Sukhoi Su-9 (K)

Prop & Jet, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Mark Davies

Revell's 1/72 Buccaneer is available online from Squadron.com

Background

Not to be confused with the later supersonic Su-9 "Fishpot" that first flew in 1956, this Su-9 dates from 10 years earlier.

The Sukhoi Su-9, or Samolyet K (Aircraft K), was an early jet fighter built in the Soviet Union shortly after World War II. The design began in 1944 and was intended to use Soviet-designed turbojet engines. The design was heavily influenced by captured German jet fighters and it was subsequently redesigned to use a Soviet copy of a German turbojet. The Su-9 was slower than competing Soviet aircraft and it was cancelled as a result. A modified version with different engines and a revised wing became the Su-11 (Samolyet KL), but this was did not enter production either. The Su-13 (Samolyet KT) was a proposal to re-engine the aircraft with Soviet copies of the Rolls-Royce Derwent turbojet as well as to modify it for night fighting, but neither proposal was accepted.

Source: Wikipedia

Previous Su-9 (K) kits in 1/72 Scale

The only previous kits I am aware of in “The One True Scale” is a very early MPM vac-form, and a previous release in 2002 by Prop & Jet (earlier tooling). There may well have been others, but it seems fair to say that Prop & Jet’s kit fills an important gap for fans of Soviet prototypes and early jets.

The Company

Prop & Jet is a Russian company I was aware of in passing, but have little knowledge of, and had not previously seen any of their products in the resin. I am pleased to say that my first impressions of the review kit were very positive.

The company is based in Nalchik, capital the Russian Caucasus Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. It offers a range of very interesting kits, if you like rare Soviet subjects and prototypes. Prop & Jet’s website does not give too much away, in English at least, as I could not get it to translate very well. However it does feature many useful images of the kits the company produces. Fortunately, their range is listed in some detail in English here on the International Resin Modellers Association website. I recommend checking out the other subjects Prop & Jet has kitted.

The Kit

The contents come in a small but adequately sized top-opening box made of glossy card with a good photo image of the real aircraft on the lid. The resin parts are packaged in several resealable plastic bags, whilst the decals and colour-printed instructions are loose in the box.

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The instructions are predominantly in Russian, but include clear English translations with the assembly diagrams where necessary. They include a parts map, and use well-drawn diagrams and appear easy to follow, and include a hard to miss note on the need for 10g of nose ballast.

A colour printed painting and markings diagram covers off the simple single decal option using a two-and-a-half view layout (profile, plan, and lower wing panels). Paint call-outs are generic for the bare metal finish, although RLM 02 is also specified. At first, this call-out seems superfluous, until a close look at the engine intake covers reveals residual patches of RLM 02 on their surfaces. No doubt a legacy of the engines’ German origin, and a failure to strip this paint completely off during assembly of the Su-9 prototype.

One thing the instructions do not do, is indicate the optional fitment of U-5 JATO rockets either side of the rear fuselage; instead, this appears to be mandatory. I have seen images of the Su-9 without these, as after all, they were jettisoned following takeoff.

The light grey resin parts are cast beautifully, and were it not for their casting blocks you could mistake them for being made of styrene. The attachment points to the casting blocks are thin and should be easy to remove and clean up. Surface detail is very delicately done, as are some small detail parts. The undercarriage legs are very fine too, but have metal wire running through their cores for the necessary reinforcement of these slender parts.

The vac-form canopy appears flawless, and thankfully, two copies are provided.

Construction is quite conventional for the type, although the two engines account for a fifth of the total parts in order to provide for their internal detail. Cockpit and wheel-well detail is nicely done, being generally simple but perfectly adequate. I would expect assembly to be very straightforward from looking at the quality of the parts. I have read one on-line review that was quite critical of the wing to fuselage join, yet my dry-fit test suggests that this is near perfect on my sample. Some images of the assembled and unpainted kit from Prop & Jet’s website are included with this “First Look”.

Colours & Markings

The prototype’s bare-metal scheme is all that can be offered.

The decals are by Begemont and look to be very good.

The sheet offers more Soviet stars than are needed in two styles and sizes; the additional ones are included because the sheet is shared with a kit of the Su-11.

This is a very good kit indeed, with excellent quality parts, good decals and clear instructions. It has very nice surface and interior detail, fine small parts, and its reinforced undercarriage is a nice touch.

I highly recommend this kit, and encourage readers to check out Prop & Jets other offerings as well. 

Thanks to Prop & Jet for the review sample

Review Text Copyright © 2015 by Mark Davies
Images Copyright © 2015 by Brett Green
Page Created 6 January, 2015
Last updated 8 February, 2015

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