1/48 Kinetic Su-33
Well, after 5 months of working on this thing, I finally finished it. This is really a great kit.. The instructions are terrible, but it was still a pleasure to build. I used Mr Paint paints for everything except for the engine covers and nozzles. I used about 15 different Alclad paints for those. Panel lines were filled in with various shades of Ammo of Mig panel line washes. I used lighter shades for the light colored areas and darker ones for, you guessed it, the darker areas. The only after market parts I used were a Dream Model PE set for the cockpit and a Master Model pitot tube.
10 additional images. Click to enlarge.
Johannes Gerl said on September 23, 2016
Great build, George. I followed all the WIP-reports with pleasure.
I love the final result because of the way you kept the weathering subtle but gave her a well used look nevertheless.
I’m doing my first build with Mr. Paint currently as well and I’m adding my voice to the chorus of those who praise them for their excellent product.
George Johnson said on September 23, 2016
Thank you, Halvar. I purposely kept the weathering to the airbrush and didn’t use pastels, etc. i also applied a semi- matte finish in order to keep the colors vibrant. I experimented with different degrees of matte and sttled for Alclad semi matte as it matched the sheen of the Mr Paint.
Johannes Gerl said on September 23, 2016
Alclad semi-matte you say? Very interesting. Did you use an intermediate gloss coat as a base for the decals or did you put the semi-matte directly over the Mr. Paint?
George Johnson said on October 4, 2016
Sorry that I haven’t replied, Halvar. I just saw your post. I used Alclad gray primer/micro filler diluted with Tamiya lacquer thinner first. I then sprayed the Mr Paint with lots of masking between colors. This left an almost perfect surface that required no gloss varnish. I applied the decals, weathered it, then applied Alclad semi-matte clear diluted with lacquer thinner.
Johannes Gerl said on October 18, 2016
Hey George. And this time it was me who didn’t notice your reply till now. Many thanks for sharing this!
I believe the result greatly benefits from the little number of paint layers by surface details that look very crisp.
Craig Abrahamson said on September 23, 2016
Very dynamic paint scheme, wonderfully accomplished.
George Johnson said on September 23, 2016
Thank you.
Richard Mcstay said on September 23, 2016
Amazing! The finish is immaculate. I knew we were in for something special though!
A great work in progress as well George, thanks for sharing.
Bryan W. Bernart said on September 23, 2016
Really nice, George. Easy to see where the five months went.
Jack Mugan said on September 23, 2016
Well done George, great looking model.
Greg Kittinger said on September 23, 2016
Stunning result, and an effort to be proud of! The work with the Alclad really shows up – that just looks amazing. I’ll refer back to this as a reference!
Simon Whitney said on September 23, 2016
Lovely build George, great paint job.
Well worth the wait.
Christian Ristits said on September 23, 2016
This is a real beauty George, very well done and one of the greatest builds I have seen on a russian airplane so far!
George Johnson said on September 23, 2016
Thanks everybody.
Korolev Vlad said on September 23, 2016
George, great job!
Sincerely, Vlad.
George Johnson said on September 23, 2016
Thank you, Vlad. I especially enjoyed your Tu-Egg.
IT Lahtinen said on September 24, 2016
Challenging, hard work, good looking camo and you made it perfect! I have to change to Mr Paint … 😉 Very crisp model with flawless details. I like a lot.
Robert Royes said on September 24, 2016
Cool bird.
Tom Cleaver said on September 25, 2016
Very colorful result, I really like the finish you achieved. Well-used, but cared for the way an airplane at sea has to be.
George Williams said on September 26, 2016
Brilliant!
Roberto Colaianni said on September 26, 2016
Nice camouflage, the colors perfect match togheter rendering the overall aspect, superb.
Dmitry Ryzhenkov said on September 28, 2016
Great!
George Johnson said on September 30, 2016
Thank you, gentlemen.
Varahilo Nomine said on January 17, 2021
Dear collegue,this is the best looking model kit I have ever seen. Please,will you be kind to tell which exact colors of Mr.Paint did you use? Thank you.
George Johnson said on January 17, 2021
Thank you, Varahilo,
Mr Paint makes colors specifically for the Su-33. Look for MRP 199, 200, 201 for the fuselage and wings. I also used MRP 90 for the speedbrake and MRP 42 for the red. I used their cockpit grey made for the Su as well. The landing gear was painted a grey from their line as well, but I don’t remember what I used. I also used 8 or 9 different metallics from Ak and Alclad for the engine areas as I recall. It’s been a few years since I built it.