Municipal budget educational institution

additional education "Station of children's (youth) technical creativity "REGATA""

Spassky municipal district of the Republic of Tatarstan

Tutorial

for making a model

aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov"

Radjabov Ruslan Tolibovich,

additional education teacher

Association "Ship Modeling"

Bolgar - 2017

Annotation.

The idea of ​​​​creating a model of the aircraft-carrying cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov" arose due to both objective and subjective circumstances.

The objective reason that prompted the team of the Shipbuilding association to take on the development of the project was the desire to familiarize students with the history of the Russian Navy, to bring them closer to an understanding of the international situation that existed at the time of the creation of the ship.

IN modern world The Russian fleet protects the country's interests at all latitudes of the world's oceans. The aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov, launched from the stocks of the Black Sea Shipyard in 1991, was created to protect the naval formations of the Russian Navy.

The subjective reason for creating the cruiser model was the opportunity for students to improve their skills in working with tools, as well as the development of analytical and creative thinking (search for information, familiarity with history and technology Navy, application of knowledge in physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology). In the process of creating a model of an aircraft carrier, schoolchildren had to find answers to questions about the technical characteristics of ships, methods for ensuring buoyancy and stability, and possibilities for eliminatingroll and trim, about the distribution of weapons below the deck of a ship, etc.

The aircraft carrier model is completely radio-controlled: a team of 6 people, while on shore, has the ability to remotely maneuver the ship, take off and land aircraft (radio-controlled helicopters), and launch missiles.

The presented model is unique:

the ship's hull is built from available materials - plywood, pine slats, fiberglass and epoxy resin;

a fundamentally new electrical circuit has been developed to control the ship (movement back and forth, turning);

The runway and masthead lighting are identical to the analogue.

The work of the team of teachers from the "Shipbuilding" association was adequately appreciated by the jury at the All-Russian children's festival of folk culture "Heirs of Traditions", held on September 8 - 11, 2016 in the Vologda region. The model took 2nd place in the “Traditional Shipbuilding” category.

This textbook is intended for teachers of additional education of shipbuilding and ship modeling associations.

Explanatory note.

Aircraft carriers are the personification of the naval power of the state; they are designed to serve and base aviation as a mobile airfield;are carriers of nuclear and missile weapons.

Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser (TAVKR) "Admiral Fleet" Soviet Union Kuznetsov" is the only one in its class. It is capable of effectively carrying out air defense of ships, ensuring the safety of nuclear submarine missile cruisers, conducting air operations, and hitting large surface targets.

Part of the Northern Fleet. The Admiral Kuznetsov differs from most conventional aircraft carriers in its use of take-off ramps, its power plant and the presence of Granit anti-ship missile systems. This is the only aircraft carrier in the world on which the Su-33 heavy fighter can land and take off.

On board "Admiral Kuznetsov" may be located28 aircraft (Su-33 carrier-based fighters and MiG-29K multirole fighters) and 24 Ka-27 and Ka-29 anti-submarine and attack landing helicopters, Granit missiles (weighing seven tons each and with a range of up to 700 kilometers), a powerful system air and anti-submarine defence.

Cruiser dimensions: 306 meters long and 72 meters wide. The speed of the Admiral Kuznetsov is up to 32 knots (59 kilometers per hour). The cruising range at an economical speed is more than eight thousand miles. Displacement - 61.3 thousand tons.

The radio-controlled model "Admiral Kuznetsov" is a prototype of an operational ship of the Russian Navy, has an engine power of 1.5 kW, and has excellent performance. When the batteries are fully charged, the power reserve is up to 1.5 hours.

The model of the aircraft carrier measures 3 m in length and 80 cm in width (scale 1:100), and is advantageous in comparison with ready-made ones for salebench teamsmodelyamimade of plastic "Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov» in scale 1:350(874x205 mm) or on a scale of 1:720 (425x100 mm).

Purpose of the tutorial- providing the necessary assistance to additional education teachers and schoolchildren in creating operating radio-controlled models of ships using the example of the aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov”.

Tasks:

Familiarization with materials and manufacturing technology of an aircraft carrier model;

Improving skills in working with tools;

Use of elements of design, electrical engineering, physical and mathematical knowledge.

Relevance benefits:creating a model of a powerful modern ship serves as a way to attract students to the Ship Modeling association.

Model of a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser

"Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov"

Materials for work:

Wood, birch plywood (10 mm), blanks of bars of various sizes, slats 2-4 mm thick (of different lengths and widths, since they will be joined during the work), epoxy resin (10 kg), fiberglass (3 rolls) , car putty (4 kg), primer, wood impregnation, car paint, sanding sanding belt (paper), hot glue.

Tools:

Industrial stapler, jigsaw, grinding machine, drill (screwdriver), angle grinder (grinder), wire cutters, cutting tools (knives, saws), spatulas (rubber), heat gun.

Stages of work:

a) On the Internet we find drawings of a model of the aircraft-carrying cruiser “Admiral Kuznetsov”.

b) We increase the size of the drawings in accordance with the selected scale. We make templates of the main parts on paper. We transfer the templates to plywood. We cut out the blanks, process them with sandpaper, removing small chamfers along the edges and removing chips and burrs.

c) We put transverse frames on two longitudinal beams(Frame (Dutch spanthout, from spant - “rib” and hout - “tree”) - a transverse rib of a ship’s hull; a wooden or metal transverse element of rigidity for the hull of a ship or aircraft).

In the upper part of each frame there is a groove for fastening 2 load-bearing beams (each measuring 20x50x5000 mm). To connect the frames to the beam we use hot melt adhesive.

Interior view of the ship's hull with frames installed.

d) When the glue on the frames has dried, we begin to sheathe the sides with thin slats. The thickness of the material should be 0.8 - 1.2 mm, since only in this case we will be able to bend the skin parts without the risk of damaging them. We fix the covering strips with a stapler in the places where they come into contact with the frames.

The initial stage of work on the ship's plating:

We are completing the bow:

e) After covering the body, we remove unevenness and roughness of the slatted covering using a grinding machine. In places of the most pronounced defects and deflections, we apply a layer of wood putty in order to save epoxy resin.

