BIG Russian Jet Groupie GB

And what a pretty ironing board it is, too!

I can't see it too clearly, but I want I closer look at what you've done around the nose and canopy sections- looks like you've got some interesting wear in those areas.

If I had thought of it at the time, I would have painted the inside of Frogfoot's canopies as well.

I wanted to show some decent detail of the cockpit area but my camera is no that great close up as you can see my ironing board with a lot more clarity, anyway these are pictures to also show the canopy as I am painting the inside of it now, I have never done this before but I thought considering the time spent so far I might as well do it, I know it will enhance the look so I decided to just go ahead, when it is completed I will use my friends camera after the base is finished and get some really good detailed pictures as these from a distance of the whole plane look good but up close detail, well not so much.

Apparently coming out in May of this year. Yes!

Yeah, they are doing some good stuff. I bought their Sea Vixen a couple of years ago.

airfix went under but have come back and are making some very good kits now

SU-33 as well, having said that time will tell.

From what I've seen and read, they do make good kits, which is also why I'm excited. They recently released a SEPECAT Jaguar kit that's really nice (and is also on my list).

And if Airfix wants to join the Foxbat party, I'm all for that!

Talk about a beast of a plane.....

Really? This is good news, I asked Airfix on Facebook if they were planning on making any 1/48 Mig-25's or SU-33's and no joke they said they're on the list, so who knows? But to hear the actual release of a new 1/48 Mig-25? Great news, one question, do Kitty Hawk make good kits?

Hey, guys, awesome news!

Kitty Hawk apparently just announced a 1/48 MiG-25!!!! I am PSYCHED! I've been waiting for a new tool 25 since getting back into the hobby several years ago. Yahooooo!!!!

Link

I personally don't measure I do everything by eye, I just wrap the foil around the oleo and when it slightly overlaps I cut it with a new #11 blade very carefully. Or like I have done here I used SAM landing gear. I did not mask any part I simply sprayed primer which is a good match and when dry I used a metal file to remove the paint and shine the metal.

"Looks great on a lens - but how do you minimize the overlap/seam on landing gear etc??"

I measure the length of foil needed and cut that size of Bare Metal Foil, carefully wrap that piece around the oleo section and burnish it smooth.  It looks real good when done right.

Gary

I went the easy route to paint the Frogfoot's lights- flat black bezel, MM Chrome Silver for the relector, a drop of Testor's clear window maker and c'est fini.  

It's not accurate, but it ain't empty either.

dean27

Yeah, in fact I actually glue the lens into place then after pushing it down with a cotton bud I super glue the clear part into the light so the foil is trapped and then I trim with a blade.

sorry about the quality, these were taken on my phone a while ago but you should get the picture (excuse the pun) lol.

here you can see the foil lens captures the light well. In the picture below the lens caught the light from the flash and appears white, however it is just the metal reflecting the light.

this is a better one but I think you can see the advantage of tin foil lenses, also on plastic parts for the hydraulic parts for the landing gear I have used foil, it is simple and quick, now I just have to work out how to do it to a whole model lol.

Looks great on a lens - but how do you minimize the overlap/seam on landing gear etc??

Lol. I can't think of a better use for a butcher block then as a display stand. ;-)

No problem man, I have to say my kitchen table certainly looks better when I am not building any kits that's for sure!

Thanks so much for the tutorial. :-) That looks really good.

Yeah, in fact I actually glue the lens into place then after pushing it down with a cotton bud I super glue the clear part into the light so the foil is trapped and then I trim with a blade.

sorry about the quality, these were taken on my phone a while ago but you should get the picture (excuse the pun) lol.

here you can see the foil lens captures the light well. In the picture below the lens caught the light from the flash and appears white, however it is just the metal reflecting the light.

this is a better one but I think you can see the advantage of tin foil lenses, also on plastic parts for the hydraulic parts for the landing gear I have used foil, it is simple and quick, now I just have to work out how to do it to a whole model lol.

Thanks, Dean.

And thanks for the tip. So you don't trim the excess foil until after you glue on the lens?

eatthis

1 of the few single engined planes that i class as a beast!

lol, a Mach2+ "mud-mover".....  it is INDEED a beast!

Looks fantastic man, also I forgot to say I get the foil into the recesses with a cotton but, I put a drop of superglue in the moulded lens and stick it in, after its dried say a few minutes later and trim it with a new blade.

Sure...it's the Eduard limited ed. re-pop of the OEZ/Kopro kit. Unfortunately it's out of production. :-(

Let me see your 1/48 version porkbits, I would like to get one myself.

Great start, Vance! Looks like a nice little kit.

The Su-22 *IS* a beast. Took me months to finish my 1/48 version.

Looks good Vance, nice to finally see it, no rush now, and I'm glad you liked the Russian Army singing away lol.

its an su27 variant but i get mixed up i need to go and check it lol

1 of the few single engined planes that i class as a beast!

Tail end of the stationary portion of the wing unit is THICK... unsure if I want to thin & extend... or lust leave as-is. Need to check some refs & decide if its worth the effort.


This is the slide/jig that the wing "arms" slide into. It just gets trapped in there, a groove on each side + stoppers make sure it runs where it is supposed to. The solution? I rolled up a little paper towel & inserted under the slider to keep it at the right level, then glued the halves together.


Nosecone and cockpit assembly in place. I glued all these bits in 1 at a time, then slapped the halves together to make sure nothing wiggled out of place. The cockpit colour is a little paler than I'd like BUT I'm going with an overall gray, should make it appear a little darker anyway.


And YES, I just faked in some colour on the sideboards & IP - I keep thinking I should have found aftermarket from a Mig or something though.


I had already painted & Future-d the natural metal areas of the swing-wings before trapping them. I'll slide them all the way back before painting, use the surrounding plastic to give an accurate mask...


Cool shape to this thing.

Many parts removed from sprues & cleaned up, started on the weapons assembly....

The stores have since been cleaned up & prepped for paint, will add a pic here later.

Alright, I got off to such a slow start & drawn-out timeline that I'm posting up my pics here again.

The kit:

An Italeri re-pop of the Bilek sprues. Nice looking little kit.

OOB includes some very cool 4-colour camo patterns BUT.... I won't have to deal with masking multiple colours over the wing strakes, kit includes an option for a soviet machine that started out in 4-colour camo, then had everything but the nose over painted in light gray. Could give me a chance to try some panel pre-shading. And its a little easier...

You have an SU-33 in 1/48? Please tell me more, as I want one!