Linden Hill | Su 27's from the Baltic to the Pacific
Reviewed by Jay Laverty
The Flanker is one of my favourite aircraft and not only because it makes for a stunning modelling subject. I feel that because those who operate the SU-27 do so in some very interesting schemes with colourful camouflage patterns and pay little heed to the idea of "Low-Visibility" markings this makes for a model that would stand out in any scale.
For years we had the 48th scale Academy kits which were an impressive size in their own right, but now, thanks to our friends at Trumpeter, we have a 32nd scale version which will dominate any table it is put on. I welcomed the release of this kit and equally welcome the after-market additions for it including the two sets of decals Linden Hill Decals have thus far released for it.
It was obvious from the moment I opened the bag the sheets come in that this was going to be something special. Although given the price tag of £16.50 (from Hannants in the UK) and $22.99 it was not unreasonable to expect more than your average decal sheet could offer, and this offering does not disappoint.
A full colour, 16 page booklet full of profiles of 9 aircraft embellished with plenty of photographs ( 31 never before published ones to be exact! ) and a small but concise historical background of each aircraft. All of which was painstakingly researched by the Linden Hill team and some contacts within Russia like Andrei Yeldashov, who co created one of the original schemes featured on Linden Hills first Flanker sheet.
Featured aircraft
Profile 01: The first SU featured is "Red 01" of the 689th GvIAP Russian Navy, Nivenskoye Airbase (Kaliningrad Region ), from Spring 2002. This unit is a Guards Fighter aviation unit and therefore the instantly recognisable Guards badges were applied to all of the units aircraft in 1990.
Profile 02: The second scheme is once again "Red 01" of the 689th GvIAP although it now appears with what are some of the nicest markings I have seen a Russian SU-27 in. Even though the markings only lasted for 18 hours, the Cobra with a Besik and the Cobras eyes and mouth make for one very appealing subject!
Profile 03: Another 689th Aircraft this profile is of "Red 04" which sports an eagle on the starboard tail fin, added in preparation for a visit to Sweden in 2001.
Profile 04: This profile covers two aircraft of the 23rd IAP based at Komsomolsk-on-Amur, in the Khabarovsk region during 2002. "Red 55 & 56" both sport identical markings (aside from the numbers of course) and with the sharks mouth over the intakes they are both very striking. Of particular note is that in December 2002 Red 56 underwent conversion to the SU-27SM variant and can be modelled with a slew of new weaponry.
Profile 05: This aircraft is "Red 27" of the 2nd AE, 60th IAP of Dzemgi airbase in 1999. The nose art depicts a map of the Far Eastern Military district and oversized tail numbers.
Profile 06: "Red 51". This profile is brought to you by 159th IAP, at Besovets air base in Karelia. This particular units nose art makes reference to the 3rd IAK's Yak fighters of the Second world War and while it is a tad smaller compared to other units nose art, it is no less interesting.
Profile 08 & 09: A pair of SU-27's one from the Ethiopian air force circa 1999 and the other Eritrean air force circa 2003. Ethiopia's Flankers carried out successful missions against Eritrean MiG-29s during the two nations conflict, and it is very likely that the Eritrean Su-27 depicted here ("Black 609") was purchased to replace on of the lost MiGs which could well have been shot down by the Ethiopian "Black 1804".
And that's not all!
As extensive as the information already provided in the booklet is, it doesn't stop there. There are some notes on Flanker camouflage and general colours as well as some information on wing national insignia, giving FS colour references and goes as far as to not only offer the proper paint numbers from Xtracolor and Testors, but also recommendations for weathering mixes.
The Decals Themselves
Encompassing three separate sheets, the markings are silk-screen printed and are in perfect register. The film is very thin and of a very high quality. All I can say is I confidently await the chance to put these on a model. Therefore I cannot comment on how they will work with Microset and Sol, orMr. Setter and Softer, but I will try both in my Trumpeter kit build article, so keep an eye out for that. I will be using Zactoman's canopy correction as well.
The Verdict
Excellent! Highly recommended. Extensively researched, well printed and full of all the research info you would need outside of detailing the interior, this sheet is superb value for money and well worth every penny, pence, or rouble, wherever you build Flankers.
© Jay Laverty 2005
This review was published on Saturday, July 02 2011; Last modified on Wednesday, May 18 2016