Short History

While we are all familiar with the Su-27 family of aircraft this beast is in a league all in its own. Sukhoi’s Su-35 Super Flanker (NATO designation "Flanker E") took the world market by storm when it proved able to challenge and defeat any aircraft in the East (and West) except for absolute top-of-the-line fighters such as the EF2000 and F-22. The direct derivative of the Super Flanker, aptly designated the Sukhoi Su-37 Terminator, was only intended as a technology demonstrator but is one of the most maneuverable aircraft ever built.

What’s in the Box?

The box comes with a total of 17 white metal pieces to replicate the kit parts very accurately and adding some needed strength to support the aircraft especially with larger 48^th scale Russian aircraft as they tend to be bigger than typical similar scale aircraft and the swaying and shifting could cause the plastic gear to snap and shear off. The Landing gear comes packaged in the typical SAC cardboard and bubble blister packaging we are all accustomed to seeing.

The Build

This is a pain-free operation and only required a little time along with TLC using a couple of sanding sticks, a fine Tamiya diamond file I also use for PE and my battery powered Dremel with a 280-grit abrasive buff wheel which I have made a standard operating item when dealing with brass or white metal components.

The SAC parts build up almost exactly like the kit parts would with the exception the main gear/struts are slightly thicker but not by much and the front main gear seems to make adding the main landing gear lights pretty difficult, they are almost nonexistent locating holes compared to the plastic kit parts. Also, the SAC components have a piece missing which would have been part E20 on the kits sprue. The left and right struts are molded as one solid piece and no assembly required just the cleanup and polishing as usual.

Another sticking point while white metal is sturdier than the plastic parts its replacing it is prone to being soft and easily bent which also means can be easily repaired, luckily the sample I was provided was flawless and had no issues.

Finishing

I decided to go ahead and leave these pieces unfinished as I have not decided when I will build this kit, I also wanted everyone to see the subtle differences you may not have noticed once painted.

Conclusion

It’s always great to see SAC being one of the forerunners of the aftermarket scene and producing items around the same release of the kits they cover. I was for sure excited to have these. My thanks to IPMS for allowing me to review this item and having continued faith in me and SAC for the opportunity to enjoy another newly released quality product.