The aircraft carrier has its own short-range missile defense system that is constantly being upgraded to repel missile and bomb attacks. The anti-aircraft armament of the ship consists of four six-barrel launchers of the Kinzhal air defense system (192 missiles), eight Kortik launchers (256 missiles), six six-barreled 30-mm AK-630M rapid-fire launchers (48,000 shells). The aircraft carrier also has layered protection against torpedoes from two RBU-12000 installations (60 missiles), including the setting of false acoustic targets, the rapid deployment of anti-torpedo minefields and the destruction of torpedoes with depth charges at the aircraft carrier itself. Survivability is ensured by a number of bulkheads that can withstand hitting below the waterline of ammunition up to 400 kg of TNT. Thus, an aircraft carrier can repel massive rocket-bomb and torpedo attacks even without the help of its own warrant, which can focus on destroying missile and torpedo carriers.
The aircraft carrier carries 12 4K-80 launchers for heavy Granit missiles capable of hitting targets at 700 km with a throw weight of 750 kg. Launchers "Granit" are mounted under the springboard of the flight deck, and when they are launched, the flights stop, as the hatches of the mines open on the flight deck. The initial versions of the missile were created to destroy US aircraft carrier groups, the latest upgrades of the complex allow it to hit coastal targets as well.
The aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" is the only aircraft carrier in the world that can operate in the Black Sea
General characteristicski
Length - 305.0 m
Waterline length - 270 meters
Maximum width - 72 meters
Width at the waterline - 35.0 m
Draft - 10.0 m
Standard displacement - 43 thousand tons
Full displacement - 55 thousand tons
Maximum displacement - 58.6 thousand tons
Power plant
Steam turbines - 4 × 50 thousand horsepower
Number of boilers - 8
Number of screws - 4
Turbogenerator power - 9 × 1500 kilowatts
Maximum speed - 29 knots
Cruising range at maximum speed - 3850 miles at a speed of 29 knots
Economic speed - 18 knots
Maximum cruising range - 8000 miles at a speed of 18 knots
Autonomy - 45 days.
armamentand
For 2014, the air wing includes 20 aircraft and 17 helicopters
14 deck fighters

Order of Ushakov heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser (TAVKR) "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" - a project 1143.5 ship, the only one in its class in the Russian Navy. Designed to destroy large surface targets, protect naval formations from attacks by a potential enemy using aircraft carriers and a large number of submarines; also has the task of supporting landing operations.
Designed to base and service 28 aircraft and 24 helicopters. The aircraft carrier also carries 12 4K-80 launchers for Granit heavy missiles.
"Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" is the only aircraft carrier in the world that can be in the Black Sea, since under the Montreux Convention the passage of "clean" aircraft carriers through the Bosporus and Dardanelles is prohibited, and the TAVKR "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" has missile weapons and on this basis it is declared as an "aircraft-carrying cruiser".

Description of the model of the aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" by Trumpeter

Foreign firms producing plastic models for assembly do not indulge us with projects Soviet ships. The exception is the Chinese market leader Trumpeter. There are quite a lot of Soviet ground, sea and air equipment in its lineup. Including the model of the aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" in the popular 350th scale. Perhaps this is the most complex and solid model of Soviet technology. With a length of 872 mm, it contains 755 parts.

Features of the model aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" 05606:

• easily processed soft plastic;
• two versions: full and along the waterline;
• division of the hull along the waterline;
• stand and plate with the name of the ship;
• the kit includes models of the Ka-27 helicopter (4 pcs), Su-27k (6 pcs), MiG-29k (2 pcs) and Yak-141 (4 pcs) aircraft;
• large decals, including flight deck markings;
• color projections of the ship with a color scheme;
• clear assembly instruction on 24 pages;
• 755 parts, 26 sprues and 9 large parts.

Good health to all, dear colleagues in creativity. This is my second model, which I assembled after a long break in creativity, and presented on this resource. It was conceived as an easy walk and rest after the assembly of the F / A-18E from Italeri, but it turned out to be a long and tedious marathon run for 4 months - so much work took in the evenings with the ship and about 3-4 weeks later - on the air group. There were also breaks in work caused by family circumstances, repairs, but in the end the ship "did come into operation." I present to your attention the model TAVKR "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Admiral Kuznetsov", Zvezda, scale 1/720.

Prototype

"Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" (former names - in order of assignment - "Soviet Union" (project), "Riga" (bookmark), "Leonid Brezhnev" (launching), "Tbilisi" (tests)) - heavy aircraft carrier cruiser of project 1143.5, the only one in the Russian Navy in its class (as of 2011). Designed to destroy large surface targets, protect naval formations from attacks by a potential enemy. Named after Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union. Built in Nikolaev, on the Black Sea shipyard. During cruises, Su-25UTG and Su-33 aircraft of the 279th Shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment (home base - Severomorsk-3) and Ka-27 and Ka-29 helicopters of the 830th Separate Shipborne Anti-Submarine Helicopter Regiment (base airfield - Severomorsk-1). More detailed information can be viewed on this site or on the Internet.