Sealing the lath seams with a mixture of epoxy resin and sawdust:

f) Sanding the ship's hull after impregnating the fiberglass applied to the hull with epoxy resin:

and)Made from thinplywood deck superstructures, which include a ship control center, a radar station (radar), and a navigation control system.

Central control unit for the ship's progress:

The Russian multirole fighter Su-33 crashed while landing on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. The pilot was able to eject and was picked up by a rescue helicopter, the Russian Ministry of Defense said. The department said that the accident occurred due to a break in the cable that helps the plane brake on the deck. As a result, the Su-33 rolled off the deck. During its short stay off the Syrian coast, Kuznetsov has already lost two aircraft.

Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the incident, said: “This is very intense, complex and heroic work. The point is, first of all, that the pilot remained alive.” In mid-November, a Russian MiG-29 fighter, also part of the Admiral Kuznetsov air group. The plane crashed into the water near the aircraft carrier. The pilot was saved. The official cause of the accident was engine failure. According to the unofficial version, the reason was the same brake cables: the MiG was circling in the area of ​​the aircraft carrier, while on deck they were trying to repair the cable that had been broken by the previous landing plane. Repairs were delayed, as a result of which the fighter simply ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea.

The only Russian aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" as part of the ship group of the Russian Navy is located in the Mediterranean Sea. On November 15, warplanes based on it began striking targets in Syria.

Military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer, commenting on the loss of the second Russian combat aircraft from the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, draws special attention to the very senselessness of its mission off the coast of Syria. The expert is sure that the goal of the admirals who sent the aircraft carrier there was to demonstrate to Vladimir Putin the justification for the huge expenses on the fleet:​

– ​How common are accidents on aircraft carriers due to broken braking cables?

Either the pilot was poorly trained, or the cables were rotten

- Well, in general, they are not very common, otherwise there would be no carrier-based aircraft in the world. They seem to say that the cable broke, but I don’t know for sure. Either the pilot was poorly trained, or the cables were rotten, or both.

– ​Maybe the problem is that the Admiral Kuznetsov is an outdated ship?

– The problem is not his age, which is quite normal for a ship. Aircraft carriers serve a long time. These are large ships, they are designed to serve for quite a long time. And the fact is that his campaign in the Mediterranean Sea from a military point of view is absolutely meaningless - from beginning to end. This is purely a PR campaign. The ship was not built for such trips. He simply has nothing to do there. He couldn’t do anything there and didn’t do anything - he only suffered completely senseless losses.

– ​But both the aircraft carrier and its aircraft perform some kind of combat mission?

– He cannot bomb Syria. The planes had to take off from the aircraft carrier and land at a Russian base. There they refueled with fuel and bombs, and flew to bomb something. At the same time, Su-33 aircraft are also not intended for attacks on ground and sea targets. That's not what they were built for. These are pure fighters. Pilots are not prepared for this. The planes were equipped with some kind of sighting equipment there, but they were still not designed for that. He performs there a completely meaningless function of simply such representation. That is, a life-size self-propelled model of an aircraft carrier has been sent to Syria. True, it walks slowly, because, again, it is not intended for warm waters. It is a pure fighter aircraft carrier to protect deployed strategic nuclear submarines. He doesn't have any special goals anymore. Therefore, he should be in the Barents Sea, where his charges are located - strategic nuclear submarines. He must protect them from anti-submarine aircraft in the event of a nuclear war. It has a power plant that is not intended for long trips. Airplanes that are not intended for bombing attacks or any other attacks on naval targets either.

– ​Why was the Admiral Kuznetsov sent on a campaign to the Mediterranean Sea?

– The admirals wanted to show Putin that it is not for nothing that trillions are spent on the fleet, that the fleet can do something. But the demonstration is not very convincing, because in reality “Kuznetsov” cannot do anything useful - only lose planes. Unlike "Peter the Great", whose nuclear power plant is designed for long-distance missions, "Kuznetsov" was never intended for them. Even its official autonomy is only 40 days.

– ​What do you think caused the accidents?

- Most likely, they are tired - the crew, the pilots. The load is peak for them. This means mistakes, losses. These are not American aircraft carriers that are constantly at sea. They have replacement crews there. This is a completely different thing. "Kuznetsov" was sent to portray that our fleet can operate in the Mediterranean Sea almost like the American one, that money should be spent on it. The rearmament program until 2025 should be approved in the middle of next year. And the main expenditure item there is naval weapons. This is very important for the fleet. Because if funding is cut, then the leadership of the General Staff will, of course, first of all substitute the fleet. Well, their programs are wildly expensive. Monstrous. It was very important for them to show that they could do something, that they were not completely useless. Although in reality our fleet is generally useless for such regional conventional wars. No, they play an important supply role there in Syria. There, every day 2 thousand tons of various supplies arrive in Syria. And the fleet does this, including landing ships. They bought old ruins abroad, transport ships. They fly under a naval flag so that they are not inspected by the Turks in the straits. They .

And the naval unit... Well, yes, it fires these cruise missiles, which is also wildly expensive and generally useless. Not that it's completely useless, but it's pointless. Because shooting $5 million worth of missiles at militants in Toyotas is a pretty pointless exercise. It's good that no one has died yet. The pilots were saved. But will they fly or not? After an ejection, pilots usually do not fly again. There, back injuries can be very serious. And we have very few deck pilots. Two have already been injured. This is not good, because one of them will probably never fly again. Or maybe both. All this in order to depict the existence of an aircraft carrier, which is not an aircraft carrier. It would be good if he walked back under his own power.

– ​So, are the Admiral Kuznetsov now carrying aircraft of a different type than are usually based on it?

The admirals, like in a casino, bet on “zero”

- Why not those? The same. And we don’t have any others. The Su-33, also known as the Su-27K, is no longer in production. There are a dozen of them left. Yes, it crashed, but there were only three or four of them there. They apparently no longer fly at all after this accident. In principle, in theory, when it returns, the aircraft carrier should undergo extensive repairs and be rebuilt for the MiG-29. Because the Su-33 has not been produced since the early 1990s and there seem to be no plans to produce it. And the MiG-29 is being produced. It was brought to mind for India. True, French avionics were installed for India. I don’t know which one is currently on the few planes that we have. But there are plans to convert the Admiral Kuznetsov into a MiG-29. Because there are almost no Su-33 left. So he left with a dozen planes. Well, what kind of aircraft carrier is it - it has 10 aircraft in total and a deck crew. Before this, it was under repair for years, and now it’s such a long trip, and even with constant combat work. The admirals, as in a casino, bet on “zero” - they say, this ship, which is not intended for such tasks, in this heavy, wild tension, will perform remarkably well in such conditions. Well, it didn't work out very well for them. So far there has been no particular success. They reported that they killed 30 militants. And since aviators always exaggerate the enemy’s losses by at least 10 times, perhaps they actually killed two or three people.

Good health to all, dear creative colleagues. This is my second model, which I assembled after a long break in creativity, and presented on this resource. It was intended as an easy walk and relaxation after assembling the F/A-18E from Italeri, but it turned out to be a long and tedious marathon race for 4 months - that was how long it took to work in the evenings with the ship and about 3-4 weeks later on the air group. There were also interruptions in work caused by family circumstances and repairs, but in the end the ship “came into operation.” I present to your attention the model of the TAVKR “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Admiral Kuznetsov”, Zvezda, scale 1/720.

Prototype

“Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov” (former names - in order of assignment - “Soviet Union” (project), “Riga” (laying down), “Leonid Brezhnev” (launching), “Tbilisi” (tests)) - heavy aircraft carrier Project 1143.5 cruiser, the only one in its class in the Russian Navy (as of 2011). Designed to engage large surface targets and protect naval formations from attacks by a potential enemy. Named in honor of Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union. Built in Nikolaev, at the Black Sea Shipyard. During cruises, Su-25UTG and Su-33 aircraft of the 279th naval fighter are based on the aircraft-carrying cruiser aviation regiment(based airfield - Severomorsk-3) and Ka-27 and Ka-29 helicopters of the 830th separate naval anti-submarine helicopter regiment (based airfield - Severomorsk-1). More detailed information can be found on this site or on the Internet.

Original set

I gave a brief overview of the kit at the very beginning of my topic about building the model and you can see it; in this article I will focus on the main points:
Flaws:
1. Poor fit of parts; putty was needed on almost all seams. It took me about a month to assemble the parts of the ship's hull, of which there are no more than a dozen, as well as subsequent polishing.

2. Complete discrepancy between the model and the prototype:

• the stern contours and niches on the starboard side in the area of ​​the aircraft lifts have nothing to do with reality.
• There are no niches for life-saving equipment at all, as well as a section of the deck under the flight deck on the port side.
• there is no small superstructure above the wheelhouse.
• there are no hatches for the Granit anti-ship missile launchers on the flight deck.
• There are no large number of portholes along the ship's hull.

Further standard - glossy enamel

I present our first joint project Saigon & SilverGhost. The model of the only Russian heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov from Trumpeter has been on the market for 13 years. This model and its shortcomings will not surprise anyone. It was in those years that Trumpeter “earned” his well-known negative reputation among domestic aircraft and ship modellers. But the release of an etching kit from the domestic company Microdesign generated interest in assembling a model of Admiral Kuznetsov with this particular kit.

Start

The model was built jointly by Anton "Saigon" and Andrey "SilverGhost".
The purpose of the assembly was to obtain a neat collective image of a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser as of 2010-2012 with etching without major alterations and modifications to the plastic itself. In view of the huge number of shortcomings of the plastic kit itself, we did not strive for replicability and authenticity, and we did not drive a crooked model into equally crooked drawings. However, we tried to combine our very different and best sides as modelers and apply them in ship modeling, making allowances for the short deadlines.
The work was divided into stages and carried out in some places in parallel, which made it possible to reduce the time and build the model in 3 months. Anton did most of the work - he was involved in the deck, superstructure, assembling etching and detailing, painting the model and air group. While Andrey was engaged in reworking the propeller-rudder group, modifications and assembly of the hull and air group.

About the model

As usual, a little history about the prototype models. The “first sign” was the model of Admiral Kuznetsov from Italeri in 1991 in 1/720 scale. The model was then called "Tbilisi". In 1992, this model was repackaged by Revell under the name "Varyag", making a typical foreign boxart with an incorrect inscription in Russian "Varyag". The same year the model was repackaged by Testors, and in 1995 Italeri updated it as the "Admiral Kuznetsov". Since 2000, the model has been produced by Zvezda and at the same time produced under the Italeri brand. The model is quite primitive and was made from the first photographs of the ship when it was still being tested in the Black Sea. Therefore, it represents only a collective image of the ship from a distance of more than a meter.

In the 1990s, a 1/800 scale toy model from Kitech was released, which was still sometimes found on sale with a boxart with a typo " Admiral Kuznetson"In the 2000s, this model was repackaged by Zhengdefu.

In 2005, the first serious model of this ship was released - from Trumpeter in 1/350 scale. In 2011, a repack of it appeared with new sprues and etching included in the kit called “PLA Navy aircraft carrier” (actually Liao Ning). The models differ in sprues with weapons, island detail, a different air group and the presence of a Chinese version of etching.

At the same time, in 2005, a similar model of the TAVKR Kuznetsov from Trumpeter was released, but on a scale of 1/700. This model was later repackaged by Pit-Road and re-released by Trumpeter in 2012 and 2016 as the "PLA Navy aircraft carrier" and Liao Ning.

“Well, now let’s get back to our crucian carp” (C). More precisely one, but very large.

Review

There could be a review at this point. But he won't be there. Here it will simply be said that in a box that could fit an adult representative of Southeast Asia, there was a mountain of sprues and parts. Something like 1000. The box was immediately given away under the “furry family” program to the cat collection to the delight of Barsik, and the bottom of the box turned out to be an excellent garage for Porshik in 1/8 scale. 13 years of casting were not in vain for the model. Flash, shrinkage of plastic and sink marks everywhere. At this point one could traditionally kick Star for casting, but today one can safely and deservedly kick Trumpeter. Another 10-15 years of casting and this “high-tech model” will drop to the level of the New Shit Bottling Toy Factories of the 1990s.

