1:144 Sukhoj Su-27 Flanker wheels, early

Su-27 Flanker, early form wheels, 1:144, Armory

A resin set of wheels for the Su-27 fighter in 1:144 scale. It replaces the wheels supplied in the kit and aims at modelers who object to the fact that in such a small scale the plastic part tends to be the coarsest part of the landing gear. These are early form wheels; their shape and tread pattern changed on this type during its service.

Why resin wheels

A wheel is one of the few parts of the model the viewer sees from close up and from above. A resin casting manages crisp definition of the tire tread pattern, a legible hub edge and the parting line of the rim, whereas injection-molded plastic has to simplify the detail in this scale and, on top of that, unwelcome mold flash runs across it. A small scale paradoxically calls for more accuracy, because on a model the size of a palm a lopsided landing gear shows immediately.

Building and painting tips

Wash the castings in warm soapy water so that no mold release agent is left on the surface. Cut the casting blocks away with a fine-bladed saw and level the surface with a file; always cut so that the cut falls on the seating surface, where it will not be seen. It is glued with cyanoacrylate glue. The easiest way to paint them is to spray the whole wheel in the tire shade and then brush the hub in, or mask it with a disc of masking tape cut out with a punch. Before the glue dries, stand the model on a flat board and check that it sits on all its wheels and does not rock.

Who the set is for

• modelers who are building the Su-27 in 1:144 scale
• refining the landing gear without a great investment of time
• cabinet models photographed from close up
• modelers with basic experience of resin

The set is an accessory to a kit, not a standalone model. It is supplied unassembled and unpainted; glue and paints are not included in the package.