Trumpeter Chengdu J-10

The summer campaign continues here in 72Land. An unusual burst of activity has resulted in a couple more finished models. We’ll get to the Ju-88 in a bit, because today’s completion is in a more modern vein.

Given my production so far in 2011, you’d be excused for thinking that I’m not a huge fan of modern aircraft. With the exception of Hawks and Typhoons, which are really more of a camo and markings collection effort than anything, I don’t seem to finish much that is in current service. There are times, however, when I get infected by an article in Air Forces Monthly, or just want something different to provide a break from the usual flow of types. After all, I really have no firm area of interest; I usually just follow the lure of inspiration.

So last month I started on a small set of next-gen fighters. There was the Italeri F-22 (currently waiting for camo paint) and the new Zvezda Sukhoi T-50 (of which more soon). I threw in the recent Trumpeter kit of the Chengdu J-10 to complete the trio. The J-10 really isn’t a fifth gen fighter – it is more in the size and style of an F-16. That spot will be filled by the J-20 that has apparently just been released in Asia by Trumpeter, and will be added to the set as soon as it appears in this country. But it was the one I had at the time I started the project, and as it happens it was finished first.

I found the kit to be in the usual Trumpeter style: good plastic, nice fit, decent detail. The ailerons could have fit more snugly, but that is a byproduct of giving you the option of setting them at an angle, so I can live with that.

Trumpeter does not provide much in the way of painting information, but cross-referencing their Gunze codes with FS numbers and (relatively un)educated guessing, I came up with Barley Grey X017 and Blue Grey X126 as camo colors. As always these are Xtracolour paints. They look pretty close to a photo I found on globalsecurity.com. The kit decals, though few in number, were thin and settled down without setting solution. I did use a little MicroSol on the intake warnings, however, since they had to deal with compound curves.

This is completed model #361, finished in August of 2011.