BIG Russian Jet Groupie GB

I've been trying to use brushes of varying stiffness to work the pigments, both wet and dry, and so far the results are ..  unsatisfactory.    I think my main complaint is that you can't really seal them in without losing their subtlety.

With pigments I found that it's better to put too much on as it is easy to wipe them away, gotta get stuck in, really rub your finger in and use it, also cotton buds are good for detail, they work well as they are stiff but the pigment gets right onto the surface, best to use it on a matt surface when the part of the model is finished that you're working on.

Niiiice MiGs!!

Sorry I haven't been around the past few weeks gents, some significant changes at the office + the usual running around with the fam has cut into my production, and online presence! 

What's up??

Check this video out, found it on Youtube.

That sounds like a video from the late 70's/early 80's; I wouldn't mind a collection of those SAM platforms though...

I've gotten two of the three metallics onto the engine panels of the Su-27UB C this weekend- I have to let them cure a little before masking off the 3rd. section...  a nice mix of MM enamel paints, MM airbrush-only Metallizers and Alclad lacquers.    I'll get the paints on first before i start coloring and shading with tinted clears to simulate the heat discoloration.

Hmmmm, today is Jan 28.... original deadline is Feb 1.... I've been largely MIA here, and at the bench, with a Seafire getting most of my attention. What's the scoop, has this one been extended? I'm still a couple of weeks out on my FITTER... :(

O man,  I think all I have to do is finish gluing on the canopy and I'll finish my MiG-29.  Wooo Hooo! I guess I better do that and post some pictures

John

I think the deadline was extended until April....? Dre or someone will have to confirm.

Hope so, because I'm nowhere near completing my Su-25!

falconmod - YES! Post those pics. Although I've been fairly absent in here recently I've been following along with the MiG. She's come together very well, can't wait to see the finals.

Porkbits - that's good news, I'll need those weeks!

As far as I know this GB has been extended, until when I am not sure.   I kinda of figured that this was a perpetual GB...or at least until everyone is tired of it.

Dean's the man, let's ax him.

OK, while I have everyone on the phone, I've run into a problem with my Su-25 build that I hope the this GB Hive Mind can help me solve. Ugh.

I bought the Eduard Brassin (ie, resin) replacement pylons and rails, which have excellent detail. Unfortunately, unlike the kit pylons, the Eduard replacements are not shaped to fit the wing airfoil. They are flat and have no curve at the front. So when you attach the pylons to the wing, you're left with a big ole ugly gap between the wing and the front of the pylon (I Googled some images of the actual pylons, and seems there is a small raised base on the wing where the front of the pylon meets the wing, so there is no gap).

So I'm left with some options, none of which is ideal:

1. Try to hand-shape all eight Eduard pylons so that they fit the wing airfoil. Time consuming, and shape might not be even, leaving small gaps anyway.

2. Attach the Eduard pylons as-is, and try to cram some putty or Milliput into the gap. Also not ideal, as I'll have to maneuver in the increasingly small space between pylons as I add them. Fill could be uneven. Also tedious work.

3. Chuck the Eduard replacements and stick with the kit pylons. Their detail is chunky in comparison, but they fit.

Too bad this issue was glossed over in the online reviews I read of the pylons, but then again, none of them were actual build reviews. Oh well.

Thanks!

PB

no vance the deadline is now 1st apr

Is it possible that these Brassin parts are designed to be mounted onto the existing kit pylons as adapters for certain munitions?   Or are they supposed to be straight-up replacements?

If you have to reshape all 8, that might be bad.   But... you could make a shaped guide from the kit parts to use as a template for destroying the resin bits.   The underwing contour ought to be a gentle curve equal on both sides.

What did you do about the nose gear?

Hey Dre, the video is only about 5 years old, just in case you wondered.

Hey, Dre:

Yeah, they are straight-up replacements, and even include a few rails that aren't part of the Kopro/OEZ kit.

I'd like to reshape them using the curve on the kit pylons as a guide, just not sure the best way to go about it. Sand? Cut? Both? Hm. I don't have a ton of experience with resin, unfortunately.

Oh, as for the nose gear, I bought the SAC replacement gear and with a little drilling, got the nose gear from the set to fit. So that battle was won. :-)

Pork- how tight do you want those pylons to be?   Because using an epoxy putty like Milliput could  be both simple and quick to do and it allows a little time to stuff the gaps before the mix hardens.

Or you could use power tool and a drum sanding bit to make the resin fit the wing (or mess them up badly).

How large of a gap is there at the face of the pylons as it is?   Also, does that Brassin stuff have the guide rails molded underneath the pylons, or is that a PE addition?

Dean- yeah I figured it was current by the videos and references, but the somewhat dire tone was reminiscent of the past.  Good times...

Hey, Dre (and gang):

Well, after dinner I took another look and most of the other pylons didn't as badly as I thought they would. I used putty to fill the gaps on a couple, and gaps on the rest are small enough to be negligible, so I'll leave them for now. Good enough is good enough. I can always fill them in later if I change my mind.

So a bit of an overreaction on my part. But thanks for your advice anyway. Sorry for the false alarm. :-)

RE: your question, Dre, the Brassin rails and pylons are separate pieces. Link to PDF of instructions here:

http://www.eduard.com/store/out/media/648054.pdf

Which reminds me that I have a couple of other questions regarding the pylons:

1. Any of you guys know which weapons would go on that big, long rail/pylon combo? (parts R3 and R4 in the instructions). Fits the wing station closest to the fuselage. My assumption is the cannon pod, but not sure.

