Background

The Sukhoi Su-24 “Fencer” has been in service with the Russian air forces for over 40 years. It is a rugged, variable wing sweep bomber that is easy to fly and well-liked by the two-man crew. A number of kits have been produced of this aircraft and recently, the Advanced Modeling company has released some decal sets that depict the Fencer in modern markings.

This sheet, “Chelyabinsk Eagles Pt. 2”, along with the Pt. 1 sheet, represent various Su-24 aircraft that are based at the Shagol Air Base, near the city of Chelyabinsk near the border with Kazakhstan. When the regiment was first deployed to Chelyabinsk in September of 2010, the aircraft were painted in a variety of schemes and needed repainting. Before re-paint, at least two of the aircraft featured large eagles on the right side of the nose. It was decided to keep these eagle emblems during the repaint. That is the reason behind the name of this sheet – Chelyabinsk Eagles.

The newest series for Osprey has moved from the land and the sea to the air. Whereas their previous series’ focused on large land and naval campaigns, this series turns its focus to well-known air campaigns. Using the tried and true format that Osprey has perfected, the volume has several full color plates rendered by an artist attempting to capture critical moments in the campaign, historical photographs, maps, and lots of charts comparing the relative strengths and weaknesses of each side. Often the color plates can be hit and miss. These are really quite dramatic.

I previously reviewed Amigo’s 1/72 resin exhaust set for the Mig-21bis and this set is almost identical. Like the previous kit, it comprises five detailed resin parts for the exhaust. The centerpiece of the assembly and the flame holder for the afterburner are slightly different than the corresponding pieces in the R25-300 engine set. All of them are highly detail, both on the inside of the exhaust as well as the exterior. Although the pieces are not numbered, you can identify them by the life-sized drawings on the instructions.

My razor saw made short work of removing the mold bases from the kit parts. Two of the pieces have interior cones attached to the bases, but these are not part of the exhaust. I believe they help in the molding process.

Entering service in 2003, the AIM-9X is the latest version of the “Sidewinder” family of heat seeking missiles. Some of the advancements over previous versions is 90 degrees off boresight capability that is compatible with helmet mounted displays. The missile also incorporates thrust vectoring control improving turning capability. The AIM-9X also internal cooling which removes the need for launch rail nitrogen bottles. The AIM-9X is typically air launched but can be fired from land and sea platforms.

Eduard is known for a wide variety of high quality resin, photo etch and full kits. The AIM-9X is part of their “Brassin” line includes resin and appropriate decals. This product is cast in gray resin and bubble free with a small pour block that you can clearly define where the part is and what resin needs to be cut away.

The Spitfire, never has there been such an iconic fighter for a country than the British thoroughbred. Not to be overlooked Fündekals has done up a new sheet on this fighter that covers no less than TWELVE Spitfires from the Mk.I to the Mk.XVIe.

The decals come in a large ziplock type bag. They are on two decal sheets. One is the individual aircraft and fuselage markings and the other has the wing roundels. They are printed by Cartograf. The decals are world class with perfect register, good color saturation, thin and a joy to work with.