1:32 Su-27

A heavy fighter with a reach across a whole continent

The Su-27 came about as an answer to the American heavy fighters and from the start was built for long range with no drop tanks. An integrated fuselage, two engines far apart and an enormous lifting area gave it an agility nobody expected in a machine of that weight. The public got to know it at air shows, where its maneuver with a sharp raising of the nose took the spectators' breath away.

One part, and even so the biggest job

The glazing is formed by a fixed windscreen and behind it a single bubble cover that swings upward. In 1:32 scale it is one of the largest clear parts that can be met on a fighter, and there is the catch. The larger the area, the longer the edge line into which paint can run, and the longer the distance over which a constant width of frame will or will not be kept. Tape applied by hand fails here at both ends at once, because in a bend it either twists or lifts off the plastic. A pre-cut shape holds the width along its whole length and follows the curvature with no folds.

Contents

The package covers both the outer surface and the inner side of the glazing. With such a large cover the inside is clearly visible even with the cockpit closed, so masking from the inside shows markedly. The set deals with the glazing only and does not contain the markings of the aircraft or decals.

The pattern for the cut

The pattern for the shapes was the model that came out under the Trumpeter brand in 1:32 scale. If you are going to mask a product from another company, try the pieces dry first; the curve of a bubble cover tends to be a little different every time and at the highest point a deviation shows soonest.