The Kitty Hawk 1/48 Su-34 Fullback, #KH 80141 was originally produced in 2018 according to the Scale Mate website. Around the same time, Hobby Boss also released a 1/48 model kit of this same subject. However, according to the Flory Models website, the Hobby Boss 1/48 Su-34 suffered from an inaccurate nosecone shape as their kit was based upon a prototype of the Su-34. Due to this information and the lower cost of the Kitty Hawk 1/48 Su-34 kit, I decided to purchase and eventually build this kit. Prior to building this kit, I purchased and built Kitty Hawk's 1/48 F-35B kit, which was a very problematic build due to poor fitting parts and incomplete decaling diagrams. As a result of my bad experience with that kit, I held off on building their Su-34 kit which was kept in my stash for several years. I eventually purchased the Galaxy Model Su-34 canopy/wheel mask set for this kit and also the DN Models camouflage Paint Masks for the Russian Su-34 Fullback in 1/48 scale. Upon inspection of the parts inside the kit, the plastic was found to be of high quality. One characteristic that was of concern was the way the main wings of the aircraft attached to the fuselage of the jet. Instead of the two-piece pan cake assembly of the wing/fuselage parts on most other flanker family model kits, this one had separate wings that were to be attached to the fuselage by two tabs. This posed the possibility of wing alignment issues, however, much to my relief, with some dry fitting of these wings to the fuselage, this was not a problem. One error I discovered early in the build was when the instructions show intake ports being attached to the spine of the aircraft fuselage on the outside when these parts actually are supposed to go on the interior side of the upper fuselage half. During build-up of the cockpit, the ejector seat rails require shortening otherwise, they will not fit under the clear canopy part. Decals are provided for the instrument panels in addition to photoetch seat belt/harness parts. The kit has decals for up to four paint schemes. For my build of this aircraft, I decided to make the Red 03 aircraft which had a multi-color camouflage scheme. Several parts throughout the build required removal of ejector pins to ensure a precise fit of some of the parts. The kit has lots of Russian bombs, missiles, gun pods, rocket launchers and pylons. The instructions show a load out diagram for the Su-34. Also, full color painting illustrations show how to paint each of the four paint schemes available inside the kit. For my build I used Vallejo acrylic based paints that were airbrushed using an Iwata HP-C airbrush with a 0.3 mm needle at 20 psi. For the under surfaces of the model, I used the black basing technic to create color modulation. Decals in this kit are thick and will require Micro Sol and Micro Set to adhere properly to this model. For my build of this aircraft, I decided to provide it with a full load out of weapons. As an added bonus, this kit includes two sets of resin nozzles. One pair is in the closed position and the other pair is in the fully open position. Landing gear assembly is tedious and complex. I recommend adding the vertical tail planes last for decal and painting purposes. During the build it was discovered that some of the holes for the connecting points are not deep enough to accommodate the connecting pins on the adjoining part. On those occasions, I had to remove the connecting points to obtain a flush fit of the parts. The kit includes two full engines. In order to install them properly, I had to completely remove the mounting slots inside the fuselage housing. This allowed me to align the engines properly in the engine housing covers. I also experienced some fit issues with the resin nozzles provided in this kit. I had to cut away the location tabs on the nozzle parts to permit them to seat properly inside the fuselage. I would recommend this model kit for intermediate advanced model builders with airbrush and decaling skills for best results.

If you enjoy attaching ordinance to your plane, then you have arrived. Six sprues of just ordinance, literally everything the plane can carry. Cockpit and engines are highly detailed. I was constantly trimming, sniping and filing the parts.