Above-water part of the hull

The ship's hull is successfully divided into 2 halves along the waterline (except for the individual halves of the bow bulb/antenna radome of the Polynom SJSC), which made it possible to carry out modifications on them separately before joining the hull halves, without carrying the entire hull assembled.
First, cosmetic modifications were made to the surface of the hull. The top part of the hull is cast in one piece with metal and plastic bridges along the waterline. Unfortunately, these jumpers are of no use, since they push the surface of the hull apart, and it is easier to cut them out before joining the bottom in order to adjust the width of the hull locally.
The main problems of the surface part of the hull:

• lack of aft balcony with through holes on both sides
• incorrect shape of the stem and deck at the junction with each other (the deck merges too sharply into the stem)
• incorrect shape of the stem at the waterline
• incorrect shape and location of the anchor hawse, no lining of the compartment flap above them
• incorrect shape and size of the recess on the stern transom
• absence of various small cutouts for gangways and balconies on both sides
• incorrect shapes of balconies for ZRAK Dirk in the bow and RBU-1200 and AK-630 in the stern
• incorrect shape of the balcony with a crane on the starboard side
• displacement of cutouts in the side near the island
• the bow aircraft lift is shifted to the stern
• incorrect and incomplete detailing of balconies and cutouts below deck
• every little thing like scuppers and portholes simply hasn’t been checked, but be prepared to fix it too
• there is a suspicion that the camber in the bow was done incorrectly
• the hull sharply narrows in width in the area of ​​the bow balcony with the Kortik air defense missile system and the Dagger air defense missile launcher

Correcting all this was not part of our plans and time frame, so we limited ourselves to the bare minimum.
The aft balcony and through holes in the sides for it were cut. Fortunately, etching Microdesign provides for this modification and provides rails with bale strips and views for the slotted aft balcony. Microdesign, alas, cheated and gave only 1 type of views. There were at least 2 types of them on the aft balcony, as well as spiers and other equipment. WEM has views of the second type. An imitation of the deck and bulkheads was made from Aurora Hobby sheet plastic (for strength, a lattice of sprues was glued to the back side of them); etched doors from Rainbow, homemade casings with communications and various equipment from plastic scrap were added without fanaticism. Then niches for the side gangways and balconies were cut out in the hull, which Trumpeter depicted in plastic with jointing or shallow recesses. Unfortunately, it later turned out that Trumpeter had marked these niches incorrectly and they had to be cut out in other places. Sheet plastic was used to imitate the insides of these niches and balconies and etched doors were added. Ideally, for a better life for gophers, it was necessary to do strength training there. But we decided to put our gopher on a diet and not do unnecessary work that no one but him would appreciate.

Bottom

• incorrect shape and cross-section of the antenna radome of the SJSC "Polynom" in the nose
• the propeller-rudder group (VRG - deadwoods, shafts, shaft brackets, propellers) seems to be from another ship and is located incorrectly
• short keel and irregular hull lines
• zygomatic carinae are located in the wrong place and are of a different size
• the rudders are positioned incorrectly and have a different shape at the junction with the bottom
• the bottom of the real ship at the stern is flatter and more shallowly merges into the keel than on the model. That is, the propeller-rudder group should be located further forward from the stern.

The VRG of the model looks like a foreign body from another ship, and when you look at the bow of the ship, you understand that “there is a boy in front of you.”
To correct the antenna radome of the Polynom SJSC, it would be necessary to fashion a new radome from two-component putty and possibly correct the contours of the body in the nose for normal docking with it. Therefore, we decided to limit ourselves to a slightly simpler, but more noticeable modification - replacing the entire propeller-rudder group of the ship.
The photo of the fitting of original Trumpeter parts shows that the propeller shaft is too long and thin. The manufacturer suggested attaching it to the body with as many as two brackets. There are no deadwoods at all, and the rudders and shafts of the external propellers are located too far from the diametrical axis of the ship. I was never able to find out what the Trumpeter developers were smoking when they were imagining the bottom of the model. But the figment of their imagination now haunts the nightmares of all stern shipbuilders who have ever seen “naked Kuzya” at the dock.

The keel of the hull was lengthened with a black plastic insert (this is exactly what the model plate was placed on) and received a new shape. In the model, the keel meets the bottom almost at a right angle without a smooth transition, while on the prototype there is a smooth transition from the keel to the bottom. The first attempt to sculpt outlines using GSI Mr.White Putty model putty failed miserably. It does not dry when applying a layer thicker than 1-2 mm.

I had to choose between the standard solution of using Tamiya two-component putty, Novol two-component automotive putty, or hardening it completely. But since the deadlines were tight, and we were not looking for easy ways, we decided to get tough. New bottom contours in the stern area of ​​the keel were sculpted from Poxipol two-component cold-welded epoxy adhesive. The glue is mixed in proportions of 1 to 1 and applied as a viscous paste to the model for 1-2 minutes. After a few minutes, it begins to polymerize and can be shaped with your hands, using sanitary gloves or moistening your hands with water. When dried, it heats up, practically does not shrink and allows you to work with large volumes and surfaces. It gains strength in less than a day. New contours were sculpted from Poxipol in 2 iterations and sanded in 2 evenings. It is well sanded and processed with sandpaper on a mandrel of dimensions 200 and 400. As mandrels for the “emery” I used syringe bodies of different diameters. Finer-grained “emery” already polishes it. Cavities and bubbles may occur in the treated surface, but this will usually become visible during the priming stage and will be corrected with GSI Mr.Dissolved Putty.

From a thick sprue from an ancient model of the B-47 Stratojet 1/72 bomber from Hasegawa, new deadwoods were machined using a drill. The propeller shaft brackets were machined from Hasegawa's 1/350 Yahagi light cruiser stand mount and Aurora Hobby sheet plastic. The photo shows the painful process of dry-fitting the entire VRG, setting angles and lengths using Patafix pieces. Propellers of relatively similar shape and size were custom cast as brass blanks. They were without spinners, and the blades had a shape and twist not quite the same as on Kuznetsov. These propellers would be more suitable for ships from the 1940s to 1960s. It took a week of work to refine them, sharpen the edges of the blades, remove the casting seams and successively process them with needle files, sandpaper of various grits from 400 to 2500, and Tamiya polishing pastes before they began to shine in all their glory. Additionally, new screw heads were machined from thick brass wire from a brass rod 3.4 mm thick. The propeller shafts were made from thick 2mm steel wire and polished with Tamiya pastes. For comparison with homemade parts, I have attached parts from Trumpeter. The handlebars have a slightly different mount, but I did not alter them. They were installed vertically, not inclined as Trumpeter suggested.

