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

Duke,
Your 21 is looking good. Now you got me to thinking about doing a third one for this GB. I am in 2 other GBs, plus trying to get caught up on 3 F-105s that have been on the back burner for 6-8 months. So many models to build, so little time.

Darwin, O.F.

Well, I'm back to break the silence! This is my third MiG for this Group Build. I am building the same MiG 21 that Darwin built, but mine will be sporting Egyptian colors.

So far, I've managed to get only the cockpit built and painted and mounted inside the fuselage halves.

Here's the front office:



Here's the clamps holding everything together:



Tomorrow I should be able to get more done on this guy. I'll get pics posted when I do.

Waikong:
I was going through the older pages on this thread a little while ago and saw your blue & white Chinese Mig. That is very good. I really like the "different" color schemes, which are sometimes pretty hard to find on military planes.

Darwin, O.F.

I'm really sorry, fellow modellers! I do have some things that I sent from Japan and I'm in the process of setting up shop in my barracks room. I was hoping to have some progress done by this weekend but had to work Saturday. Plus I'm trying to find a vehicle here, which good used cars in the States here are expensive! - Calvin

I may have to get in with another Mig to keeps things going here.

osher was around here a bit, and posted some progress pics, but he seems to have disappeared.

I'll second that motion from Tanky, I would love the see those Mig15 you guys are building.

Sorry about not posting sooner. I have been so busy this weekend that I had very little time to build. I should have pics up later today.

Yeah, I agree with darwin. I know fighterguru had to drop out because of some real life issues, but I left him on the list just in case. Also, djmodels was starting that company, so he said he wouldn't be around much, but he did post saying he got the model he'd be building. as for the rest of them, I think I will post a reminder in the A/C forum reminding them they signed up for this.

Hello out there! silence Anyone out there besides Tanky, Duke and me building anything? More silence Are you alive? More silence Have you built something, but can't take pictures? The silence is deafening Write anyway. I think we can read!
"And they will be terrified by the sound of our silence!" Sean Connery, Capt Rameius, Hunt For Red October"

There is an article about Mig-21 in the completely new Brazilian magazine Plastinet, http://www.plastinet.com.br, pages 31-35.

OK, I think I've done the last of the filling and sanding. Now I just gotta add some more PE attach and mask a couple of pieces, clean the whole model, and it's paint time!!!!!!

Yardbird, use poster putty. It will give you a harder demarcation line, but not a hard one.

Awesome work Darwin! I love the detail you've put into this.

One way to mask to get a soft demarcation line and prevent overspray would be to do the following.

First off, doing this technique would mean applying your two-tone pattern in reverse.
First, take a piece of paper cut into the shape of the darker pattern. Tape a rolled up piece of tape (or two or three) on one side of the paper. make sure it is rolled with the sticky part outside, as if you were making a single-adhesive-side tape into a double-sided piece. Tape it then to the model. The doubled up tape will hold the paper piece slightly off the model allowing the AB to make a soft line. When you AB, point the AB straight towards the model, but angle it slightly away from the center of the paper that is taped to the model. For painting the demarcation line between the upper and lower fuselage, get a piece of paper that wraps around the top of the model. Hopefully this should help.

Also, great idea for finiding the center of gravity on the model. What I usually do is put in the nose weight, then tape the two fuselage halves together, tepmorarily put on the tail surfaces (if they fit w/o glue), and then dry fit the wings (again, if they fit w/o glue). Then I hold the model up with one finger in the one rear gear well (where the gear gets glued in) and my thumb in the other one. That usually tells me whether I need more weight or have enough.

Again, outstanding work on that model Darwin!

And then there was an ending. I finished my 1/72 Fujimi Mig-21 MF Fishbed J done up in Iraqi colors. This kit has some of the best detail I have ever seen on a kit this small. The cockpit is excellent with raised instruments that are pretty accurate. The various cooling vents, venturi tube, pitot tube and pressure data sensors are right on. These parts were all molded solid, so I used a .013" pin drill to open them up. An even casual look at the close up photos will reveal a major problem with overspray. How does one correct this without masking right on the model and then having a hard demarcation line? I didn't do any weathering or panel line highlighting because I am still figuring out how to do that with paint.









the full scale venturi and the model, note the fine drill bit completely through the venturi



This is the full scale main gear door actuator and the one on the model




Darwin, O.F.

OK, I've been filling and sanding for the past week. I just have to : Fill 1 more wing fuselage seam. Fill 3 more intake seams. Reattach tailfin which fell off. Sand the radome a little. Touch up seams. Ad about 20 more PE parts. And finally it will be ready for paint!

