Flankers
On Patrol

Guardians
of the North

Arctic Su-27s

1/32 Scale

Linden Hill Decals

Reviewed by Mike Reeves

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For those of you who have not yet bought the new 1/32 scale Trumpeter Su-27 Flanker, take my advice and go out and get one.

For those of you who already have one, you will be very excited about the decal sheet I am reviewing here. I would be willing to wager that once you get this sheet of decals in hand you will be clearing off a very large spot on your workbench and will get started on the big Trumpeter Flanker.

I received Linden Hill's 1/32 scale "Flankers On Patrol - Guardians of the North. Arctic Su-27s" sheet in the mail a few days ago and have been studying it nightly ever since. You literally get 10 different aircraft to choose from plus a couple of bonus jets (actually the same on in two different schemes) from the Uzbek Air Force. Here is a quick run down on the aircraft that you are able to build.

1. Su-27 Blue 03 This aircraft carries the standard Flanker scheme with green nose cone and leading edges of the vertical stabs and the stab caps. It sports a polar bear emblem of the 1st Squadron of the 641st Gv.IAP on the starboard fin.

2. Su-27 Blue 09 his aircraft is the same aircraft as blue 03 above. This change happened after the 941st and 641st regiments were merged. The polar bear emblem was retained on the starboard fin. The areas where the blue 03 was on the nose and tail have been repainted along with the new bort number resulting in a newer appearance of the paint in these areas. The early style vertical tail anti flutter balances have been removed on this aircraft.

3. Su-27 Red 07 This aircraft also carries the standard Flanker paint scheme but has the nose coneand tail dielectric panels painted white. This aircraft was assigned to the 941st IAP and received the traditional “walrus” and “Owl” emblems. Andrey Yeldashov added a bit of excitement to the paint scheme by adding a shark mouth and eye to the nose section. This aircraft awas selected for special paint since it was scrambled to intercept NATO reconnaissance planes patrolling Russia’s Northern border.

4. Su-27 Blue 38 This aircraft is the same aircraft as Red 07 above. It received a new Bort number when the two regiments merged into one. The shark eye was still retained. The blue where the new bort numbers was painted is darker than the surrounding color as it is new paint.

5. Su-27 Red 24 This aircraft is in standard Flanker paint. It is one of the oldest aircraft in the 941st IAP to receive any individual emblems. Three stars are painted under the cockpit to represent three successful target drone interceptions. It also carries 8 R-27 silhouettes to represent the intercepts of NATO reconnaissance aircraft intercepted over the Barents Sea. It also carries the “Klip-Yavr” emblem on the starboard vertical stab. The dielectric panels on the tail and the nose cone are green.

6. Su-27 Blue 35 This aircraft carries the standard Flanker paint scheme. The aircraft carries the “Owl” behind the canopy and the “Guard” status emblem that was awarded to the 941st IAP under the canopy on the port side. The nose cone and dielectric panels are white on this aircraft.

7. Su-27 Red 39 Standard Flanker paint on this one as well. This aircraft has the inscription “Rossiya” on both sides of the fuselage under the canopy that’s was applied at the factory before it went to Kilp-Yavr. The dielectric panels appear to be grey on this jet.

8. Su-27 Ble 41 This is the same aircraft as Red 39 above. Its Bort number was changed after the merger of the 941st and the 641st IAPs. The aircraft was named after the Hero of the Soviet Union A.M. Chislov. The HSU star and 21 stars corresponding to his victories over the Luftwaffe were applied to the port intake. The aircraft also carries the wing tip Sorbstya ESM pods. The dielectric panels and the nose cone appear to have been painted white as well.

9. Su-27 Red 03 Another one in standard Flanker colors. The finish on this one is quite weathered with some dark blue touch up in some areas. This aircraft carries a modified walrus emblem to distinguish this aircraft from others in the 941st. The winged one badge on the port intake is the emblem of the first squadron. There are five stars on the nose representing the number of target drones successfully hit. The dielectric panels and nose cone are white.

10. Su-27 Blue 20 Standard Flanker paint on this one as well. The aircraft has not changed since it went into service. It still retains the anti flutter balances on the fins. The Polar bear on the fin is typical of the 2nd squadron of the 641st Gv.IAP.

11. Su-27 Blue 31 This aircraft carries the standard Flanker paint scheme. The dedication under the port canopy reads “Named after Hero of the Soviet Union Maresiev Alexei Petrovich” He was the Rssian version of the RAF s Douglas Bader. The dielectric panels are green on the vertical stabs but the nose cone is white. Anti Flutter balances have been removed.

12. Su-27SK Blue 48 This aircraft is dark mid grey similar to FS36314 on the upper surfaces and light grey similar to FS36492 on the lower surfaces. The nose radome and dielectric panels are dark grey similar to FS26173. This aircraft serves with the second regiment of the PLAAF, Suixi AB, Guangzhou MD, PR China. The aircraft sports a unit badge unique to the PLAAF on the vertical stabs. The badge looks very similar to the old USAF TAC badge.

13. Su-27 #21 This aircraft is from the Uzbek Air Force, Chirchik Air Base in 2001. This is one of the rarest Flanker’s. The original scheme on this aircraft carried a paint scheme of FS34102 green, FS33448 mid brown, FS36270 medium grey upper surfaces with FS16473 undersurfaces. The aircraft looks to have been repainted in a different scheme replacing the FS34102 green with a darker FS34096 green. The FS numbers are approximate and photographs (very rare indeed) should be used to aid in painting. Both schemes look very striking on the Flanker.

Now that I have given you an overview of the options let me get on to the decals and instructions themselves.

The instructions are in color and cover 10 pages. Each aircraft has a very concise history along with painting notes. I really enjoyed reading the history of each aircraft along with how each jet has it’s own individual markings. It sure breaks up the monotony of every jet looking the same.

The decals themselves are superb. There are five, yes five, sheets included in the set. Two full sheets and three partial sheets. All of my markings are very clean and within register. The color density is very good. I was amazed at the sheer size of the Uzbeki roundel!! It is 1 ¾ across!!

This sheet is well researched by the men who are around the jets every day. The research shows in the quality of the artwork and the subtle differences in some of the jets.

If you want to build Trumpeter's 1/32 scale Su-27, then Linden Hill Decals' "Flankers On Patrol - Guardians of the North" sheet is a must have.

Recommended

Thanks to Linden Hill Imports for the review sample.

Linden Hill Decals are available from Linden Hill Imports' website

Review Text Copyright © 2004 by Mike Reeves