1/72 Pioneer Sukhoi Su-15TM Flagon 

"Red 17"  

by Rodrigo Rejas V.

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A little history:  This Flagon was involved in a confusing incident during 1983, when the Major Osipovich shot down a KAL's 007 flight that have invaded the russian air space, out of any reason apparently. Some data says that some recognize USAF aircraft was following the radar trace of the KAL's 747 to keep them cover, but when the Russians noticed them, they sent  a pair of Flagons to intercept them within the GCI procedure. After all this tragedy, this Su-15 was known as the "red 17".

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The kit: This Turkish brand comes with a basic kit of this aircraft, in a soft-grey molded plastic. The overall shape is ok, but has an error in the intakes (the outer wall doesn't have the right angle). The canopy is ok. The decals are very poor and it shape isn't good enough. The pieces fit ok and I did a regular sanding job. The cockpit is very poor too, so I did some improvements over the ejection seat, like the seat belts and ejection tips.

The painting: I used Humbrol enamels and my airbrush to do the job. First I painted all the kit in black. Next I sprayed 2 layers of metal nș191. To make a more realistic appearance, I painted some of the panels in different shades, adding a few drops of blue, black and red over the primary 191 color, and then applying it very thinly over the surface. The panel lines where enhanced using a 0,3 mm pencil. Then I sprayed a coat of satin barnish to protect and seal de job.

Decals: As I said, the kit decals are very poor. So I decided to do my own ones. First a friend of mine let me borrow his Amodel's Su-15 decals so I could scan them in high resolution. Then in Freehand software another friend "drew" them and finally, I printed using the Testor's kit. The result was simply great!

Finishing the model: Finally, I did a little weathering over the surfaces applying a very thin black chalk powder using an old brush. A coat of sealant did the final job to protect the decals and weathering.

Well, I hope you'll enjoy this kit as much as I do  ;)
 
Regards from CHILE,
 
Rodrigo ,  "BlackLight"

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Photos and text © by Rodrigo Rejas V.