Source set

I gave a brief overview of the set at the very beginning of my topic on building a model and you can see it, in this article I will focus on the main points:
Disadvantages:
1. Poor fit of parts, putty was needed on almost all seams. It took me about a month to assemble the parts of the ship's hull, of which there are no more than a dozen, as well as the subsequent polishing.

2. The complete inconsistency of the model with the prototype:

• stern contours, niches on the starboard side in the area of ​​​​aircraft lifts - have nothing to do with reality.
• there are no niches for life-saving equipment at all, as well as a section of the deck under the flight deck on the port side.
• there is no small superstructure above the wheelhouse.
• there are no hatches for launchers of the Granit anti-ship missiles on the flight deck.
• is absent a large number of portholes on the ship's hull.

Further standard - glossy enamel

Introducing the first joint project Saigon & SilverGhost. Trumpeter's model of the only Russian heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov has been on the market for 13 years. You will not surprise anyone with this model and its shortcomings. It was in those years that Trumpeter "earned" its well-known negative reputation among domestic aircraft and ship modellers. But the release of an etching kit from the domestic company Microdesign generated interest in assembling Admiral Kuznetsov's model with this particular kit.

Start

The model was built jointly by Anton "Saigon" and Andrey "SilverGhost".
The purpose of the assembly was to obtain a neat collective image of a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser as of 2010-2012 with etching without major alterations and improvements to the plastic itself. In view of the huge number of shortcomings of the plastic set itself, we did not pursue copy and authenticity, and we did not drive a crooked model into no less crooked drawings. However, we have tried to combine our very different and the best sides as modellers and apply them in ship modeling, making an adjustment for a short time.
The work was divided into stages and carried out in places in parallel, which made it possible to reduce the time and build a model in 3 months. Anton did most of the work - he was engaged in the deck, superstructure, pickling and detailing assembly, painting the model and the air group. Whereas Andrey was engaged in alteration of the propeller-steering group, modifications and assembly of the hull and air group.

About model

As usual, a bit of history about prototype models. "The first sign" was the model of Admiral Kuznetsov from Italeri in 1991 in 1/720 scale. The model was then called "Tbilisi". In 1992, this model was repackaged by Revell under the name "Varyag", making a typical foreign boxart with an incorrect inscription in Russian "Varyag". In the same year, the model was repackaged by Testors, in 1995 Italeri updated it as "Admiral Kuznetsov". Since 2000, the model has been produced by Zvezda and is simultaneously produced under the Italeri brand. The model is quite primitive and was made from the first photographs of the ship when it was still being tested in the Black Sea. Therefore, it represents only a collective image of the ship from a distance of more than a meter.

In the 1990s, a 1/800 scale toy model from Kitech came out, which was still sometimes sold with a misspelled boxart " Admiral Kuznetson". In the 2000s, this model was repackaged by Zhengdefu.

In 2005, the first serious model of this ship was released - from Trumpeter in 1/350 scale. In 2011, her repack appeared with new sprues and etching in a kit called "PLA Navy aircraft carrier" (actually Liao Ning). The models differ in sprues with armament, detailing of the island, a different air group and the presence of a Chinese version of etching.

At the same time, in 2005, a similar model of TAVKR Kuznetsov from Trumpeter was released, but already on a scale of 1/700. This model was later repackaged by Pit-Road and re-released by Trumpeter in 2012 and 2016 as "PLA Navy aircraft carrier" and Liao Ning.

"Well, now let's get back to our crucians" (C). More precisely one, but very large.

Review

This place could have been a review. But he won't. Here it will simply be said that in a box that could fit an adult representative of Southeast Asia, there was a mountain of sprues and parts. Something about 1000. The box was immediately given to the cat collection under the "Fluffy Family" program to the delight of Barsik, and the bottom of the box turned out to be an excellent garage for Porshik in 1/8 scale. 13 years of casting have not been in vain for the model. Flash, plastic shrinkage and sinkholes everywhere. At this point, one could traditionally kick Star for casting, but today one can safely and deservedly kick Trumpeter. Another 10-15 years of casting and this "high-tech model" will sink to the level of New shit-bottling by toy factories of the 1990s.

Surface part of the hull

The hull of the ship is successfully divided into 2 halves along the waterline (except for the separate halves of the bow bulb / radome of the Polynom SJSC antenna), which made it possible to do their modifications separately before docking the hull halves, without carrying the entire hull assembly.
First, cosmetic improvements were made to the surface of the hull. The surface part of the hull is cast in one piece with metal and plastic bridges along the waterline. Unfortunately, these jumpers are of no use, since they burst the surface of the hull, and it is easier to cut them out before docking with the bottom in order to adjust the width of the hull in place.
The main problems of the surface part of the hull:

• lack of aft balcony with through holes on both sides
• incorrect shape of the stem and deck at the junction with each other (the deck goes too sharply into the stem)
• incorrect stem shape in the waterline area
• incorrect shapes and location of anchor fairleads, there is no paneling of the compartment sash above them
• incorrect shape and dimensions of the notch on the stern transom
• lack of various small cutouts for gangways and balconies on both sides
• incorrect forms of balconies for ZRAK Dagger in the bow and RBU-1200 and AK-630 in the stern
• incorrectly shaped balcony with crane on starboard side
• displacement of cutouts in the board in the area of ​​the island
• bow aircraft lift moved aft
• incorrect and incomplete detailing of balconies and cutouts below deck
• every little thing like scuppers and portholes has simply not been checked, but be prepared to correct it too
• there is a suspicion that the collapse of the sides in the bow is done incorrectly
• the body sharply narrows in width in the area of ​​​​the bow balcony with the ZRAK Kortik and the VPU ZRK Dagger

Straightening all this was not included in our plans and deadlines, so we limited ourselves to the most necessary minimum.
Aft balcony was cut and through holes in the sides for it. Fortunately, etching Microdesign provides for this refinement and provides roof rails with bale strips and views for a cut aft balcony. Microdesign, alas, was free and gave only 1 type of views. On the aft balcony there were at least 2 types, as well as spiers and other equipment. WEM has views of the second type. Imitation of the deck, bulkheads was made from Aurora-hobby plastic sheet (for strength, a sprue grate was glued on the reverse side), etched doors from Rainbow, home-made casings with communications and various equipment made of plastic scrap were added based on motives without fanaticism. Then niches for side gangways and balconies were cut out in the hull, which Trumpeter depicted in plastic with stitching or shallow recesses. Unfortunately, it later turned out that Trumpeter had misplaced these niches and had to be cut in other places. From sheet plastic, an imitation of the insides of these niches and balconies was made and etched doors were added. Ideal for a better life gophers, it was necessary to make a power set there. But we decided to put our gopher on a diet and not do unnecessary work that no one else would appreciate.

Bottom

• incorrect shape and section of the radome of the antenna of the SJSC "Polynom" in the nose
• propeller-steering group (VRG - deadwoods, shafts, shaft brackets, screws) as if from another ship and are located incorrectly
• short keel and incorrect hull contours
• zygomatic keels are not located there and of a different size
• the rudders are located incorrectly and have a different shape at the junction with the bottom
• the bottom of a real ship in the stern is flatter and goes more gently into the keel than on the model. That is, the propeller-steering group should be located farther forward from the stern.

The VRG of the model looks like a foreign body from another ship, and when you look at the bow of the ship, you understand that "there is a boy in front of you."
To fix the antenna radome of the Polynomial SJSC, a new radome would have to be fashioned from a two-component putty and it would be possible to correct the contours of the hull in the nose for normal docking with it. Therefore, we decided to limit ourselves to a slightly simpler, but more noticeable refinement - to replace the entire propeller-steering group of the ship.
The photograph of fitting native Trumpeter parts shows that the propeller shaft is too long and thin. The manufacturer suggested attaching it to the case with as many as two brackets. There are no deadwoods at all, and the rudders and shafts of the external propellers are located too far from the diametrical axis of the ship. I was never able to figure out what Trumpeter's developers were smoking when they fantasized about the bottom of the model. But the fruit of their imagination now comes around in nightmares to all the harsh shipbuilders who have ever seen the “naked Kuzya” in the dock.

The keel of the hull was lengthened with a black plastic insert (just for this, the plate from the model was launched) and received a new shape. In the model, the keel joins the bottom almost at a right angle without a smooth transition, while on the prototype there is a smooth transition from the keel to the bottom. The first attempt to sculpt the contours of the model putty GSI Mr.White Putty failed miserably. It does not dry when applying a layer thicker than 1-2 mm.

I had to choose between the standard solution to use Tamiya two-component putty, Novol car two-component putty, or remove it altogether. But since the deadlines were tight, and we are not looking for easy ways, we decided to take it easy. New contours of the bottom in the stern in the area of ​​the keel were molded from Poxipol two-component epoxy adhesive "cold welding". The glue is mixed in proportions of 1 to 1 and applied as a viscous paste for 1-2 minutes on the model. After a few minutes, it begins to polymerize and can be shaped by hand, using hygienic gloves or by moistening the hands with water. When dry, it heats up, practically does not shrink and allows you to work with large volumes and surfaces. Strength gains in less than a day. New contours were molded from Poxipol in 2 iterations and polished in 2 evenings. It is well polished and processed with sandpaper on a mandrel of dimensions 200 and 400. I used syringe bodies of different diameters as mandrels for "emery". More fine-grained "emery" is already polishing it. There may be cavities and bubbles in the treated surface, but these are usually visible during the priming step and removed with GSI Mr.Dissolved Putty.

