FOREIGN AIRFORCE MiG BUILD. (no question mark in this topic)

Still sanding. Not much to post pics up of yet. But still a long while to go for the build to end. hehe.

Here's what I got so far for my combined Acrobatic team/Foreign Mig build. This is the cockpit of the J7 (Chinese modiified Mig21)...




I've gotten as far as gluing all the main assemblies and masking/painting the 2 tone blue/white scheme, but after stripping most of the masking off, realized the blue is way too dark. So after putting the thing down in disgust for a week, I remasked and is about to repaint the blue this weekend. Will send an updated pictures soon.

I started a full build review, if you are interested and would like to see more pictures, please follow this link http://waihobbies.wkhc.net/f7eb.html

Your comments/critiques are welcomed. Thanks.

Actually, not so much brave as naive! I've seen other Kopro (KP) stuff, and it looked nice. I wish I had looked up Modeling Madness first, but there I was, in Hannants, looking for a decal sheet for my Revell Mig-21, and there in the new arrivals shelf were these two (yep, I have also a Mig-17) piles of new Kopro Mig kits in a Vietnamese special edition. Oh! Thinks I, cheaper than a decal sheet, smaller than a 1/32 Mig-21, and Kopro are generally good, plus Vietnam War, from the side of North Vietnam sounded interesting.

QUOTE: Originally posted by osher Er, well, I think I have worked out a way to attach the cockpit tub to the fuselage, except the fuselage won't fit. The locating pins need, er, re-locating? Duke, your model looks really excellent! Here is my WIP. As you can see, I've not progressed far

Thanks for the compliment osher. Man, I see what you mean about this model you chose to build! You are a braver man than I Gunga Din! I do hope that you can get the extra aftermarket parts. It looks quite painful t try to build something like this. You are doing well for the poor quality of the kit! Soldier on my friend!

QUOTE: Originally posted by djmodels1999 Duke, you are fast, man! A real factory, you have! Your cockpit looks quite detailed! Have you thought of adding a sligthly dark wash all over to gove it even better definition? The Revell MiG is a real beauty, Duke. You need to get yourself one! I hope my build comes up as nice as you think it will be..! I'm really wanting a bare metal Fishbed (the early Fishbeds do look sooo sleek in natural metal) but I've never been really successful with metallic paints...

Dark wash to the Cockpit! DOH! I knew I forgot something! Oh well, too late now, everything is all put together.

Thanks for the word on that Revell MIG. I'll be on the lookout for it once I gain employment again.

Made up my mind. Put me down for the Revell 1/32 MiG 21 M/MF in Croatian markings.

All I've managed to do on the 15 is get some painting done in the cockpit. Looking at the surface of the plastic, I'm wondering if foil is going to work as it's awful grainy and pebbly, plus theres about a billion dimples that are supposed to be rivets although if they were on a real AC they would be about 4 inches across!! Ahwell, it'll be a learning experience for sure.

Just found a review from Modeling Madness of the kit I'm building, and it seems I'm not alone in wondering how the cockpit fits in, and wondering where the flash stops and model begins! Here is a link to the review: http://modelingmadness.com/reviews/korean/ussr/dorrmig15.htm I also did a seach, and found that Extratech do a PE kit for this kit. Can anyone recommend somewhere in the UK to buy this? Hannants stock Extratech, but not this one. Also, Neomega do the right seats...again, does anyone know where to buy them from? At least the colour I chose for the cockpit is passable!

Er, well, I think I have worked out a way to attach the cockpit tub to the fuselage, except the fuselage won't fit. The locating pins need, er, re-locating? Duke, your model looks really excellent! Here is my WIP. As you can see, I've not progressed far

As for my progress, it's an off white resin cockpit that roughly (and barely) fits into a grey plastic fuselage front. School greatly hinders me here. Hoping for everything to be filed and sanded and ready for painting by monday. That's an optimistic estimate though.

Duke, you are fast, man! A real factory, you have! Your cockpit looks quite detailed! Have you thought of adding a sligthly dark wash all over to gove it even better definition?

The Revell MiG is a real beauty, Duke. You need to get yourself one! I hope my build comes up as nice as you think it will be..! I'm really wanting a bare metal Fishbed (the early Fishbeds do look sooo sleek in natural metal) but I've never been really successful with metallic paints...

Well it looks like I'm the first one to christen this Thread with pics of my progress. So people, let's see some pics! That Revell MiG sounds excellent, I can't wait to see it in progress. And with you building it Dj, I know it's gonna come out AWESOME!

Osher, how're you coming on with that little Viet trainer?

At last, I have my brand new 1/72 Revell MiG-21F-13... All I can say is that it was WELL worth the wait. It is just beautiful! Run, propel yourself, fly to your hobby shop and get yourself one (or more!).

The plasic is silver (the only annoying thing about this kit but Revell is known for annoying colors of plastic!), the engraving is really fine, the parts beautiful, the decals superb, the instruction sheet quite comprehensive and detailled. There are tons, tons of stencils on this decal sheet, plus the markings for 2 East-German, 1 Soviet and 3 Finnish MiG-21s. Only one of those is camouflaged all the others are natural metal birds. The canopy comes in 3 parts (there the added armoured glass to make it three!). There's some nice details inside the two-part exhaust pipe, the cockpit details are gorgeous too (the seat is a 3 piece affair!).

A conversion into a Mongol would be great (the kit has no option for that I'm afraid) but the canopy will be what stops me I think...

Thank you Revell!

Here is my progress so far on the two MiGs I'm building for this Group Build.

I'll start with my MiG 23 Flogger that I'm building as a German MiG. I painted the cockpit/pilot:



Then I put together the nose/front fuselage with the pilot inside. Here it is being held together with clamps:



While that was drying, I put the horzontal and vertical stabilizers on the main fuselage:



Later, I put the two together:



Once I got that far, I did a little sanding to clean the seams up.


Next, I started getting some more done on the MiG 21 that is going to be made Indian AF.

I painted and applied the decals to the cockpitof my MiG. Here are three pics; two showing each side of the cockpit, and then the third one with the pilot inside:







Next, I put the main fuselage together. Here it is being kept together by clips:



Next, I mounted the wings, spine, horizontal stabilizers and vertical stabilizer



After that, I did some sanding and cleaning up on this one too.


Now that I got that far, I have started to re-organize my Hobby Room, so it may be awhile before I get any more progress done.

LOL. My advice is change your paints. (If that's an option.) Switch to Model Master or Vallejo. If not attempt to thin the paint a bit to get it to flow better.

Tried painting the cockpit Humbrol 164, using one of those mini pots you get sometimes. Having a real problem with it though. The paint is 'clustering', and a as the brush leaves the plastic, so the paint seem to leave areas instead of spreading. I'm using a Kopro kit (crap plastic), no primer (is the the problem?), and Humbrol mini-pot (is it enamel or acryric even?!). Any advice much appreciated! Oh well, it sort of looks abused, which is about right for a Vietnamese Mig!

Okay, installation of cockpit is beginning. I am starting the ineveitable filing and sanding that goes with AM resin.

OK, my workbench is totally cleared, it's got the mig and its AM sitting on top of it. Just waiting til I get the time to start.

i'm going to start on monday. No school because of MLK day.

I got a few more pics on the way. Haven't got too much more done, but I should in the next day or so.

Having a more fundamental problem with my Kopro MiG15 UTI kit: how the heck is the cockpit tub supposed to fit into the fuselage?!!! From what I can see (and from dry runs), the only bit that actually attaches is the top of the instrument panel! Yikes!

Maybe Airfix M22 (Humbrol 79 Blue Grey) is the best choice for cockpit colour, although it seems possibly a little dark, but not a bad match. Anyway, pictures of completed cockpit up soon.

Your MiG looks really good Maddog, can't wait to see more!

I'll only be posting pics once I'm well into progress, and then once I'm finished. Since my sister has the only good digital camera, I have to work from the photo cd's from the developers.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Duke Maddog Excellent! Post pics so we can see.

Wilco!

Excellent! Post pics so we can see.

Thanks! I'll try tonight a combination of polishing and future, and we'll see...

QUOTE: Originally posted by osher QUOTE: Originally posted by Duke Maddog Osher, once you've polished out the crack, dip your 'glass' piece in Future and then set it aside to dry. It'll be dry to the touch in about 20-30 minutes, and then can be mounted in place. The Future should fill in all the microscopic scratches so that it looks clean and clear. Thanks Maddog! I have a 'Squadron' polishing stick, is the right way to polish scratches, or should I look for something else, maybe finer?

The polishing stick is good, but if you can find anything even more fine, go for it. I've used the polishing stick before and have had no problems with any smudges after I dipped the canopy in Future.

cool. looking good.

Okay, here I have my pics of the progress I've made for this Group Build. I am building these kits OOB with no aftermarket parts so I'll try to take my time so others can keep up.

First off, I started my MiG 23; an early Hasegawa kit which is probably a re-issue of someone elses, since it lacks the detail I normally associate with Hasegawa.

This is the "cockpit" as it were, with the parts that make up the nose section of the plane in front of it:



As you can see, I have added weights to the nose to keep it sitting correctly on it's landing gear.

This is the main fuselage glued together holding the moveable wings in place:



Next I got started on my Indian MiG 21. This is the cockpit assembled, waiting for paint and decals



This is the exhaust nozzle:



And here is my progress on assembling the wings and tail in preperation for mounting on the fuselage once it is assembled:



That is what I have gotten done so far. Now I have to figure out what is the correct color for the interior of these two MiGs. Once I get more done, I'll post more pics.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Duke Maddog Osher, once you've polished out the crack, dip your 'glass' piece in Future and then set it aside to dry. It'll be dry to the touch in about 20-30 minutes, and then can be mounted in place. The Future should fill in all the microscopic scratches so that it looks clean and clear.

Thanks Maddog! I have a 'Squadron' polishing stick, is the right way to polish scratches, or should I look for something else, maybe finer?

QUOTE: Originally posted by osher Update: Starting work on the cockpit. Aside from loads of flash, there is the additional fun element of 'gates' that are so thick it's almost a model in itself, and bits (the control sticks) which have no gates at all, but simply emerge from a sprue. In short, this is going to be a model where a sharp blade is essential! However, on the plus side, the dials are all moulded in, as are the side instruments (in the 'pit tub). The seats look weird (and naturally, no belts), but they may be right. They look like the seats you would see in a modern day rally car though. The only real fly in the ointment is the 'glass' seperating pilot and pupil, which has a scratch down it. OK, so, probably correct (this was a heavily used aircraft by the Vietnamese), but I might try polishing it out.

Osher, once you've polished out the crack, dip your 'glass' piece in Future and then set it aside to dry. It'll be dry to the touch in about 20-30 minutes, and then can be mounted in place. The Future should fill in all the microscopic scratches so that it looks clean and clear.

I also started on the cockpits of my two MiGs for this Build, and should have the pics posted soon.

Well then. I'm using a resin ejection seat on mine, so the academy seat (which is a joke) won't be a problem I hope. I'm also using Eduard PE, which has some really nice pieces for detailing the plane. I finally get to break in the hold and fold!