Su-27 Flanker Exhausts

North Star Models, 1/32 scale

Reviewed by Phil Parsons

Eduard's 1/48 scale MiG-23 Wheels are available online from Squadron.com

If you have ever seen a Su-27/30 up close you will know that this aircraft is all about the massive engines that power the beast.

The Saturn AL-31 is a family of military turbofan engines,  developed by Lyulka, now NPO Saturn, of Soviet Union, originally for the Sukhoi Su-27 air superiority fighter. The engine produces a total thrust of 123 kN (27,600 lb) with afterburning in the AL-31F, 137 kN (30,800 lb) in the AL-31FM (AL-35F) and 142 kN (32,000 lb) in the AL-37FU variants. Currently it powers all Su-27 derivatives and the Chengdu J-10 multirole jet fighter that has been developed by China.

While not as complicated as the exhaust section of an F-15, the exhaust section of the SU-27 is an area that benefits greatly with the addition of aftermarket resin and photo etch.

Firstly who is North Star? This extract is from their website:

Our team consists of professional modellers from different countries, and each of us knows what is needed to make realistic-looking models. Therefore, our products are primarily intended for professionals and experienced modellers. All our products are based on actual technical documentation and are in a strict accordance with available photos and drawings. We cooperate with pilots, the military, manufacturers of real military and civil engineering, airport workers, service personnel of military bases, the museums and modellers from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and the United States. This allows us to produce timely and accurate measurements, to receive photos and specification documents on the developed products. We hope that our products will help you to create beautiful models in all scales.

We work to ensure your models will be the best!

The North Star Models Su-27 Flanker exhaust nozzles come in a very sturdy box, the size of which is governed by the photo etch sheets. The box contains the two photo etch sheets plus instructions, there is a smaller box that protects the resin and white metal parts.

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On closer inspection, the resin and white metal are all cast to a very high standard with minimal cleanup required once the casting blocks are removed. The instructions are very detailed and in some cases photos of the assembly process provide detail to explain each step. Four layers of PE make up the feather assembly of the exhaust, what may be of help to the modeller is the required diameter of the Feathers once the PE is bent. Like the exhaust feathers, the afterburner spray ring is built up in multiple layers, this time utilising the white metal and photo etch. Overall this set will really set off your 1/32 Flanker. The only thing that I feel is missing from this set is a painting guide, especially for the internal components, we have all seen the exterior schemes of the Flanker engine area, however the interior is a little more difficult to capture.

This is an excellent detail set for a part of the Flanker that needs resin and PE to really capture the required detail. I can highly recommend this set from North Star Models, and I look forward to reviewing more of their releases.

My thanks to North Star Models for the review sample
Engine reference courtesy of Wikipedia

Review Text Copyright © 2013 by Phil Parsons
Page Created 2 September, 2013
Last updated 2 September, 2013

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