From a thick sprue from an ancient Hasegawa B-47 Stratojet 1/72 bomber model, new deadwoods were machined using a drill. The propeller shaft brackets were machined from Hasegawa's Yahagi 1/350 light cruiser cradle mount and Aurora Hobby plastic sheet. The photo shows the painful process of dry-fitting the entire VRG, setting angles and lengths with the help of pieces of Patafix. Propellers of relatively similar shape and size were cast to order as billet brass. They were without spinners, and the blades had a shape and twist not quite the same as on Kuznetsov. These propellers are more suitable for ships from the 1940s-1960s. It took a week of work to refine them, sharpen the edges of the blades, remove the injection seams and sequentially process them with needle files, sandpaper of different grit from 400 to 2500, Tamiya polishing pastes before they shone in all their glory. In addition, new spinners were machined from a brass rod 3.4 mm thick from thick brass wire. The propeller shafts were made of thick steel wire 2 mm thick and polished with Tamiya pastes. For comparison with homemade parts, I attached parts from Trumpeter. The steering wheels have a slightly different mount, but I did not remake them. They were mounted vertically, not obliquely as suggested by Trumpeter.

The new propeller-rudder group was installed in a new way based on photographs of the real ship in the dock - the propellers, rudders and shafts are much closer to the diametrical axis of the ship than Trumpeter originally intended. This is noticeable by the white puttied old Trumpeter VRG mounts. As a result, after the work done, the feed of the model began to resemble a prototype a little more.
Ideally, you need to cut the keel, not build it up, make the bottom flatter in this place and transfer a little to the bow (relative to what I did) deadwoods, rudders and propellers. But the absence good photos stern in profile from the dock makes this task difficult. And unfortunately, in the near future such photos are unlikely to appear.

Case assembly

The hull of the model is assembled from 4 parts - the bottom, two halves of the nose fairing of the antenna of the Polynomial SJSC and the surface part of the hull. The body and large parts have numerous casting defects such as plastic shrinkage and sinking. The fit of all body parts is poor. The surface part of the hull was slightly longer and wider than the bottom by 3 to 5 mm. And when gluing the halves of the hull, the narrower underwater part had to be literally pulled over the wider surface part. Tamiya's Extra Thin Cement Quick Set helped a lot with this. The main thing is not to glue the entire joint surface at once, but only in segments of 5-10 cm, pulling and pinching both halves to the desired position with your fingers, pressing the gap with force and waiting for the area to dry. 15 minutes of work and the case was assembled with virtually no gaps. In the same way, the nasal bulb was glued and installed, which, when trying on “dry”, got up with gaps of several millimeters. But the glue did not save from the steps between the parts in the nose, which had to be eliminated with numerous layers of putty, bringing 3 parts with different curvature into one surface. Then there was a long and tedious process of puttying with the usual Tamiya Putty Basic Type putty and liquid GSI Mr.Dissolved Putty, priming GSI Mr.Surfacer 1200 and bringing the surface of the case to perfect condition. If the body of the model were not made of plastic, but of metal, then in some places the thickness gauge would not be able to find the metal under a dozen layers of primer and putty. The nose bulb, which initially looked like a foreign element on the model, was finally integrated into the uniform contours of the hull.

As a result of all the improvements, the propeller-steering group, before painting and shortening the propeller shafts, began to look like this. For comparison, I will give photos of the propeller-steering group of the prototype in the PD-50 dock.

Something remotely similar to the prototype I got. Far from ideal, but not the same pornography that was before.

Further assembly of the model took place according to a more standard scenario - “fitting - assembly - puttying - processing - ... - processing - ready." Almost all parts of the hull and superstructure during assembly or installation required careful fitting, removal of pushers and putty. Remember the modeler, this is Trumpeter, and taking every detail of it in your hands, you should feel with all your fibers that pain and suffering that you saved and did not buy a normal model of a Japanese cruiser from Tamiya.

Well, in general, everything is ready for coloring. I took the hull struts from Hasegawa's Yahagi light cruiser model. On a cruiser, they look huge, but on an Avik, that's it. Thanks Yura YuraVS! Barsik came to pose to assess the scale of the disaster.

flight deck

The next difficult step was the assembly of the flight deck from 3 segments. The deck segments were assembled on a flat surface between each other. From the back side, the joints of the deck segments were reinforced with plastic. But since the model was developed by Trumpeter, the decking and detailing of the deck did not match when two adjacent segments were joined. Who there swears at the designer of the Star, who mirrors the door handles and forgets to turn them over? Here the Chinese developer did not design the deck in a single piece, then breaking it into segments / parts, but designed 3 parts separately, which stupidly did not converge in terms of detailing and lines. Bringing the deck into a single flat plane after assembly using a metal bar and glued to it sandpaper destroyed part of the decking. Therefore, the jointing had to be restored, and as it turned out in vain. The deck itself joins with the hull not without problems, but puttying and gluing strips of sheet plastic into the slots and joints at the stern solved the problem. The marking of the flight deck is made both by the internal paneling on the deck and by the decal.

At the same time, they do not coincide with each other, and it is better to putty the imitation of the markup with internal paneling. The deck decal itself corresponds to the state of 1991. Therefore, if the ship is made for a later period, then the markings in the decal will no longer correspond to the time or will be incomplete. For example, the number of marked technical positions (TP) on the deck increased from 15 to almost 30, their color changed from blue-yellow to pure blue, the yellow marking of the heliport (element 16) became white and after 1991 the white circle disappeared on the axial dotted line (element 17). The deck marking itself has errors - the TP does not have white designations with their serial numbers, and the axial dotted line on the landing deck is interrupted by helicopter circles. From the fibers of the elastomeric Spandex thread, arrester cables were made.
Strongly stubborn comrades can make a hangar with all the detailing and lighting. The model allows you to place all the equipment necessary for this, and Aliexpress will help you.

