Flankerman Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 Designed to fulfil a Soviet AF requrement for an all-weather/night fighter, the MiG I320 employed two Klimov VK-1 centrifugal turbojets mounted in tandem - the front engine exhausting under the centre fuselage, the rear engine with a conventional tail exhaust. The two crew were seated side-by-side under a clear canopy and the third prototype was fitted with a 'Korshun' (Kite) radar in a thimble radome above the front intake. Making its first flight in 1949, the MiG I-320 had a rival in the similarly laid out Lavochkin La-200 (tandem VK-1 engines, Korshun radar, side-by-side seating, 3 x 37mm cannon) and the Sukhoi Su-15 (tandem RD-45 engines, Toryii radar, single seat, 2 x 37mm cannon) None of the three rivals made it to production - the night fighter requirement was finally met by the later Yak-25. Modelsvit have now produced a kit of the MiG I-320 in 1/72 scale - and what a cracker it is, with fine engraved detail, well moulded parts, self-adhesive masks for the canopy, wheel hubs, gun blast area and the small aerials on the fin. Construction was fairly straight forward - see my WIF here. This is certainly their best kit yet in terms of finesse - it even incorporates part numbers on the sprues for the first time... Enough talk, here are some pics of the finished model...... Underside showing the two staggered jet exhausts. Top view - note the excellent clear canopy and the neat panel detail. Open airbrakes are included. The only thing I replaced was the cannon barrels - from thin metal tubing. Looking like a basking shark.... Ken 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flankerman Posted June 29, 2017 Author Share Posted June 29, 2017 More... Side view showing the single NR-37 cannon on the port side.... ....with twin cannons to starboard. Rear end showing the two jet exhausts and open airbrakes. The rivals - the Lavochkin La-200 (from Avis - left) and MiG I-320 (from Modelsvit - right). Same engines, same crew layout, same radar, same armament. Another addition to the growing range of Soviet/Russian jets - thanks Modelsvit Ken 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Hothersall Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Good build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invidia Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Great looking build. Followed you WIP tempted to get one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatFlyHalf Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Looks to me just like a basking shark, in silver........... and with wings! http://image2.redbull.com/rbcom/010/2015-04-15/1331717204069_2/0010/1/1500/1000/2/say-hello-to-a-basking-shark.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polo1112 Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Really EXCELLENT !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vultures1 Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Great-looking build of a most unusual aircraft. Well done!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Really interesting comparison with the L-200. Ugly, but so cool. Thanks for the build log- always handy to have this sort of reference available when building less mainstream kits. Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flankerman Posted July 1, 2017 Author Share Posted July 1, 2017 One thing I forgot to mention is that inside the front fuselage is a fully detailed Klimov VK-1 tubojet engine. Made up from thirteen parts it can be made into a model in its own right - as it cannot be seen once installed inside the I-320 fuselage... With a bit of super-detailing and an engine stand, it would make a nice diorama model on its own - it could also double as the Rolls Royce Nene from which it derives. It could be displayed next to a Supermarine Attacker, Hawker Seahawk, Grumman F9F Pamther or MiG-15. How about it Modelsvit? - release it as a kit on its own - complete with engine stand. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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