Modelling Mushi

Nice build, love these kits. lots of fun. Glad to hear Airfix have their decal issue sorted, the brown backed ones were a nightmare.

Like it? No. Love it? YES !

Hello All OK, this was going to be a good build, a Czech Mig 23 in a special scheme in flight, nice little decal sheet and straight forward kit. Until I started actually building it. Starting off with stuffing up the intake alignment, then cutting too deep into the wings to allow them to be added after the main build, then managing (somehow) to glue the ejector seat to the canopy with super glue (I have no idea how this happened, must be gifted I guess) and to cap off the start sticking my finger to the lower tailplane with ... you guessed it .... super glue. Fine, I figure it can only get better, so I go and cut the slot for the stand - on the upper fuselage, not the lower. Fill, sand, fill, sand, rescribe. Put the fuselage away, repair the wings, paint the wings, finally something goes right. Pop the decals on the wing, still good, gently start the usual buff up to gloss that has worked 100% of the time - until now. Find I have buffed off 1/3rd the paint and 1/2 the decals on the upper surfaces. OK, back to the damn fuselage, mask off intakes etc, spill a bottle of Gunze Mr Masking over the model, now looks like the Hulk in a blender. Pull it off, try to pull it off but it has sunk into the panel lines and any crevice, pull off the canopy and one intake with mask. Put model in bin, open bottle of scotch. Pull model out of bin next day, mask with Tape only, spray grey. Works. Mask with Humbrol Maskol for flames. Spray red. Works. Mask with Humbrol Maskol for flames. Spray black. Crap, lumps. Strip off, respray black. Crap, runs. Strip off, respray black. Crap, grainy but I don't care. Demask all, sorry, tape lifts paint. Who cares, brush it out. Let it harden, slot in wings and glue them in. Leave it sit overnight and next day. Start in another kit, leave lamp on for a few hours while having lunch - crap, the lamps too close to the model, trailing edge of one wing now bent, twisted and melted, remaining decal on wing now crisped. Grab spare decal box, whack on any old Czech roundels (yes, they are the wrong size and misaligned but I DONT CARE), let them half set and slop on a brush gloss coat, shove stand home and plonk on desktop. Once dried transfer to desktop for photo to show how bad it was. Knock coffee cup (full of course, what do you really expect) from "safe" position on overhead shelf, hit model knocking canopy, vertical tail, stabiliser and missiles off, breaking the stand. spill hot coffee on crotch and camera. Swear loudly, scare cat. Wait 3 days Repair. Take photos as follows. This bugger is now going to be superglued permanently onto my modelling desk to remind me that no matter how bad any other build can be, it is nothing compared to this one. Ciao Mass

Thanks Jonners! Antoine, there's TV series here in Oz called "Kath and Kim" where one of the protagonists has a catch phrase "Moi Moi" which is her pronunciation of "My my". Could be it. Ciao Mass

Links to Finnish Finn Airforce Museum (the English text version) http://www.airforcemuseum.fi/ And a listing and photos of Finn WWII aces - all the text in Finn, but it is easy enough to work out http://www.ilmavoimat.fi/index.php?id=37 Ciao

Just a quick pic of the kit as a place marker, haven't so much as looked carefully through the bits yet. Hope to kick it off this Friday. Thanks Airfix for the piccie Ciao Mass

Good stuff Walrus, love the look of the Lizzy, you can beat the Matchbox Phantom Trench Digger!

I'd like to join the group build. I'll be making an ME Bf 109 G-6 from Airfix in 1/72 in out of the box mode. Ciao

Good looking build Paul, the brown-ish upper tones weather the finish very nicely!

Very nice builds Antony, love the F4, unusual scheme Dont know if there is one place for all completed builds. You could bookmark this post and add to it as you go along, it will pop to the top each time you add to it and the link will hunt it down no matter how far down the postings it goes.

Thanks John, much appreciated. If I ever move into 1/48th scale this has good potential for a really interesting paint scheme. Andrew

John, are you able to post tghis article? Really looking forward to it. Ciao Andrew

Looks great Chuck! From the littel I know of Finn military aircraft the colours look pretty close.

Gday XVTonker A copy of this would be great, thanks. I tried PM'ing you but I am having the devils own job with it here. Thanks is advance Andrew

Hekllo Everyone I'm doing an out of box build of Italeris Jag Gr-1 'Desert Cats' at Bahrain 1991. I have read elsewhere on the forum that the top coat should be FS10279 Desert Pink (H250 or XtraColour X032) and I am wanting to show a slightly weathered / chipped aircraft. Which begs the question. Was the Desert Pink applied over a standard grey / green camo, or were the aircraft taken back to the metal and re-sprayed in the Desert Pink? I've seen photos of well work drop tanks with very heavy weathering on the front that shows metal underneath, but I don't think I can use that as a precedent for the whole airframe. Help Ciao Andrew

Now it looks to my untrained eye that there is still room for a PS3 and bean bags . . . Interesting fitout, might also have space for a sleep out hammock for the relief a la truckie style!

Looks excellent Eddie.

Re-engine is the better way, keeps the shape and frees up internals for fuel etc. If you substituted a new generation engine for the old Avons (and choose wisely) you could increase thrust and reduce both fuel capacity and spool up time. Overwing twin mount may be good, why not go semi-recessed into the fuselage? Assume miniaturisation of components and you may find the extra room. And if you re-rengine, then the underbelly fuel tank could have the room to recess two (or four) sets of fins. If you assume VERY late 1990s or even early 2000s, AMRAAM / ASRAAM becomes a possibility. Make the canopy a bubble type, slant your bang seat back at 17 to 30 degrees a la F16 / FA18 would be good too, raise it up a tad and lower the coaming height. Go with a helmet mounted sighting system to couple with the HOTAS Hack into it, what the knife destroys milliput can repair. Ciao

Lovely!

Good looking build mumbles

So, for my own info as I am looking to do a Tonka in this scale and have only worked in 72nd before, san you tell me: 1. What else in this scale is out there and how it stacks up to this one; and 2. Given the issues you have raised, are there any after-market fixes out there or expected? Ciao Mass

Fine effort from a difficult sounding kit. Always good to see something different!

I've read that this kit is little difficult, nice build and the paint job looks good. These Italian camo schemes are interesting.

Steve, always liked the look of these birds. Looks good. Andrew

G'day All Just finished this one, first use of Xtracolour paints - and quite good too. Kit was strange, front 1/2 just on intake shoulders seemed to fit perfectly, but left a distinct droop in the wing shoulders. Wasn't real sure where the intake warning decals went either. Rest of it went together well. Ciao