Etching

The Microdesign Etching Kit is a more affordable alternative to the detailing kits from White Ensign Models (WEM) and Gold Medal Models (GMM). It consists of 5 etch boards.

The etch is quite thick, thicker and slightly rougher than WEM. There are no printing defects, except for the unetched coat of arms of the USSR on the stern. In addition to aviation and deck equipment, all 3 kits are almost similar in composition to each other, with the exception of some details. Microdesign, like GMM, ignored the etching on the air group, giving only parts for the Ka-27 rotors. Therefore, if you need to modify the Su-33 and MiG-29K aircraft, you will need to buy a separate WEM 35080 Air wing set. Ka-27 helicopters can be modified with a kit from North Star Models. It is of higher quality and more complete than the details provided by Microdesign and GMM. Deck equipment (tractors, fire truck, crane, shishiga) are included in the Microdesign and WEM sets, and its composition varies slightly between sets. Better and more accurate it is performed by Microdesign, but WEM, on the other hand, has carriers for aircraft.
Set instruction Microdesign is a separate issue. The main and only advantage of the instruction is that it is colored. This is where its advantages end.

The manual contains typos and lacks many details. A lot of incomprehensibility how to assemble subassemblies and how to place them on the model. As a result, 53 parts out of 160 are not listed in the instructions. In general, in order to correctly assemble this etching and leave no unnecessary details, the modeler must be an expert on Kuznetsov's materiel. Otherwise, there is a high risk of errors and unused parts. And the scene from the film Mask will become very close and dear to you.

;

Add-ons and detailing

The superstructure and fine detailing against the backdrop of hull work were already assembled without any problems. Well, except for the standard procedures with putty and a file. The only thing missing from the etching is the detailing of the insides of the chimney. Etched handrails and roof rails were enough with a margin. The antenna arrays of the Fregat-MA radar station on the top of the superstructure must be tilted to the side. This moment is not reflected in the instructions in any way, as a result, we made a mistake with this, not looking at the photos of the prototype in time. The whip antennas along the flight deck were replaced with wire. Also, an imitation of a folded flagpole on the nose was made of wire. From the fibers of the Spandex threads, halyards were stretched on the superstructure. The name on the stern is made in etching, but if it is mounted, then its natural color will not match the letters of the name of the ship on the bow, which is given by the decal. Therefore, in order for the color of the letters to be the same everywhere, the names of the ship remained decal. Decal stars have been replaced with etched ones. Although in reality they are voluminous and that etching and decal do not convey their appearance.
Also, the model can be improved with resin kits from Veteran Model. So it is possible to replace the Kortik (Kashtan) anti-aircraft missile and artillery systems and the AK-630 six-barreled 30-mm artillery mounts. North Star Models make AK-630 resin rigs. Well, there is no limit to improving this model with various etched roof rails, brackets, ladders, brackets, rooster grills (of which there are a lot on the superstructure) and other home-made detailing, which neither Trumpeter nor aftermarket manufacturers gave in the model. If you look at the pictures of a real ship, it immediately becomes clear that the model does not even have 10% of that rich detailing of a real ship.
Trumpeter does not provide flags in its decals (we take the decal from Begemot of the USSR/Russian Navy) and indentation marks, which are found in the decals from the Brigade Commander of the Russian Imperial Fleet.

Air group

Trumpeter initially provides an air group consisting of 6 Su-27K (Su-33), 2 MiG-29K, 4 Yak-141 and 4 Ka-27 helicopters. Yak-141s were never on the deck of Kuznetsov, and 2 single-seat MiG-29K 9-31s with tail numbers 311 and 312 were used only during the ship's testing period in 1989-1991. Therefore, to increase the size of the air group from 12 to 18 aircraft additional kits from Trumpeter were used with the Su-27K and Ka-27. There are also similar kits with the Su-25UTG, Su-33UB, Ka-29 and Ka-31. All these sets come with decals with stars and with blue, red and yellow tail numbers and St. Andrew's flags. Aircraft are molded from a combination of gray and black plastic, with a transparent glazing lantern. Helicopters are molded from transparent plastic with fine detailing from black plastic.
Planes are assembled worse than their counterparts in 1/72 scale from Zvezda. Putty is required at almost every junction between parts. The keels on the Su-27K are especially badly joined. Separate wing consoles are made one and a half times thicker than the wing at the root. If you assemble aircraft with folded wing panels, this drawback is not evident. But if you make an aircraft with a folded wing, then the consoles have to be grinded in thickness over their entire area. It is better to grind the wing in thickness from the lower plane so that the stitching on the upper one does not suffer. They also require thinning of the edges of the wings, stabilizers and keels. The inlets of the air intakes are made primitively and irregularly shaped, so they need to be cut properly and the edges sharpened. All of the above applies to the Su-27K and MiG-29K. Ka-27 helicopters in this regard require less effort in assembly. The main thing is to carefully glue the halves of the helicopter in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe glazing of the cockpit so that traces of glue inside the junction of the halves are not visible from the side. Immediately after assembling the helicopter fuselage, it is better to mask the glazing with GSI Mr. Masking Sol or Humbrol Maskol and prime the parts to show any inconsistencies in the assembly of the transparent parts.