The new propeller-rudder group was installed in a new way based on photographs of the real ship in the dock - the propellers, rudders and shafts became much closer to the ship's diametrical axis than Trumpeter originally intended. This is noticeable in the white puttied old VRG mounts from Trumpeter. As a result, after the work done, the model’s feed began to resemble the prototype a little more.
Ideally, you should not build up the keel, but trim it, make the bottom in this place flatter and move the deadwoods, rudders and propellers a little to the bow (relative to what I did). But the lack of good profile photos of the stern from the dock makes this difficult. And unfortunately, such photographs are unlikely to appear in the near future.

Housing assembly

The hull of the model is assembled from 4 parts - the bottom, two halves of the nose fairing of the Polynom SJSC antenna and the surface part of the hull. The body and large parts have numerous casting defects such as plastic shrinkage and sink marks. The fit of all body parts is poor. The surface part of the hull was slightly longer and wider than the bottom by 3 to 5 mm. And when gluing the hull halves together, the narrower underwater part had to be literally pulled over the wider surface part. Super-fluid and quick-drying glue from Tamiya - Extra Thin Cement Quick Set - helped a lot with this. The main thing is not to glue the entire joint surface at once, but only in segments of 5-10 cm, pulling and pressing both halves into the desired position with your fingers, pressing the gap with force and waiting for the area to dry. 15 minutes of work and the case was assembled with virtually no gaps. The nasal bulb was glued and installed in the same way, which, when tried on “dry,” stood up with gaps of several millimeters. But the glue did not save from the steps between the parts in the nose, which had to be eliminated with numerous layers of putty, bringing 3 parts with different curvatures into one surface. Next was the long and tedious process of puttying with regular Tamiya Putty Basic Type and liquid GSI Mr.Dissolved Putty, priming with GSI Mr.Surfacer 1200 and bringing the surface of the body to perfect condition. If the body of the model were made not of plastic, but of metal, then in some places the thickness gauge would not be able to find the metal under a dozen layers of primer and putty. The nasal bulb, which initially looked like a foreign element on the model, was finally integrated into the uniform contours of the hull.

As a result of all the modifications, the steering-propeller group began to look like this before painting and shortening the propeller shafts. For comparison, here are photographs of the prototype's rudder-propeller group in the PD-50 dock.

I came up with something vaguely similar to a prototype. Far from ideal, but not the same pornography that it was before.

Further assembly of the model took place according to a more standard scenario - “fitting - assembly - putty - processing - ... - processing - ready.” Almost all parts of the hull and superstructure required careful adjustment, removal of pushers and putty during assembly or installation. Remember, modeler, this is Trumpeter, and when you pick up every detail of it, you should feel with every fiber of your being the pain and suffering that you saved and didn’t buy a normal model of the Japanese cruiser from Tamiya.

Well, in general, everything is ready for painting. I took the hull struts from the Yahagi light cruiser model from Hasegawa. On a cruiser they look huge, but on an Avik they look just right. Thanks Yura YuraVS! Barsik came to pose to assess the scale of the disaster.

Flight deck

The next difficult step was assembling the flight deck from 3 segments. The deck segments were assembled together on a flat surface. On the rear side, the joints of the deck segments were reinforced with plastic. But since the developer of the model was Trumpeter, the layout and detailing of the deck did not match when joining two adjacent segments. Who is swearing at the Zvezda designer who mirrors door handles and forgets to turn them over? Here the Chinese developer did not design the deck as a single piece, then breaking it into segments/parts, but designed separately 3 parts, which simply did not match in terms of detailing and lines. Bringing the deck into a single flat plane after assembly using a metal block and sandpaper glued to it destroyed part of the deck jointing. Therefore, the jointing had to be restored and, as it turned out, in vain. The deck itself fits into the hull with some problems, but puttying and gluing strips of sheet plastic into the cracks and joints at the stern solved the problem. The flight deck markings are made both by internal markings on the deck and by decals.

However, they do not coincide with each other and it is better to putty the imitation of markings using internal jointing. The deck decal itself corresponds to the state of 1991. Therefore, if you make a ship for a later period, the markings in the decal will no longer correspond to the time or will be incomplete. For example, the number of marked technical positions (TP) on the deck increased - from 15 to almost 30, their color changed from blue-yellow to pure blue, the yellow marking of the helicopter landing pad (element 16) became white and after 1991 the white circle disappeared on the center dotted line (element 17). The deck marking itself has errors - the TP does not have white markings with their serial numbers, and the center dotted line on the landing deck is interrupted on the helicopter circles. Aerofinisher cables were made from fibers of the elastomeric Spandex thread.
Very persistent comrades can make a hangar with all the detailing and lighting. The model allows you to place all the equipment necessary for this, and Aliexpress can help you.

Etching

The Microdesign Etching Kit is a more affordable alternative to the detailing kits from White Ensign Models (WEM) and Gold Medal Models (GMM). It consists of 5 etched boards.

The etching is quite thick, thicker and a little rougher than WEM. There are no printing defects, with the exception of the unetched coat of arms of the USSR on the stern. Apart from aviation and deck equipment, all 3 sets are almost similar in composition with the exception of some details. Microdesign and GMM ignored etching for the air group, giving only parts for the Ka-27 rotors. Therefore, if you need to modify the Su-33 and MiG-29K aircraft, you will need to buy a separate WEM 35080 Air wing set. Ka-27 helicopters can be modified with a kit from North Star Models. It is higher quality and more complete than the details that Microdesign and GMM provide. Deck equipment (tractors, fire truck, crane, “shishiga”) is included in the Microdesign and WEM sets, and its composition varies slightly between sets. It is better and more accurately executed by Microdesign, but WEM has a carrier for airplanes.
Instructions for the Microdesign kit is a separate topic. The main and only advantage of the instructions is that they are in color. This is where its advantages end.

