Hi folks. I put it to a vote in my last article on my next build, and the public have spoken! The Flanker beat the Ferrari by 7 votes to 4! So as promised, I will be doing a work in progress report as I go.

The kit is the 1/48 Eduard limited edition. It was originally the Academy kit, but Eduard have included all manners of aftermarket goodies.

You get the choice of four different aircraft markings in the instructions. I think I will go for the pale blue Russian camo for this one, although the Eritrean markings are really tempting...

So what is in the box... The fuselage is split into two halves and you get an additional 3 sprues, plus the canopy from the original kit. I'm not sure if the decals are from the original kit or not. Eduard have also included some canopy masks which is welcome.

So on top of the original kit, you get all the extra goodies which include some photo etch, coloured cockpit photo etch and resin cockpit detail. I believe the nose cone is aftermarket to correct the inaccuracies of the original kit.

On top of all the extra hard work, I decided to go all out with more aftermarket items. I've also purchased some photo etch ladders and intake covers, a resin wheel set and a tow bar, plus a metal pitot tube.

I think this will probably be my most ambitious aircraft build yet in terms of aftermarket accessories. I don't think it will be a quick build neither! Best get cracking!

14 additional images. Click to enlarge.

Hi mate, I don't have a soldering iron, it's something to look into though. I'll try with some industrial super glue first, see how that goes. I've never built a F1 car yet, but that kit sounds interesting...

Right, lets get this underway. It's the first time I've used a resin cockpit actually. There was a little bit of trimming required to get it to fit but nothing major. It looks like there will be a lot more brush painting required which isn't my strongest point, but we'll see how it goes. One thing I've noticed with the instructions is all the photo etch parts are numbered wrong! Never mind, not the end of the world!

With a little bit of base colour in place, the instrument canopies are test fitted and go in under the main canopy nicely. I assembled the instrument panels using metal foil glue, my preferred method for sliding the PE into place before setting clear. 16 different parts there alone on the displays.

Cheers George. Eduard done all the hard work there, I just had to put them together! Still fiddly mind!

That's the cockpit tubs finished and test fitted. I applied a few washes to the panels as the Su-27 is a fairly old jet now and I didn't want them to appear brand new.

The air frame is together with the gaps filled. I used the masks included in the kit for the canopy.

I'm going to paint the tail parts separate to the main air frame for this one. When I built the Su-34 I glued the tails on before hand, which made it difficult to paint and weather in the later stages. I've used some Vallejo white primer for this one to aid paint adhesion.

Jeff, I'm with you - this is exquisite. Beautiful work Richard, and a real lesson in detail.

Blu-tak is fabulous stuff, every modeller should have some.

Just a quick update on this one. It's at the point now where the matt varnish is on after the decals and weathering. Sorry I haven't posted more on these stages, been full of busy!

Thank you mate, much appreciated!