We didn't buy etching from WEM 35080 Air wing set for planes, so they turned out almost out of the box. Some helicopters were assembled with North Star etching, and those that were planned with folded blades - with Microdesign etching. Microdesign gives only rotor blades, a pair of swashplate tripods, and a folding HPH. Etching of North Star Models on Ka-27 is much richer. In addition to the main rotor blades, it gives the tail, more detailed propeller hubs and swashplate tripods, a port side door and various small details. I did not use the etched tail unit, as it looked too flat. The main rotor hub with blades was assembled from 15 parts, while Microdesign had 5. The etching from North Star is thinner, softer, has a joint and is more openwork in execution. The micro design is thicker, stiffer, and has no feathering on the blades. The screw sleeve must be made from wire yourself, although not a single manufacturer gives data on its length in the instructions, and Microdesign still made a mistake with its diameter. Microdesign doesn't have the two shallow swashplate tripods that North Star gives.
Decal for aviation is another sore point of the model. In addition to the stars, flags and numbers on the MiG-29K, it has nothing to do with reality. On the Su-33 blue numbers are given instead of red, on the Ka-27 blue numbers are given instead of red or yellow. There are no tricolors and eagles for the Su-33. Therefore, if possible, the decal for the air group and part of the deck markings should be designed and printed a new one, for specific aircraft and helicopters. Especially if MiG-29K 9-31 from the set is made late MiG-29K 9-41 and double MiG-29K 9-47. The problem with tail numbers can be solved by using decals from Trumpeter kits with additional planes/helicopters. Although you can try to find and buy a decal from Print Scale. There, in addition to the decal sheet with markings on the deck, there was a decal sheet for aircraft. It had 10 variants of the Su-33, 2 Su-25UTG, 2 Mi-8, 6 Ka-27, 1 Ka-29 and 4 Yak-141. There are questions about the color matching for the markings on the deck (the author of the decal Alexey Radetsky said that it seems to be for 1991-1994, so it will not work for later periods), but the aviation part is quite normal - it has tricolors and eagles on the keels of the Su-33 and various elements for other aircraft and helicopters. There is also a decal from Yankee Modelworks, but now it is a rare beast, and it is not clear what quality it is.
Models of the Su-27K aircraft can also be upgraded by etching from Five Star Models for its Chinese version of the J-15. Separately, the Ka-27 has an etching kit from WEM 3561. There are also resin models Ka-27, Ka-28, Ka-29 and Ka-31 with etching from Orange Hobby. But they do not have transparent glazing.
Deck equipment was not assembled, although Microdesign made it better than WEM. Pictured with etched main rotors - 4 folded screws from Microdesign and 3 unfolded screws from North Star etching.

Coloring

The color of the ship was chosen for the period 2010-2012, when she was repainted from a gloomy dark gray to a more ornate light gray.

During this period of time, there were 2 options for coloring the waterline - thin white and two-tone black and white. The hull and deck were painted together, while the superstructure and almost all the details were painted separately from the hull. First, the waterline was painted white and masked with 1mm Aizu Micron tape. To avoid smudges of paint under the adhesive tape, I once again walked over the adhesive tape with white. Further, the board was painted in light gray. The deck was painted in a slightly darker shade of this color and dark gray. Then the bottom was painted red. They forgot to paint the antenna radome of the SJSC "Polynom" in silver. Finally the decks were painted brick red. The superstructure was painted light gray with color modulation. The model was painted with paints and varnishes GSI Mr. color. A wash of Pebeo XL oil on Zippo gasoline was used, but without fanaticism, since there was no goal to create a dirty and worn model of the ship.
Aviation was painted acrylic paints Vallejo. Su-27Ks were painted in a standard three-color camouflage - the base color was airbrushed, the rest of the camouflage colors were acrylic with a brush. It was decided to paint the MiG-29K in the late "eggplant" color scheme. Aircraft 311 received this coloration in 2003, and Aircraft 312 has been carrying it since 1992. Despite the fact that these planes were unlikely to be on the deck of Kuznetsov after 1991, we decided to install them and dilute the color scheme on the deck with them. All aircraft and helicopters were kept transparent glazing. Imitation of cockpits, glazing covers, landing gear, wheel rims, tires, nozzles, radio-transparent panels and antennas, niches and the inner sides of the landing gear doors were painted. We did not imitate the glazing sealant - not on this scale, you can do it)))) A wash was also made. It was decided to paint 7 identical helicopters differently. 3 helicopters were painted with an orange stripe on top. One helicopter was painted pure gray to make the Ka-27PL, while the rest were decided to be painted in the two-tone Ka-27PS.