The instructions contain typos and are missing many details. There is a lot of confusion about how to assemble subassemblies and how to place them on the model. As a result, 53 parts out of 160 are not indicated in the instructions. In general, in order to correctly assemble this etching and there are no unnecessary parts left, the modeler must be an expert in Kuznetsov’s materiel. Otherwise, there is a high risk of errors and unused parts. And the scene from the film Mask will become very close and dear to you.

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Add-ons and detailing

The superstructure and small detailing against the background of the hull work were already assembled without any problems. Well, except for the standard procedures with putty and a file. The only thing missing in the etching is the detailing of the insides of the chimney. There were enough etched handrails and rails to spare. The antenna arrays of the AP radar "Fregat-MA" on the top of the superstructure must be positioned tilted to the side. This point is not reflected in the instructions in any way, in the end we made a mistake with this, not looking at the photos of the prototype in time. The whip antennas along the flight deck were replaced with wire. Also, an imitation of a folded flagpole on the bow was made from wire. Fibers from Spandex threads were used to stretch the halyards onto the superstructure. The name on the stern is etched, but if it is mounted, its natural color will not match the letters of the ship's name on the bow, which is given in the decal. Therefore, so that the color of the letters is the same throughout, the names of the ship remain decal. Decal stars have been replaced with etched ones. Although in reality they are voluminous and both etching and decals do not convey their appearance.
The model can also be improved with resin kits from Veteran Model. This way you can replace the Kortik (Kashtan) anti-aircraft missile and artillery systems and the AK-630 30-mm six-barreled artillery systems. North Star Models makes AK-630 resin rigs. Well, there is no limit to improving this model with various etched rails, bracket ladders, brackets, ruster grilles (of which there are a lot on the superstructure) and other homemade detailing that neither Trumpeter nor the aftermarket manufacturers provided in the model. If you look at photos of a real ship, it immediately becomes clear that the model does not have even 10% of the rich detail of a real ship.
Trumpeter does not provide flags in his decal (we take the decal from Behemoth for the USSR/Russian Navy) and indentation marks, which are found in the decal from the Brigade Commander for the Russian Imperial Navy.

Air group

Trumpeter initially provides an air group consisting of 6 Su-27K (Su-33), 2 MiG-29K, 4 Yak-141 and 4 Ka-27 helicopters. The Yak-141s were never on the deck of Kuznetsov, and 2 single-seat MiG-29K 9-31 with tail numbers 311 and 312 were used only during the ship's testing period in 1989-1991. Therefore, to increase the size of the air group from 12 to 18 aircraft Additional kits from Trumpeter with Su-27K and Ka-27 were used. There are also similar kits with Su-25UTG, Su-33UB, Ka-29 and Ka-31. All these kits come with decals with stars and blue, red and yellow tail numbers and St. Andrew's flags. The planes are molded from a combination of gray and black plastic, with a transparent glazing canopy. The helicopters are molded in clear plastic with fine detailing in black plastic.
The airplanes are assembled worse than their counterparts in 1/72 scale from Zvezda. Putty is required at almost every joint between parts. The fins on the Su-27K fit especially poorly. The individual wing consoles are made one and a half times thicker than the wing at the root. If you assemble airplanes with folded wing panels, this drawback is not noticeable. But if you make an airplane with an unfolded wing, then the consoles have to be ground down in thickness over their entire area. It is better to grind the thickness of the wing from the lower plane so that the jointing on the upper plane is not damaged. They also require thinning of the edges of the wings, stabilizers and fins. The inlets of the air intakes are made primitively and irregular shape, so you need to cut them properly and sharpen the edges. All of the above applies to both the Su-27K and MiG-29K. Ka-27 helicopters in this regard require less effort in assembly. The main thing is to carefully glue the halves of the helicopter in the area of ​​the cockpit glazing so that traces of glue inside the joint of the halves are not visible from the side. Immediately after assembling the helicopter fuselage, it is better to mask the glazing with GSI Mr. liquid masks. Masking Sol or Humbrol Maskol and prime the parts to reveal any imperfections in the assembly of the clear parts.

For aircraft, etching from the WEM 35080 Air wing set was not purchased, so they turned out almost out of the box. Some helicopters were assembled with North Star etching, and those planned with folded blades were assembled with Microdesign etching. Microdesign gives only rotor blades, a pair of swashplate tripods and a collapsible LDPE. The North Star Models etching on the Ka-27 is much richer. In addition to the main rotor blades, it provides the tail, more detailed rotor hubs and swashplate tripods, a port door and various small parts. I didn't use the etched tail as it looked too flat. The main rotor hub with blades was assembled from 15 parts, while the Microdesign had 5. The etching from North Star is thinner, softer, has a joint and is more openwork in design. The micro design, in comparison, is thicker, more rigid, and does not have piping on the blades. You need to make the screw sleeve yourself from wire, although not a single manufacturer gives data on its length in the instructions, and Microdesign also made a mistake with its diameter. The Microdesign does not have the two small swashplate tripods that the North Star provides.
The aviation decal is another sore point of the model. Apart from the stars, flags and numbers on the MiG-29K, it has nothing to do with reality. The Su-33 is given blue numbers instead of red, the Ka-27 is given blue numbers instead of red or yellow. There are no tricolors and eagles for the Su-33. Therefore, if possible, the decal for the air group and part of the deck markings should be designed and printed new, for specific aircraft and helicopters. Especially if you make the later MiG-29K 9-41 and two-seat MiG-29K 9-47 from the MiG-29K 9-31 kit. The problem with tail numbers can be solved by using decals from Trumpeter kits with additional aircraft/helicopters. Although you can try to find and buy a decal from Print Scale. In addition to the decal sheet with markings for the deck, there was a decal sheet for the aircraft. It had 10 variants of the Su-33, 2 Su-25UTG, 2 Mi-8, 6 Ka-27, 1 Ka-29 and 4 Yak-141. Regarding the markings on the deck, there are questions regarding color matching (the author of the decal, Alexey Radetsky, said that it seems to be for 1991-1994, so it will not work for later periods), but the aviation part is quite normal - it has tricolors and eagles on Su-33 fins and various elements for other aircraft and helicopters. There is also a decal from Yankee Modelworks, but this is a rare beast now, and it is not clear what quality it is.
The Su-27K aircraft models can also be enhanced with etching from Five Star Models for its Chinese version, the J-15. Separately, the Ka-27 has an etching kit from WEM 3561. There are also resin models of the Ka-27, Ka-28, Ka-29 and Ka-31 with etching from Orange Hobby. But they do not have transparent glazing.
They did not assemble the deck equipment, although Microdesign made it better than WEM. In the photo with etched main rotors - 4 folded screws from Microdesign and 3 unfolded screws from North Star etching.

