Hi Chris, first of all thanks for your appreciation.
I totally understand when you say you are terrified. The same feeling ran through my veins when I thought about tackling this kit. The grandeur, the great amount of details and last but not least seeing those exhaust photos online, scared me so much…
May be It was not the ideal build for someone like me who came from over 30 years of total inactivity and specifically over 35 without building modern jets, but I decided to take it on.
It was a challenge that I faced with patience and patience and patience. I am absolutely sure that you will overcome the challenge too with your Su33
Warm regards
Dan
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Wow… this is probably the best Flanker I have ever seen… I’m still not sure how you managed to get a real Su-35 into your workbench 
I have that same kit and maybe 25 more Flankers in stash…
I will need your help for those engines and missiles for sure… If you have the time of course to answer my questions in the future.
Congratulations on that build… simply amazing. Honestly I’ve seen hundreds of Flankers over the years… this one is the best.
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My hobby room is so big. You almost have to think of it as a hangar. 
This is a compliment that fills me with joy, thank you so much!
You’re welcome, I’ll be glad to share my painting process with you. I should have kept some notes taken during the work
Dan
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Guys, even though I tried to thank each one individually for the compliments received, I think that at this point in the discussion it is my duty to thank everyone for the positive comments or even just for the likes received.
I also welcome some criticism. You never stop learning and the advice of others is always worth taking into consideration.
Dan
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Stunning model!
Thanks Frank, very kind of you.
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Wow…Not sure I can add any more superlatives beyond those already written. Just a super amazing build, and paint, and weathering and… Spectacular in every way!!! I have had the same kit in my stash for years now, still unbuilt. I’m not sure if your build is inspiring…or deflating. I don’t think I have a prayer of making mine anywhere close to as good as what you have done, but it certainly does provide an extremely high bar to shoot for!!! Really beautiful work!!!
Hi Curt.
As I said in my previous posts, this kit was a real challenge, especially for me who came from a very close to zero experience in building modern aircraft.
Not for nothing, between moments of enthusiasm and others of discouragement, the entire construction took me almost a year.
An example of discouragement among all: when I faced the painting of the exhausts. I asked myself: do I try to make them so terribly difficult with all those shades or would I like to make them easy with a normal commercial jet exhaust color and little more?
Not to mention the initial shock when I discovered the total dry misalignment of the two half-fuselages (I tend to believe that this defect concerned my box, I refuse to believe that all commercial boxes are like this. In any case, having the kit yourself, you can verify; I would be happy to hear from you if you also found this defect).
Having said all this, now I am the one who cannot find the words to thank you for all your very welcome compliments.
At this point, if you like, you can also take a look at my other works published here. 
Thank you very much!
Dan.
Good on you Mate; this is one of the best modern aircraft models I have ever seen. Absolutely brilliant. I am beginning to realize that modern jet fighters take an inordinate amount of time to finish correctly. So I commend your dedication to a year’s worth of work on it; it was certainly worth it.
It also sounds like you were “sold a fish” with defective parts. But you fought through that as well.
Seeing models like this really inspires me to greater efforts. My modelling skills are no where near yours, but you give me a benchmark to shoot for.
To your point, modern Russian fighters are a special kettle of fish; the discoloration on their exhaust parts is crazy-hard to emulate, but the results speak for themselves.
Hi Mike,
Your comments are very welcome!
I have already mentioned the engine exhausts, a real headache. But, just to give a couple more examples of the enormous amount of time required, I attach this additional photo regarding the masking work to reproduce the texture on the elevators.
My poor eyes did not thank me!
Then I mention the armaments and the relative pylons (of which I have already published many photos here), with the use of magnets for the plane-pylon and missile/bomb-pylon joints. Only the Kh-31 missiles, I think I’m not exaggerating, required me no less than 4/5 hours of work each.
Dan
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Hi guys,
Allow me to share a quick update regarding my Flanker.
My Su-35S won the bronze medal at the 28th Moson Model Show held in Hungary this past weekend.
2825 models from 37 countries . 
90 categories.
My catagory was ‘Aircraft 1/48 and bigger with open service panels’
A few photos taken at Moson:
Close to the Tempest, my other challenger
Dan
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Congratulations!
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This is amazing. Truly, this is something worth of a modeling magazine. I to have one in the stash, and was tempted to leave work and go start it!
Just the work on the panel lines was incredible. Do you mind sharing how you did it?
Did you happen to take a video or take pictures of the build process? That would be Youtube worth!
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Thank you, Glenn, for your kind words. They are truly appreciated and a great encouragement for my future builds. To be honest, I didn’t really think about taking many photos during the work. In fact — believe me — I wasn’t even sure I would post the model on the forums, let alone consider taking it to a contest. After all, it was the first jet I had built after more than thirty years of complete modelling inactivity.
In any case, if there’s anything you’d like to know, feel free to send me a private message.
Cheers.
Dan
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Thank you mate!
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Congratulations Dan. The gold and silver winners must be some spectacular? I certainly would have thought yours was gold medal worthy.
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What can I say Steve? Thank you! The gold and silver builds were also truly outstanding — the overall level this year was incredibly high. I’m really happy with how mine turned out, so hearing that you thought it was gold‑worthy means a lot.
Dan
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Absolutely stunning finish. The metal heat discoloration do catch my eyes but also the variation in the painted surfaces. Master class work!
/Ingvar
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Thank you so much Ingvar. Really appreciated!!!
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