Pavlvs: Sorry if there was any confusion but I will still be doing my 1/35 King Tiger II along with the Strella. As for the M61 Vulcans, there aren't many out there in 1/72. You might want to consider scratching them or trying to find an aircraft detailing set with one in it. I believe Czech Masters made a F-16 detailing set with one in it. Also, you could go with a 25mm GAU-12 "Equalizer" or the amazing 30mm GAU-8. As for the 105s, I belive Airfix makes a couple different kinds along with the 40mm Bofors if you wanted to through that it too.
Eddie: I like the added details to the cans. Looks good.
kg4kpg: Sounds cool. You going to stretch the fuselage at all for the three crew members? Might want to reference the late-war radar fitted to the early warning Avengers and other aerial radars on F6Fs and Helldivers.
As for the Mig-25 "Strella":
In 1958, the Soviet Union learned about the Canadian's new interceptor prototype, the CF-105 Arrow. When the USSR heard about the promising performance of the Arrow, officials ordered the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau to draw up a delta-winged aircraft similar to the Arrow with better performance for use as a high-performance interceptor. But in 1959, the CF-105 was controversially canceled. Thus, the new delta-winged interceptor was ordered to be put on hold. Mig continued to work on the idea though. Then in 1964, the Ye-155 flew and thoroughly impressed Soviet officials and was granted to be built as the Mig-25. Mig then submitted their plan for a high-performance interceptor based on their new Mig-25. This was the plan they submitted:
It was called the Strella (Arrow in Russian) by Mig and featured new interceptor avionics. The Soviet government ordered a prototype built in the hopes that this new high-performance plane could combat the new British TSR.2 and American XB-70 if they went into production. Mig worked on the plane sparingly until it finally flew in 1970. The test pilots loved the new Mig-25. They said it handled better than the standard 'Foxbat' and had amazing high-altitude performance. They also praised its new search and tracking radar and it look down/shoot down capability. By this time though, both the TSR.2 and XB-70 had been canceled so the Mig-25 Strella was put into storage. Mig then continued working on other projects and introduced various other fighters such as the Mig-29 'Fulcrum' and Mig-31 'Foxhound'. Then in 1989, the Soviet Union launched a suprise offensive in Western Europe and the Middle East in hopes of revitilizing the crumbling communist country. But they hadn't couted on one thing; the impressive NATO anti-aircraft defenses. The Soviets were in dire need of a SEAD type aircraft because their Su-25 'Frogfoots' were too slow, every cruise missile was being shot down by US Patriot missiles, and the Su-24 'Fencers' were to busy supporting ground troops. Mig suggested modifying the almost forgotten Mig-25 Strella for the SEAD/Wild Weasel role. The Soviet government accepted the idea and ordered the Strella out of storage. Mig went to work mordernizing the aircraft and making it an acceptable SEAD platform. It was soon realized the huge delta-wing was ideally suited to carry large amounts of armaments and the various anti-radiation missiles in the Soviet arsenal. The Strella was modified by installing new Soloviev D-30F6 afterburning turbofans from the Mig-31, each producing 34,172 lbs of thrust on afterburner compared to 22,494 lbs of thrust with the old Tumansky engines. New avionics ideally suited to the SEAD role such as various sensors and ECM equipment were added to the Strella that resulted in numerous new bulges and aerials. The primary armament was the Kh-58 anti-radiation missile and cluster bombs though at least one air-to-air missile was usually carried. Drop tanks were always fitted for extended range and a refueling capability was added. The new SEAD Strella was sent to the front lines and was a huge success. Mig was ordered to build ten SEAD Strellas now known to NATO as the Mig-25BMD 'Foxbat-G'. The new Foxbat was extremely popular and was a very effective SEAD aircraft, destroying many NATO anti-air defenses and opening the way for Soviet bombers, though their combat career was cut short. In early 1990, NATO launched a huge counter-offensive that pushed the Soviet military back to their previous borders. Under the threat of a possible nuclear war, that neither the USSR or NATO wanted, a peace agreement was worked out and the Soviet Union and all her satallite countries dissolved into Russia and the various other countries we know today. After this agreement, there was little need for the Strella. All ten were eventually retired in the late 90's, five going to various museums and the other five going into storage for possible future use.
Well, after that long winded story, you guys probably want to see some progress pics. Here is what I have done so far:
The kit I am using is the 1/72 Hasegawa Mig-25. Raised detail, a bare cockpit, and a bad putty job by me made me toss it in the corner for a while. I then decided it would be a good kit for this idea.
First, I cut off the existing wingtip ECM pods with my handy razor saw and set them aside for future use:
I then cut the wings in half, drilled two holes in each front half and the fuselage, and added some metal rod to make the joint strong.
Some test fitting and drilling later, along with some super glue, one of the front halves are on. Those stabs for the elevators have been shaved off as well.
For the back half, I drilled and added rod again like the front.
Now with the front and back halves on.
And the look with the delta wing I am going for. I am going to use the elevators for wing tips with the old ECM pods that I will modify and add some plastic card and putty to fill the hole. Also, some new flaps and alerons are in order.
My most used tool on this project so far.
It might take a while to get it finished because I started it as a side project but I have had fun modifying it so far. Questions and comments are welcome.
The only easy day was yesterday - U.S. Navy Seals