Show Theme Winner for NordicCon 2011
The appearance of the Sukhoi Su-47 in actual flights in 1997 created quite a stir with its distinct forward swept wings and black fuselage. It was named “Berkut” or golden eagle in Russian while the NATO codename was “Firkin”. The aircraft bore some passing resemblance to its conventional cousin, the Su-27 Flanker but it is actually quite a different machine with many experimental features. The forward swept wings made the supersonic fighter very maneuverable at high speeds although the aircraft could be tricky to fly. Its appearance is very sleek and graceful. Although it did not go into production, many advanced features were tested in the model and were passed on to the new T-50 5th generation fighter.
I did not build this model.
There is one more model-maker in the house and that is my teenage son Joel, who had already won 2 gold medals in the Junior section of NordicCon in the last 2 years.
The 1/72nd scale model was from HobbyBoss (China) and he pretty much built the kit out-of-box. The color scheme was simple but it was a challenge to get the smooth satin sheen over the black surface. Since this was his “apprenticeship”, I advised him to use a very light grey instead of white for the radome and other edge markings as the former appears much better together with black and looks more “natural” in small scale models. He used Tamiya Semi-gloss black and Model Masters light gray for the overall color scheme.
The cockpit interior was painted in Russian blue-green while the wheel hubs were painted Tamiya deep green (although the kit paint scheme called for white). A quick check by Joel on pictures taken in 2005 at Zhukovsky airshow confirmed the green wheel hubs.
The decals were very nice and settled well onto the paintwork without silvering. After that, the whole paintwork was sealed with a satin varnish. Final weathering was done with chalk pastels.
Enjoy the pictures of this Black Beauty.
Paul, fantastic job! After hours researching over the net I found your page and some information about a project I have in mind…The reason I am wriying you is I am planning to build a entire fleet of sukhoi’s in black as the S-47. I have not too much space at home and money to buy and airbrush/ compresor, so I was thinking to buy cans of Tamiya sparay in matt black to have the result I want. On the other hand I would love to give my planes an “used” aspect, not to shinny but weared. There is not information over the net as how to paint planes in black! Would yo be so kind to guide me step by step ( at your covenience) about how I need to proceed. please?. If there is neccesary I will save to buy the aitbrush. I have 15 flankers in boxes waiting, and the idea is have themm all in balck or dark grey with different markings, but with the panels and details visible. As you can see I do not like too much the camuflages and various color schemes…this is why I see a fleet of black sukhois as if they are a real armada. I hope yo do not mind this mad idea from me. All the best from Wales, UK. José Luis
Hello Jose,
It depends on the quality of finish you are trying to achieve for your armada of Sukhoi’s. Tamiya spray paint is OK if you are not too picky about the thickness of the paint that you are trying to lay on the models. The resulting finish tends to be very flat matt black. Weathering on black finish would be best done using an airbrush, thinning dark grey paint down and then applying using very low pressure (about 7-10 psi). If you don’t have an airbrush, the other weathering method on black finish is to grind artist’s pastel chalk like a light grey color, and then apply on the panels using a cotton bud to simulate fading under sunlight. However, you must use a fixative spray or Tamiya clear varnish to fix the pastel chalk or handling will cause them to disappear. In the long run, you are better off investing in an airbrush. For a moderate budget, you can get a Tamiya Spray Work starter kit complete with the electric compressor for about 65 pounds from E-Bay.
As always, when working with aerosol spray cans of paint, do so in a well-ventilated place and wear a paint mask or respirator so that you don’t inhale the toxic fumes. Good luck with your build.