Coloring

The ship's livery was chosen for the 2010-2012 period, when it was repainted from a somber dark gray to a more dressy light gray.

During this period of time, there were 2 options for waterline coloring - thin white and two-tone black and white. The hull and deck were painted together, while the superstructure and almost all the detailing were painted separately from the hull. First the waterline was painted white and masked with 1mm Aizu Micron tape. To avoid paint smudges under the tape, I went over the tape with white again. Next, the side was painted light gray. The deck was painted in a slightly darker shade of this color and dark gray. Then the bottom was painted red. They forgot to paint the antenna radome of the Polynom State Joint Stock Company in silver. Finally the deck covering was painted brick red. The superstructure was painted light gray using color modulation. The model was painted with GSI Mr. paints and varnishes. Color. A wash of Pebeo XL oil and Zippo gasoline was used, but without fanaticism, since there was no goal to create a dirty and worn-out model of the ship.
The aircraft were painted with Vallejo acrylic paints. The Su-27Ks were painted in a standard three-color camouflage - the base color was airbrushed, the remaining damask colors were painted with acrylic with a brush. It was decided to paint the MiG-29K in the late “eggplant” color scheme. Aircraft 311 received this coloring in 2003, and Aircraft 312 has had it since 1992. Despite the fact that these aircraft were unlikely to be on the deck of Kuznetsov after 1991, we decided to place them and dilute the color scheme on the deck with them. All planes and helicopters retained transparent glazing. Imitation cockpits, glass frames, landing gear struts, wheel rims, tires, nozzles, radio-transparent panels and antennas, niches and the inner sides of the landing gear doors were painted. We didn’t do an imitation of glazing sealant - not on this scale, you’ll get by)))) We also did a wash. It was decided to paint 7 identical helicopters differently. 3 helicopters were painted with an orange stripe on top. One helicopter was painted pure gray to create the Ka-27PL, while the rest were painted in the two-tone Ka-27PS livery.

Final photo session

It turned out something like this. Saigon cooled Silvergost's ardor so that he would not saw through all the gophers in the model and miss the deadline by a couple of years. And Silverghost cooled Saigon’s ardor so that he would not dirty Kuzya and his air group as if he had survived the universal apocalypse. He also secretly threw in various photos so that the model would at least have something in common with the prototype besides the name. In response, Saigon sent photos where everything was deliberately put together as incorrectly as possible and mixed up with the words “Don’t care, no one will notice,” forcing me to grab the validol, knowing whose General Staff office this mock-up would go to. In general, I trolled the stubborn shipbuilder in every possible way. Meanwhile, Anton’s wife tried in every possible way to requisition shiny cogs and airplanes for her needs. Yes, and I tried to let Barsik in the boat in the bathroom. But the displacement of the cat turned out to be much larger than the model. For cat sailing, an aircraft carrier in 1/200 scale was still needed. As a result, amid the wild squeals of the cat, the model drowned, and the cat flew out of the bathroom in shock. Sorry, I didn’t tell you about this, knowing how much you “love cats.” You wouldn't even come within a kilometer of this model after such desecration.

So, despite the work jokes, unlike my nerves and Barsik, not a single fly or gopher was harmed. It was fun, we didn’t even have a fight. In some places it turned out even better and smoother than that of a real ship. In any case, Anton’s waterline turned out to be much smoother than that of the shipyard.

During the final photo shoot, the model was constantly refined and finalized with a file. Forgotten parts, incorrectly installed elements, and so on were discovered. Therefore, in the photographs it is noticeable that some elements are present or not, while others are positioned or positioned differently. With each new photo, the model became overgrown with unnecessary details, the absence of which was hardly noticeable. And yet there was still a bag of forgotten and unused plastic and etched parts. I hope no one will be offended that we didn’t put them))))

Close-ups

In general, according to Anton

But I would still have a separate look at this model.

Comparison with prototype

First, let's compare the Trumpeter model with the prototype in common and most visible places.
I made several collages of different models of Trubach - ours with Anton, Alexander Mukhin (with a more burgundy bottom) and Andrey Skurenok (with a bulb painted silver).

And so, the bow

1. the flight deck of the prototype is longer and extends beyond the dimensions of the stem. it must be increased in length by at least 5 mm and the correct joint with the body must be sculpted.
2. fairleads need to be redone
3. the shape and cross-section of the bulb have nothing in common with the prototype. The fairing is bulbous (or teardrop-shaped), wide at the bottom and tapering at the top.
4. when viewed from above, the bulb has an oval cross-section, but on the model it is not clear what - a cylindrical pipe installed at an angle to the horizontal...
5. The bulb of the prototype does not protrude much forward relative to the waterline, unlike the model, whose bulb can successfully ram modern cans.
6. When viewed from the side, the stem line in the waterline area of ​​the prototype is smoother than on the model

In general, the bulb is completely replaceable, and everything else can be fixed with a lot of mat and putty.

Let's go to the stern

There 2 models and a prototype are compared. On the top model, only the screws were replaced. At the center is our attempt to correct Trumpeter pornography. Well, below is a photo of the prototype. In general, despite the efforts, we still have work to do and work on. But it looked better. And the original VRG should be thrown into the trash.

Comparison in the location of detailing along the sides

Of course, the photographs were not taken perfectly; due to the difference in angles and focal lengths, there are slight shifts.
But some things are already catching your eye.

The Russian multirole fighter Su-33 crashed while landing on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. The pilot was able to eject and was picked up by a rescue helicopter, the Russian Ministry of Defense said. The department said that the accident occurred due to a break in the cable that helps the plane brake on the deck. As a result, the Su-33 rolled off the deck. During its short stay off the Syrian coast, Kuznetsov has already lost two aircraft.

Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the incident, said: “This is very intense, complex and heroic work. “The point is, first of all, that the pilot remained alive.” In mid-November, a Russian Mig-29 fighter, also part of the Admiral Kuznetsov air group, crashed. The plane crashed into the water near the aircraft carrier. The pilot was saved. The official cause of the accident was engine failure. According to the unofficial version, the cause was the same brake cables: the Mig was circling in the area of ​​the aircraft carrier while on deck they were trying to repair the cable that had been broken by the previous landing plane. Repairs were delayed, as a result of which the fighter simply ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea.

The only Russian aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov” as part of the ship group of the Russian Navy is located in the Mediterranean Sea. On November 15, warplanes based on it began striking targets in Syria.

Military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer, commenting on the loss of the second Russian combat aircraft from the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, draws special attention to the very senselessness of its mission off the coast of Syria. The expert is sure that the goal of the admirals who sent the aircraft carrier there was to demonstrate to Vladimir Putin the justification for the huge expenses on the fleet:

Context

Russian aircraft carrier avoids attacks on Aleppo

Vladimir Putin's rusty fleet

Why is Putin launching an aircraft carrier?

Pavel Felgenhauer: Well, in general, they are not very common, otherwise there would be no carrier-based aircraft in the world. They seem to say that the cable broke, but I don’t know for sure. Either the pilot was poorly trained, or the cables were rotten, or both.

— Maybe the problem is that the Admiral Kuznetsov is an outdated ship?

“The problem is not his age, which is quite normal for a ship. Aircraft carriers serve a long time. These are large ships, they are designed to serve for quite a long time. And the fact is that his campaign in the Mediterranean Sea from a military point of view is absolutely meaningless - from beginning to end. This is purely a PR campaign. The ship was not built for such trips. He simply has nothing to do there. He couldn’t do anything there and didn’t do anything - he only suffered completely senseless losses.

— But both the aircraft carrier and its planes perform some kind of combat mission?

- He cannot bomb Syria. The planes had to take off from the aircraft carrier and land at a Russian base. There they refueled with fuel and bombs, and flew to bomb something. At the same time, SU-33 aircraft are also not intended for attacks on ground and sea targets. That's not what they were built for. These are pure fighters. Pilots are not prepared for this. The planes were equipped with some kind of sighting equipment there, but they were still not designed for that. He performs there a completely meaningless function of simply such representation. That is, a life-size self-propelled model of an aircraft carrier has been sent to Syria. True, it walks slowly, because, again, it is not intended for warm waters. It is a pure fighter aircraft carrier to protect deployed strategic nuclear submarines. He doesn't have any special goals anymore. Therefore, he must be in the Barents Sea, where his charges are located - strategic nuclear submarines. He must protect them from anti-submarine aircraft in the event of a nuclear war. It has a power plant that is not intended for long trips. Airplanes that are not intended for bombing attacks or any other attacks on naval targets either.

— Why was the Admiral Kuznetsov sent on a campaign to the Mediterranean Sea?

“The admirals wanted to show Putin that it’s not for nothing that trillions are spent on the fleet, that the fleet can do something. But the demonstration is not very convincing, because in reality “Kuznetsov” cannot do anything useful - only lose planes. Unlike the Peter the Great, whose nuclear power plant is designed for long-distance missions, the Kuznetsov was never intended for them. Even its official autonomy is only 40 days.

— Why do you think the accidents happened?

- Most likely, they are tired - the crew, the pilots. The load is peak for them. This means mistakes, losses. These are not American aircraft carriers that are constantly at sea. They have replacement crews there. This is a completely different thing. “Kuznetsov” was sent to portray that our fleet can operate in the Mediterranean Sea almost like the American one, that money should be spent on it. The rearmament program until 2025 should be approved in the middle of next year. And the main expenditure item there is naval weapons. This is very important for the fleet. Because if they cut funding, then the leadership of the General Staff, first of all, of course, will substitute the fleet. Well, their programs are wildly expensive. Monstrous. It was very important for them to show that they could do something, that they were not completely useless. Although in reality our fleet is generally useless for such regional conventional wars. No, they play an important supply role there in Syria. There, every day 2 thousand tons of various supplies arrive in Syria. And the fleet does this, including landing ships. They bought old ruins abroad, transport ships. They fly under a naval flag so that they are not inspected by the Turks in the straits. They supply the group in Syria.

And the naval unit... Well, yes, it fires these cruise missiles, which is also wildly expensive and, in general, useless. It's not that it's completely useless, but it's pointless. Because shooting $5 million worth of missiles at militants in Toyotas is a pretty pointless exercise. It's good that no one has died yet. The pilots were saved. But will they fly or not? After an ejection, pilots usually do not fly again. There, back injuries can be very serious. And we have very few deck pilots. Two have already been injured. This is not good, because one of them will probably never fly again. Or maybe both. All this in order to depict the existence of an aircraft carrier, which is not an aircraft carrier. It would be good if he walked back under his own power.

— So what are the aircraft on the Admiral Kuznetsov now that are not of the type that are usually based on it?

- Why not those? The same. And we don’t have any others. The SU-33, also known as the SU-27K, is no longer in production. There are a dozen of them left. Yes, it crashed, but there were only three or four of them there. They apparently no longer fly at all after this accident. In principle, in theory, when it returns, the aircraft carrier should undergo extensive repairs and be rebuilt for the MIG-29. Because the SU-33 has not been produced since the early 1990s, and there seem to be no plans to produce it. And the MIG-29 is being produced. It was brought to mind for India. True, French avionics were installed for India. I don’t know which one is currently on the few planes that we have. But there are plans to convert the Admiral Kuznetsov into a MIG-29. Because there are almost no SU-33 left. So he left with a dozen planes. Well, what kind of aircraft carrier is it? It has 10 aircraft in total and a deck crew. Before this, it was under repair for years, and now it’s such a long trip, and even with constant combat work. The admirals, as if in a casino, bet on “zero” - they say, this ship, which is not intended for such tasks, in this heavy, wild tension, will perform remarkably well in such conditions. Well, it didn't work out very well for them. So far there has been no particular success. They reported that they killed 30 militants. And since aviators always exaggerate the enemy’s losses by at least 10 times, perhaps they actually killed two or three people.