The instructions for the Fujimi Mig-21MF call for 5 grams of nose weight. That figures out to .176 ounces, which isn't much. The Hasegawa Mig-21 F-12 that I have recently completed didn't mention anything about nose weight and I forgot to put any in before I closed up the fuselage. Once I had most of the parts in place, I used an old Radio Control modeling trick to figure the Center of Gravity. I put a pencil on the bench for a fulcrum point and set the plane cross wise of it and moved it front to back until it balanced. This CG or balance point was in front of where the main gear would go, so I was OK.
The picture is of the Mig-21 MF nose weights, 8 BBs. That was way more than necessary, because it sits on its nose with great authority.

Darwin, O.F.

I am afraid my MiG may turn out to be a tail sitter. The nstructions said to add 3 ounces of weight, and I added more than that, but I still have my doubts. Duke, try using clay, just the regulars children's clay type stuu. That''s what I use for nose weight.

Sounds good Darwin. I'll look out for that. I usually get the assorted sizes of lead shot that is used for fishing weights. They are soft enough for me to form with pliers to fit in irregular places, and are very heavy for their size due to the use of lead. I placed all I had in the nose of my C-119 that I'm building, which was a mistake. I should have used nuts from my fasteners box.

Still, I'll be on the lookout for those BB's and pick some up along with more fishing weights when I get some cash.

Edit: I found a couple extra laying beneath the desk; should be enough to close the MiG.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Duke Maddog I've been delayed in trying to finish my Egyptain MiG; I have ruun out of lead sinkers to weight the noses of my aircraft. I've been looking for substitutes, and finally found some nuts I can use. I'll have progress pics up in a day or so.

I bought a tube of BBs 2 or 3 years ago to use for nose weights in models. It is about 3/4" diameter and 3 inches high. I have used them in several models and still have over half of the tube left. They work very well because they are basically lead, I think, which makes them heavy for a given space. They are also fairly small individually so that they will fit in the smallest and most irregular spaces.

Darwin, O.F.

Great looking camo work there yardbird! Excellent!

I've been delayed in trying to finish my Egyptain MiG; I have ruun out of lead sinkers to weight the noses of my aircraft. I've been looking for substitutes, and finally found some nuts I can use. I'll have progress pics up in a day or so.

Ahhh, continued nice work form your factory yardbird.

I first signed onto this GB with a Mig-21 MF and then added a Mig-21 F-12. I got involved in the F-12 and wound up finishing it first. The MF is out of the paint hangar and ready for markings.

Darwin, O.F.

hmm, I have yet to see any of our modern mig builders post progress pics. (Such as a mig-29) This is the first warning. If you do not finish your build on time, you may still wear the patch but you MUST put a frownie and sad smilie next to it until you are finished!!!!!

very nice yardbird, is the Arabic writing decals or hand painted? What did you use to do the BMF? I like the turned front landing gear, subtle but effective in giving a sense of motion to the plane.

nice work. you too have earned the right to keep your badge forever. A right I still don't have...

I have finished my /72 scale, Mig-21/F-12 and made it with Egyptian markings from the early 1960s. This a very basic kit with a cockpit that is almost non-existant. I built it stock with no AM parts. I did add the dipole radar altimeter antennas under the wing tips, the doppler navigation antenna cover behind the nose gear, the landing lights behind the main gear wells, repositioned the dorsal VHF radio antenna and added panel lines and smudge marks with a graphite pencil. On to the pictures, Darwin, O.F.

tchah. just shows, put equal pilots in em and migs can take on american planes. To be sure the Iranainas did get downgraded tomcats though.

QUOTE: Originally posted by cdclukey QUOTE: Originally posted by yardbird78 TM7, How about adding my name to the list. The gods of ebay just deposited a 1/72 Fujimi Mig-21MF or Fishbed J on my doorstep. It has decals for 2 Iraqi jets during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, Syrian AF during 1982 Israel war, Afghanistan 1990s and Bangladesh AF, undated. I think I will do it as the Mig 21 that shot down a Tomcat, (Iranian). Darwin and yardbird...I have to ask: What kind of dipstick F-14 driver gets waxed by a MiG-21? [:0]

When it is being flown by a "dipstick Iranian" pilot! During the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran war, the Iranians used their F-4 Phantoms as their primary air to air and air to ground asset and used the F-14 as their version of AWACS. I guess the guy driving this one around had his head up his _ _ _ and wasn't paying much attention to his own radar scope.

Darwin, O.F.

QUOTE: Originally posted by yardbird78 TM7, How about adding my name to the list. The gods of ebay just deposited a 1/72 Fujimi Mig-21MF or Fishbed J on my doorstep. It has decals for 2 Iraqi jets during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, Syrian AF during 1982 Israel war, Afghanistan 1990s and Bangladesh AF, undated. I think I will do it as the Mig 21 that shot down a Tomcat, (Iranian).

Darwin and yardbird...I have to ask: What kind of dipstick F-14 driver gets waxed by a MiG-21? [:0]