Final photo session

It turned out like this. Saigon cooled the ardor of Silvergost, so that he would not saw through all the gophers in the model and miss the deadline for a couple of years. And Silvergost cooled Saigon's ardor so that he would not soil Kuzya and his air group as if he had survived after the universal apocalypse. And also surreptitiously threw up various photos so that the model would at least have something in common with the prototype besides the name. In response, Saigon sent photos, where everything was specially collected as incorrectly as possible and mixed up with the words "Do not care, it will do, no one will notice," forcing me to grab the validol, knowing in whose office of the General Staff this craft-model will go. In general, he trolled the stoned shipbuilder in every possible way. Meanwhile, Anton's wife tried in every possible way to requisition shiny cogs and airplanes for her needs. Yes, and I tried to let Barsik in the boat in the bathroom. But the displacement of the cat turned out to be much larger than the model. For cat navigation all the same, an aircraft carrier on a scale of 1/200 was needed. As a result, under the wild squeals of the cat, the model drowned, and the cat flew out of the bathroom in shock. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this, knowing how much you "love cats". You wouldn't have come within a kilometer of that model after a desecration like that.

So despite the working jokes, unlike my nerves and Barsik, not a single fly and gopher were hurt. It was fun, we never even had a fight. In some places it turned out even better and smoother than that of a real ship. In any case, Anton's waterline turned out to be much smoother than that of the shipyard.

During the final photo session, the model was constantly being refined and finished with a file. Forgotten parts, incorrectly installed elements, and so on were found. Therefore, it is noticeable in the photographs that some elements are either there or not, while others stand or are located differently. With each new photo, the model was overgrown with unnecessary details, the absence of which was hardly noticeable. And yet there was still a bag of forgotten and unused plastic and etched parts. I hope no one will be offended that we did not put them))))

big plans

In general, according to Anton

But I would still separately pouparivatsya with this model.

Comparison with the prototype

To begin with, let's compare the Trumpeter model with the prototype in general and most noticeable places.
I made several collages of various Trumpeter models - ours with Anton, Alexander Mukhin (with a more burgundy bottom) and Andrey Skurenok (with a bulb painted with silver).

And so, the nose

1. the flight deck of the prototype is longer and goes beyond the dimensions of the stem. it must be increased in length by at least 5 mm and the correct joint with the body must be fashioned.
2. cleats need to be redone
3. the shape and sections of the bulb have nothing to do with the prototype at all. The fairing is bulb-shaped (or teardrop-shaped), wide at the bottom and tapering towards the top.
4. when viewed from above, the bulb has an oval cross section, but on the model it is not clear what is a cylindrical pipe installed at an angle to the horizontal ...
5. the prototype bulb does not protrude much forward relative to the waterline, in contrast to the model, whose bulb can be successfully rammed into modern tin cans.
6. the stem line when viewed from the side in the waterline area of ​​the prototype is smoother than on the model

In general, the bulb is completely replaceable, and everything else is fixable with large quantity mat and putty.

I'm going to the stern

There are compared 2 models and a prototype. On the top of the model, only the screws were replaced. In the center is our attempt to fix Trumpeter pornography. Well, below is a photo of the prototype. In general, despite the efforts, we still have something to work on and work on. But it looked better. And the original VRG should be thrown into the trash.

Comparison in the location of detailing on the sides

Of course, the photos were taken imperfectly, due to the difference in angles and focal lengths, there are slight shifts.
But some things are already evident.

Russian multi-role fighter Su-33 crashed while landing on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the pilot was able to eject and was picked up by a rescue helicopter. The agency said the accident was caused by a broken cable that helps the plane slow down on deck. As a result, the Su-33 rolled off the deck. For a short stay at the Syrian coast, Kuznetsov has already lost two aircraft.

The press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the incident, said: “This is a very intense, difficult and heroic work. First of all, we are talking about the fact that the pilot survived. In mid-November, a Russian MiG-29 fighter, also part of the Admiral Kuznetsov air group, crashed. The plane crashed into the water near the aircraft carrier. The pilot was saved. Engine failure was cited as the official cause of the accident. According to unofficial information, the same brake cables became the reason: the Mig circled around the aircraft carrier while they tried to repair the cable on the deck, torn by the previous landing aircraft. The repair was delayed, as a result of which the fighter simply did not have enough fuel and it fell into the sea.

The only Russian aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" as part of the ship group of the Russian Navy is located in the Mediterranean Sea. On November 15, combat aircraft based on it began to strike at targets in Syria.

Military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer, commenting on the loss of the second Russian combat aircraft from the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, draws particular attention to the very senselessness of his mission off the coast of Syria. The expert is sure that the purpose of the admirals who sent the aircraft carrier there was to demonstrate to Vladimir Putin the justification for the huge expenses on the fleet:

Context

Russian aircraft carrier avoids attacks on Aleppo

Rusty fleet of Vladimir Putin

Why is Putin launching an aircraft carrier?

