Sukhoi Su-24M Fencer D

Trumpeter, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Trumpeter's 1/48 scale Su-24M is available online from Squadron for $89.99!
 

This is a totally new and up to date kit from Trumpeter and is a welcome first addition to modellers interested in large 1/48 scale Russian aircraft model kits.  From my memory no injection mould kit existed of the Fencer in 1/48 scale prior to this release.

On opening the box we are presented with a very beautifully engraved and detailed kit.  There are approximately 670 finely engraved grey coloured injection moulded plastic parts, 6 soft nylon parts, 28 clear injection moulded parts, and 4 metal undercarriage parts in this kit.  The grey plastic parts are contained on 23 trees, although 11 of these are for the myriad of weapons and pylons included.  Buy a couple of these kits and you will never have to worry about Soviet ground attack weapons for your kits for a long time.

The plastic parts have absolutely no flash at all and the surface detail is crisply moulded displaying fine panel lines and rivet detail.  The surface of the parts has no moulding imperfections and the moulding that this manufacturer is applying to their kits these days is nothing short of superb.

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Cockpit detail is sufficient for this scale and can be totally painted including all knobs and dials or you can paint the base colour and use the decals supplied as an overlay.  The fuselage is built in two sections, the rear is split vertically and contains the nicely detailed main wheel well and the wing carry through box.  The wing carry through box is interesting as it provides two geared wheels to allow the wings to interlock and swing, but with the extended flaps and closed fuselage seals the wings cannot be moved.  The instructions also do not detail how to pose the flaps and spoilers in the closed position so I am not sure of the value of the wing sweep mechanism.  The remaining parts for the rear fuselage are the nicely detailed engine afterburner nozzles.  These are made up from 6 parts each and look extremely good when complete.

The forward fuselage contains the nose undercarriage bay, in-flight refuel probe, cockpit, and radar assembly.  The cockpit is made up of a clear instrument panel, cockpit tubs, K-36D ejection seats, control columns and overhead bulkhead.  The instrument panel is clear and nicely moulded so this leaves you many options for how to paint and detail it.  The K-36D ejection seats are nicely moulded and consist of 11 parts with the seat harness moulded to the seat cushions.  Overall the cockpit will look nice straight from the box with no after market detail.  The kit contains a double bulkhead that includes the retractable in-flight refuel probe.  I have never seen a Fencer with the fuel probe extended on the ground so this is a bit of detail overkill but it adds to the realism of the retracted probe rather than it being just moulded to the fuselage.

The nicely detailed radar assembly is made up from 13 parts and should look superb when complete.  The question then is whether to spoil the lines of the kit by leaving the radome off to display the model.

The undercarriage detail is amazing with the nose oleo being provided in either styrene or metal.  The main gear has metal cores to provide strength to the main gear as this will be a heavy kit when complete.  Nylon tyres complete with styrene rims round off the wheels allowing you to paint the rims separately.

The wings portrayed by the instructions have extended leading and trailing edge flaps and extended spoilers, so there is no room to swing the wings without heavy modification to position the flaps and spoilers closed.  You would also not fit the wing pylons as these should pivot as the wing swings and there is no provision in the kit.  This is ideal as I would find it a waste of detail to not extend the flaps and spoilers and this will look excellent alongside my F-111 which is also configured with extended flaps.

The rest of the build is straight forward including the addition of intakes, antennas, pylons, cooling intakes, speed brakes, u/c doors, chaff/flare launchers, etc.

Finally this kit has a comprehensive selection of external weapons including:

• 2 x large external fuel tanks
• 2 x sensor pods
• 4 x multiple ejector racks
• 4 x R-60 (AA-8 Aphid)
• 6 x AB-250 bombs
• 2 x ZB-500 stores
• 2 x FAB-500 bombs
• 4 x S-24 rockets
• 2 x S-250FM rockets with three warhead options
• 4 x B-8M rocket pods
• 2 x B-13L rocket pods
• 2 x KAB-500L laser-guided bombs
• 2 x KAB-250KP EO-guided bombs
• 2 x KAB-500KP EO-guided bombs
• 2 x KMGU-2 dispensers
• 2 x Kh-25ML (AS-12 Kegler)
• 2 x Kh-25MP (AS-12 Kegler)
• 2 x Kh-59 (AS-13 Kingpost)
• 2 x Kh-29L (AS-14 Kedge)
• 2 x Kh-29T (AS-14 Kedge)
• 2 x Kh-31 (AS-17 Krypton)

The instruction sheet is made up of a detailed black and white explosive assembly view that details the assembly of the kit.

The two colour schemes are provided on a glossy colour sheet detailing the colours required for the provided scheme.

The kit comes with two sets of decals.  The first comes with the markings for both aircraft including a good range of airframe stencils.

The second sheet provides the stencils for all of the weapons included in the box.

The decals are thin, crisply printed, accurate in colour and provide for two aircraft as follows:

• Su-24M, Bort 42, Russian Air Force
• Su-24MK, Bort 91, Russian Air Force

This is a very important release from Trumpeter and fits in nicely with the release of the Hobby Boss F-111 which the Soviets keenly matched this aircraft on. 

The weapons inclusion is large allowing you to fit almost nay configuration you wish display the model in, this is certainly an area that some of the older manufacturers could improve in.  I have started assembling the kit and so far the engineering has not let me down, the fuselage is now in one piece and looks excellent. 

A build review will follow when I have completed the kit.

Text Copyright © 2010 by Mick Evans
Images Copyright © 2010 by Brett Green
Page Created 3 October, 2010
Last updated 5 October, 2010

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