2. And how about pylon R5 vs. pylon R6? I'm guessing Aphids go on R6, but what about R5? 

Wish Eduard had included some loadout info.

Thanks!

dean27

no vance the deadline is now 1st apr

YES!!! Many thanks comrade!!

Porkbits

Hey, Dre (and gang):

Well, after dinner I took another look and most of the other pylons didn't as badly as I thought they would. I used putty to fill the gaps on a couple, and gaps on the rest are small enough to be negligible, so I'll leave them for now. Good enough is good enough. I can always fill them in later if I change my mind.

So a bit of an overreaction on my part. But thanks for your advice anyway. Sorry for the false alarm. :-)

RE: your question, Dre, the Brassin rails and pylons are separate pieces. Link to PDF of instructions here:

http://www.eduard.com/store/out/media/648054.pdf

Which reminds me that I have a couple of other questions regarding the pylons:

1. Any of you guys know which weapons would go on that big, long rail/pylon combo? (parts R3 and R4 in the instructions). Fits the wing station closest to the fuselage. My assumption is the cannon pod, but not sure.

2. And how about pylon R5 vs. pylon R6? I'm guessing Aphids go on R6, but what about R5? 

Wish Eduard had included some loadout info.

Thanks!

Just seeing this now PorkBits, I was about to suggest the putty/superglue option as my preferred "out" in this case, but it sounds like you're under control now anyway. As far as loadouts... man, when I was gathering pics for my recently completed Flanker... there were ALL KINDS of good photos of the aircraft, but most seems to be from airshow or training sessions, no live rounds fitted. Makes it difficult for a model builder!!

Have you tried any of the "world defence industry thinktank" type websites? (Think "Janes" etc) I've really only stumbled across them randomly, but they often have weapons load diagrams.

Porkbits, I'll try to get Trumpeter's load-out diagram up later as it's pretty good at showing what hangs where (but I make no claims to its accuracy).   Apparently, you can hang damn near anything in the Soviet inventory on a Su-25...

Well here's couple of pictures of the finished MiG-29,  sorry they are poor quality, tax time not soon enough to get a good camera for these kid of pictures

Awesome MiG, falcon! Great paint job there.

Thanks, Vance and Dre. The Eduard kit includes a basic load out diagram in the instructions, but I can't help but think it's not as comprehensive as it could be. Although maybe it is accurate for the Su-25k specifically...? Dunno.

But good to know you can hang almost anything on the pylons. :-) I still might just use a load out that looks cool, rather than going for accuracy. Hm. I love any combat craft burdened with ordnance, in any event (see also: A-10). One day I'd love to do the Academy Sufa.

Dre, if you could post Trumpeter's diagram, I'd very much appreciate it.

Cheers,

PB

I'll post it later tonight, Porkbits.  

On mine I've got a nice mix of 23mm gun pods, cluster munition canisters, massive optically-guided free-fall bombs and what I think are honking big napalm tanks.  

Lol, that's quite a weapons cocktail! :-) I'm thinking a few rocket pods, couple of drop tanks, and Aphids for mine. But I'd like to use the gun pods, too.

Thanks again, will look for your post later.

Putting Aphids on a Su-25 just seems wrong, but it has been done.... you should hang some Archers or Alamos on it just to see if anyone notices the discrepancy.

Hm. Aphids come with the kit and the online references I've read about the Su-25 indicate it uses Aphids as standard weaponry. Is this not correct?

Use archers, the missile is great, it has thrust vector and can change course by 90 degrees instantly upon launching! Gonna put two of these on my Mig, Two drop tanks, and two of something else but what hmm?

No, as far as i know (and I'm no expert) they do carry Aphids as a normal thing for self-defense.   I just think it odd to waste the rail space on Aphids when it should carry more bombs. 

Speaking of stuff to carry...  here's the sheets that show the various pylons and load-out options. 

Parts WX4 and WX5 represent the 8 basic pylons and any additional parts #'s refer to the adapter rails that attach to those pylons.  The instructions show the weapons nomenclature and rail combinations beyond what can be mounted directly to the 8 basic pylons.   The load-out diagram shows all the possible combinations for weapons that were included with my kit, and it may be out of date on the current weapons designations.

and it comes out looking like this....  gun pod, big bomb, CBU, napalm

I also have some nice full-color paint guides for all these weapons, but they too may suffer from inaccuracies.  Lemme know if you want to see them as well- I hope those scans help.

And some work on a 1/32 Su-27UB C.   I'm doing this now because it's easier to mask this off and paint without those pesky tail fins, wings and other stuff getting in the way.   Once I get all this sorted, I'll seal the paints and mask them off for protection as I finish it.   I'm not yet up to speed on metallics and heat discoloration, so these may yet turn out ugly.

I do try and keep busy!

Thanks, Dre! Appreciate the scans. Interesting that the Trumpeter instructions indicate the rocket pods only on the outer pylons. Very different from Eduard instructions. I'm starting to think that like most things Russian Military, there is no real standard. :-) Who knows?

Your Su-27 is looking great. Makes me all the more eager to get started on mine.

PB

Really nice Mig 29, very well done falconmod also I quite like the list you have on the bench.