HobbyBoss 1/48 Su-34 Fullback by Peter Marshall

H

ave I said “golden age of

modelling” yet this week?

Well, I have now. I wasn’t

even aware that this Hobby Boss

kit was coming (shows how much

attention I pay), but then, having

been blessed with it to review, I

find that Kitty Hawk will also be

doing it in 1/48 scale as well!

The Su-34 is a great looking

aircraft, and Wikipedia tells us

this about it: “The Sukhoi Su-

(NATO reporting name: Fullback) is

a Russian twin-engine, twin-seat

strike fighter, intended to replace

the Sukhoi Su-24. Based on the

Sukhoi Su-27 ”Flanker”, the two-

seat Su-34 is designed primarily

for tactical deployment against

ground and naval targets (tactical

bombing/attack/interdiction

roles, including against small and

mobile targets); solo and group

missions in daytime; at night,

under favourable and adverse

weather conditions, and in a hostile

environment with counter-fire and

EW counter-measures deployed, as

well as for aerial reconnaissance.”

Basically, it seems to be a beefed

up Su-27, optimised as a fighter-

bomber, with a side-by-side,

two-person cockpit (like the F-111).

So what’s in the (extremely

large) box? My word, over 890 parts!

Of those, about 640 are for the

unbelievably extensive weapons

choices, which make up 24 of the 34

sprues of fairly soft, medium grey

plastic. I’m not going to go through

everything that’s included at this

stage, but suffice it to say that I’m

thinking the main problem with

this kit will be deciding what to

hang on it. Let’s hope I’m right.

The surface finish is generally

nice and smooth, but the engraved

detail is a little too restrained

SU-

A Russian

Fullback

6 • JANUARY 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

BY SACCO DE VRIES

SUKHOI SU-

BY PETER MARSHALL

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006-15-FEAT-SU34-0118.indd 6 08/12/2017 16: