1/72 Balsa wood Sukhoi-30 IAF

by Aamod Potdar

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Well...the Sukhoi 30 is my favourite aircraft, so I was excited to make one.  This aircraft is a 1/72 model made out of Balsa Wood which had to be handcrafted by me after getting the required wood cut out from an local modelling shop.

Smoothing out the wood was the most difficult part, since the balsa wood is very delicate. I had to use a file (nail file) to smooth the surface. The final product was real good. 

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The worst part was the paint job which ruined the sharpness of the kit. Well normal paints (arcyllic, enamel) don't work on the wood because wood absorbs the paint.
 
So first I applied white enamel paint to the kit which caused the disaster look by giving it a stretched look.  After drying the enamel paint, I completely hand painted the kit with Fabric Colors.
 
Even the IAF roundels were simply hand painted.
 
To give it a shiny smooth look, I had to give it 2-3 coats of varnish and finally the paint job was done and the kit didn't look  that bad.
 

Well its really a tedious kit after considering the time u spend in shaping that wood.

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Balsa wood kits are really hard to find on the net. If you have any information on the wood kits please email me.

You can contact me at aamodpotdar@yahoo.co.in

Aamod

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Photos and text © by Aamod Potdar