I thought your approach to doing all the external stores first was interesting, too. I usually use those as something to work on while I’m waiting for paint or glue to dry. I don’t normally put a lot of weapons on my aircraft, so for me it’s usually external tanks and things like that, but I can certainly understand wanting to get all of that tedious work out of the way first.

Really impressive result.

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Did you know the first batch of SU 27s were built from no less than %80 Titanium all round?
Not sure about all of the new manufactured aircraft in the series though.

1 Like