Pavel Felgenhauer: Well, in general, they are not very common, otherwise there would be no aircraft carrier aviation in the world. They seem to say that the cable broke, but I don’t know for sure. Either the pilot was poorly trained, or the cables were rotten, or both.

- Maybe the problem is that the Admiral Kuznetsov is an outdated ship?

“The problem is not his age, which is quite normal for a ship. Aircraft carriers serve for a long time. These are large ships, they are designed for a fairly long service. And the fact that his campaign in the Mediterranean from a military point of view is absolutely meaningless - from beginning to end. This is purely a publicity stunt. The ship was not built for such trips. There is simply nothing for him to do. He cannot and did not do anything there - only the losses he suffered were also completely senseless.

- But after all, both the aircraft carrier and its aircraft perform some kind of combat mission?

He can't bomb Syria. Aircraft had to take off from an aircraft carrier, land on Russian base. There they refueled with fuel and bombs, flew to bomb something. At the same time, SU-33 aircraft are also not intended for strikes against land and sea targets. They weren't built for that. These are pure fighters. Pilots are not prepared for this. Some kind of sighting equipment was put there on the planes, but still they are not intended for this. He performs there a completely meaningless function of just such a representation. That is, a full-size self-propelled model of an aircraft carrier is sent to Syria. True, he walks slowly, because, again, he is not intended for warm waters. This is a purely fighter aircraft carrier for the protection of deployed strategic nuclear submarines. He has no other special goals. Therefore, he should be in the Barents Sea, where there are his wards - strategic nuclear submarines. He must protect them from anti-submarine aircraft in the event of a nuclear war. It has a power plant, which is not intended for long trips. Aircraft that are not designed for bombing and any other attacks on naval targets, too.

- Why was the "Admiral Kuznetsov" sent on a campaign in the Mediterranean Sea?

“The admirals wanted to show Putin that trillions are not being spent on the fleet for nothing, that the fleet can do something. But the demonstration is not very convincing, because in reality the Kuznetsov cannot do anything useful - only lose planes. Unlike the Peter the Great, whose nuclear power plant is designed for long-distance voyages, the Kuznetsov was never designed for them. Even the official autonomy is only 40 days.

What do you think caused the accidents?

- Most likely, they are tired - the crew, the pilots. Their load is peak. So, mistakes, losses. These are not American aircraft carriers that are constantly at sea. They have replacement crews there. It's a completely different thing. "Kuznetsov" was sent to pretend that our fleet can operate in the Mediterranean almost like an American one, that money should be spent on it. In the middle of next year, the rearmament program until 2025 should be approved. And there the main expenditure item is precisely naval weapons. For the fleet, this is very important. Because if they cut funding, then the leadership of the General Staff, in the first place, of course, will substitute the fleet. Well, their programs are wildly expensive. Monstrous. It was very important for them to show that they can do something, that they are not completely useless. Although in reality our fleet is generally useless for such regional conventional wars. No, they play an important supply role there in Syria. Every day there are 2 thousand tons various items supplies go to Syria. And the fleet does it, including landing ships. They bought old ruins abroad, transport ships. They go under the sea flag so that the Turks do not inspect them in the straits. They supply the group in Syria.

And the naval unit... Well, yes, they shoot these cruise missiles, which is also wildly expensive and, in general, useless. Not that it's completely useless, but pointless. Because shooting at militants in Toyotas with rockets worth 5 million dollars a piece is a rather pointless exercise. It's good that no one has died yet. The pilots have been rescued. Although will they fly or not? After ejection, pilots usually do not fly anymore. There are serious back injuries. And we have very few carrier-based pilots. Two have already been hurt. This is not good, because one of them will probably never fly again. Or maybe both. All this in order to portray the existence of an aircraft carrier, which is not an aircraft carrier. Well, if he comes back under his own power.

- So what about the aircraft of the wrong type on the Admiral Kuznetsov now, which are usually based on it?

- Why not those? The same. And we don't have any others. The SU-33, also known as the SU-27K, is no longer in production. There are ten of them left. Yes, it crashed, but there were only three or four of them. They apparently don't fly at all after this accident. In principle, in theory, the aircraft carrier should be delivered, when it returns, for a major overhaul, rebuilt for the MIG-29. Because the SU-33 has not been produced since the early 1990s, and there seem to be no plans to produce it. And the MIG-29 is being produced. He was brought to mind for India. True, French avionics were installed for India. I don't know which one is on the few planes we have now. But there are such plans - to remake the Admiral Kuznetsov under the MIG-29. Because the SU-33 is almost gone. So he left with a dozen planes. Well, what kind of aircraft carrier is this - it has 10 aircraft in total and a deck crew. Before that, it had been under repair for years, and now it’s such a long campaign, and even with constant combat work. The admirals, like in a casino, put on "zero" - they say, this ship, which is not intended for such tasks, will show itself remarkably well in this heavy, wild tension. Well, they didn't do it very well. So far, there hasn't been much success. They reported that they had killed 30 of some militants. And since aviators always exaggerate the losses of the enemy by at least 10 times, it may be that they really killed two or three people.