1/48 HB MiG-17F, NVAF, w/ AMS Resins cockpit set Options

[Rampage55]

Having built a 1/48 Hobbycraft MiG-17 many years ago I can remember the disappointment I felt at the result. In part due to my lack of modeling skills and in part due to the toy like features of the Hobbycraft kit. When I heard that someone was planning to release a new tool 1/48 MiG-17 my interest was piqued, even if it was Hobby Boss. Having completed a very satisfying build of their FJ-4 Fury combined with the AMS Resin detail set, I was interested in what the their MiG -17 kit had to offer.



After using the AMS Resin detail set on my Fury I was familiar with the outstanding quality of Harold Offield's work, so when he offered to send me a cockpit set for the the HobbyBoss MiG-17, I was excited to say the least. At the time I warned Harold I was an extremely slow builder, but apparently I failed to mention that I'm a slow starter as well. Harold sent me the resin over 8 months ago and I'm just now getting around to this project. My apologies to Harold for taking so long getting this build started.

Here's a break down of what the AMS cockpit set entails.

This cockpit detail set is comprised of five beautifully detailed and crisply cast resin parts.


The cockpit tub is full of fine detail.


Both side consuls are delicately recreated.


One of the things I like most about this set is the gun sight. Harold captured the look of the real thing very nicely here.


The gun sight is molded as a single piece with the instrument panel. I like the simplicity of this arraignment.


The seat is nicely done with the harnesses realistically captured. A little paint and this is sure to be an eye catcher.


Also included in this set are the two cockpit side panels. These add detail to a prominent area in the cockpit that the kit is lacking.



In addition to the AMS cockpit set I also have the Quickboost gun barrels to add to this project. I plan to use the kit supplied decals. Not because I like them that much but there seems to be a distinct lack of aftermarket decals available for this particular subject. I plan to do a NVAF MiG-17F "2011". But I think I'm going to camouflage mine. Apparently "2011" wore several different schemes during the conflict.

After opening the box and inspecting the parts I was a bit concerned about the parts break down, particularly about the four fuselage parts and how well they would all go together and then the intake and nose section looks a bit tricky as well.

I started by removing these shaded areas in order to fit the AMS cockpit.


The tabs to support the kit supplied cockpit parts need to be removed as well.


Here's the cockpit test fit. I perhaps removed a little too much plastic in a few spots, but overall I think the fit is quite good and will require just a bit of clean up. That detail in there is a vast improvement over the kit parts...


So, now to the area I've spent some time trying to figure out the best way to approach it. The fuselage assembly and wing join. First I'm going to deal with the fuselage assembly. The kit provides a beautiful engine, unfortunately once it's installed and the fuselage is buttoned up nothing much can be seen of it. So I'm not going to bother with all of the detail of the engine. One, It will save some weight in the tail and second, I won't have to deal with all of those little bits. I just assembled what was necessary to get the tail pipe in position because without it there's nothing to attach the exhaust to. The nose wheel bay has been assembled also so I can start dry fitting all theses parts so I can sort out my assembly sequence.


I'm considering gluing the front and rear fuselage parts together before joining the fuselage halves together. However there is a lot of stuff that needs to be crammed in there before I can do that.

Thanks for looking,
Mark