Revell Tupolev Tu-95RT ((Razvedchik-Tseleookazatel, reconnaissance & target illuminator aircraft), 1/144 scale

This is the Revell 1/144 scale Tu-95 Bear, kit #4727, first issued in 1992 and now out of production but generally available for rather elevated prices on Ebay. I acquired mine years ago when it and shipping was more economical. This kit actually represents a Tu-95RT (razvedchik-tseleookazatel, reconnaissance & target illuminator aircraft) and was very commonly seen and often intercepted by US Navy aircraft through the 1990s as they shadowed US fleets in the Atlantic as well as Pacific oceans. This build required some additions to remove it from out of the box category for my satisfaction. The kit parts were molded in Korea with nice engraved panel lines but there are significant deviations from accuracy. The main disappointment is that there is no cockpit and no open nose area. The blisters under the tail are solid styrene with fictious detail where the gunsights would be. Propellors are excessively thick and the nose landing gear strut is not accurate. Fit turned out to be approximate at best in many critical areas such as the engine nacelles. I opened up the nose and scratch built a basic interior relying on only one reference image of the position. I opened up the area under the stabilizers and added sprue and scrap photo etch to represent the gunsighting equipment. In the cockpit I added a floor and pilot and copilot seats although both are barely visible when finished but it was a just too much to leave it empty. A significant amount of filling and recontouring is needed for the fit of the engine nacelles to the wings as well as filling and recontouring to obtain a satisfactory fit of the canopy to the fuselage. After the canopy was attached it was masked off.

A appropriate amount of weight needs to be added just behind the cockpit unless one wants to use the supplied clear styrene tail prop. One most plan carefully the stages of construction and painting as a fair amount of masking is needed to attempt to provide the impression of different metal panels. Once the wings are attached the model, even in 1/144 scale, is rather large and becomes unwieldly to handle. Once ready for painting Krylon gloss black enamel, decanted from the can and thinned 40% with toluene was applied as a base coat. The cure time for enamel is longer so often the model sat curing for prolonged periods of time. Multiple primer applications were need to allow visible blemishes to be addressed usually with Mr. Surfacer 500. The large ventral radome was masked off and painted. Once ready for the metallic finish Tamiya acrylic silver was applied overall followed shortly afterwards by a application of straight Mr. Color Leveling Thinner to level the finish. The key technique is misting on the paint by airbrush and avoidance of wet coats. The resultant silver finish is fairly resistant to masking although one must always take precautions. Various panels were masked off and Alcad Air Frame Aluminum, Titanium, and Magnesium was airbrushed on. Once satisfactory curing had been achieved the model was clear coated with thinned Future in preparation for decal application and light weathering. The original kit decals were used and performed well despite their age. One needs to always test old decals first with a expendible sample before applying irreplaceable markings. Tamiiya Gray panel liner was used for the panel lines and Tamiya Smoke was applied to represent the turboprop exhaust stains. The final clearcoat applied was Testors Glosscote, thinned 50% with lacquer thinner and misted on. After attaching the small parts and final touch up hand painting it was complete. Although relatively few parts comprise the model the intricacy of the overall configuration makes completion time consuming and somewhat complex.

This is the second Tu-95 I have completed, the other being the contemporary Dragon 1/200 Bear G, a kit with very similar issues. Even in a 1/144 kit format the aircraft presents an impressive presence and requires as much display space as a 1/48 F-14.

All images Copyright Stephen Young

22 additional images. Click to enlarge.