Following my penchant for making 'planes with shark mouth markings, here is Revell's (ex-OEZ) Su-7BMK 'Fitter-A'. What aircraft this kit is is a bit confusing. The kit contains markings and alternative parts for what the instructions claim is an Indian Air Force Su-7BKL and an Egyptian Su-7BMK. Ken Duffey, in Scale Models International, pointed out that the Indian markings were actually applied to a lightened Su-7BMK. So, using his comments, this kit was built following most of the options for the BMK. The kit goes together ok. The fit of the tailplanes to the fuselage was awful, and that of the main wings not much better. The fuselage halves join nicely, but the drop tanks do not really fit in the space provided. Overall, the kit has a 'clunky' feel to it. The cockpit interior is very ropey, but not much can be seen through the very thick canopy! I think I used Halfords black spray paint for the finish over Humbrol enamel for the nose. Using these spray paints over enamel does not work and caused the underlying enamel to craze and crack. The bright green is Revell's recommended paint, but seems a bit garish to me. Noseweight is needed for this model but is not mentioned in the instructions — I found out the hard way. Kit decals were used although the orange is too red and the white is slightly out of register. These were applied over Johnson's Klear. It is quite a nice kit and I've often fancied giving it another go, or attempting KP's Su-22 late-model Fitter. This kit was built in the Summer of 1997.
