Min
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Posts posted by Min
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In the Dark...
This is a collaboration project between myself and Ben Winter-Giles (@bengunstagram on IG). Titled "In the Dark...", it tells of our ideas, efforts and creativity come to life, when no one's looking, Toy Story style.
The build took just over four months and is designed to be of two parts, with each to be kept by the respective modeller but able to be re-united for competitions and displays. Each an epic display in its own right but together they tell the story of how two artists, from different genres, with different styles, utilising different techniques, and possessed of different philosophies towards model making, come together to craft something bigger than themselves.
The build features a 1/100 Bandai Master Grade Sazabi ver.Ka and Hi-Nu ver.Ka:
The Sazabi (christened "Suzie-B" by her creator) features custom paint, AnchoreT propellant tanks and funnel pods, with a Mechanicore Quad Gatling gun set.
The Hi-Nu (callsign "Thumper") features heavy modifications to achieve a levitating effect, and a full THE-51 resin conversion kit with photoetch, and two customised resin handguns.
Both feature custom made decals to tell a Cold War, Soviet Russia vs U.S.A story.Our project was completed in time for its public debut at the Australian Capital Territory's ScaleACT-2019 expo and competition. A reveal video was also made to commemorate its public unveiling:
Ben and I hope you enjoy the following pics.
Thank you for looking!
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My most recent completion, totally exhausted with the effort that went into decaling on this project.
First off, the build. Pretty straight forward, fit was okay (but not a patch on Japanese and, more recently, some of the newer Korean engineering). There are quite a number of sink marks in the plastic though - perhaps due to the age of the molds themselves? I didn't worry about these too much as the markings would tend to draw the eye anyway. Almost completely OOB, only aftermarket used were the Master Model pitot tube and AOA sensors.
Now the decals. I've heard that these are Cartograf - if so, thank goodness! My kit had an old and yellowed decal sheet. Quite a few were brittle and shattered on application. I suspect that being Cartograf they had some inherent strength which limited the number and severity of breakages. Even so, there were many hours spent playing decal jigsaw on a minute sub-millimetre scale. I ended up using Mr Color Levelling Thinners sprayed through the airbrush as the decal setting agent (after first applying Mr Mark Softer and then Micro Sol!).
I restrained myself with regards to the weathering, this is a show-bird after all, but felt some oil streaks and stains on the underside were in order.
Anyhoo, enough with my rambling... on with the pics!
As always, thanks for looking
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1 hour ago, Greg B said:
I saw that little beauty at the Illawarra show last weekend. Your photo's dont do it justice. Hard to chose between that and the Luftwaffe F-104G for the best 1:72 Jet there.
Hang on a sec... @Greg B was that your 1/48 Kitty Hawk Fitter on the table that I ogled over?? If so...
It was TOTALLY AWESOME!!! Hope you can tell me about it one day.
On a side note, I felt the in-flight MiG-29 was the worthy winner in the 1/72 category on the day.
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Finished towards the end of 2018, this was a kit that I'd had in my stash for close to 10 years. Had held off on building it telling myself "one day, when I get better at this hobby and won't make a mess of it".
Finally got tired of waiting and just bit the bullet. As I recall, the build was relatively trouble-free and I really enjoyed seeing it come together. I built the Austrian Air Force scheme because it was the only one available from the box, I did not manage to source alternative decals in time. Since then I've managed to get my hands on the more recent boxing by Hasegawa, this time with Swedish markings - can't wait to build and paint that one!
This is a completely OOB build, weathering was kept subtle as I read somewhere that the Austrians kept their jets pretty clean. As always, thanks for looking
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Well this came as an unexpected surprise!
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Love how you managed to drop the flaps and slats! Great job!
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1 hour ago, PZL104 said:
You really made the most out of this kit and the grey paint scheme. A really very nice built and weathered Flanker
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Oooh I'm building myself up to a Flanker... when I get enough confidence in myself to be able to do that plane justice - it's a favourite of mine, you see!
For now, I thought I might just *ahem* Flog this rather mediocre effort... 😉
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4 hours ago, opus999 said:
I think this looks fantastic despite being just one color of gray! Besides... a lot of Soviet aircraft weren't known for being anything but drab.
I think your paint job, weathering and wear are top notch. I myself would really like to do an East German MiG-23 in 1/72, but the lack of good kits out there is disappointing.
You did a great job.
It was mentioned earlier that the Hasegawa kit is a little nicer, something you might want to consider? Personally, I think a good, new MiG-23 in 1/72 is way overdue. Am hoping the likes of Modelsvit will release one in the near future, seeing as how they're doing lots of neglected Russian subjects lately and their kits have been very favourably received.
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7 hours ago, Modelraynz said:
Looks great! 🙃
The intake-to-fuselauge step is really nasty in that kit, but youd never know from your model 😉
If you feel like another flogger, hasegawa mig-27s can be picked up commonly - its what academy copied, but has better shape and fit 🙂
Ah! Someone who understands what it felt like....
I did not know the Hasegawa one was better, honestly I thought they were one and the same kit. No, I don't think I will do another one, at least not until a completely new, modern tool release comes along. There are some nice new Modelsvit, Trumpter and Zvezda Russians waiting in the stash
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So I really wanted a Flogger in my collection. The Academy kit was pretty much all I could get my hands on but, knowing the issues with fit and low level of detail, I was hesitant. Ended up biting the bullet after all and steeled myself to expect very little from the build.
As expected, the cockpit detail was sparse (and that's being generous) so I stuck a pilot in there after having raised the seat to a more reasonable height, and closed up the canopy. The intakes on both sides of the fuselage had the most horrible fit; these needed large amounts of putty and coarse-grit sanding to shape and smooth the step/join. The main landing gear proved a tricky affair as well, being complex but poorly described in the instructions. I consider it a minor accomplishment achieving good alignment so the model sits evenly on its gear.Being a cheap kit I saw no point to putting in any aftermarket - so this is a completely OOB build. Please excuse the overall grey scheme, it is rather plain.
Thanks for looking
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7 minutes ago, JohnT said:
That’s a very tidy build and finish given your observations on fit issues. You can be proud of that one.
I have the Tamiya one in the stash and was thinking of adding the Revell one due to its comparatively low cost but now wonder if I should bother?
Thank you John, and everyone else for the kind words.
I imagine the Tamiya one would be better detailed and have much nicer fit. Zoukei Mura have this exact same plane and markings available, but if you're looking to add the Revell one to the stash because of the low price then go for it.
To be honest, the price was what made me get this kit (my friend/customer paid for the kit, but left it to my discretion as to which one to choose). From the reviews it sounded like a winner, and even if I'd known about the fit issues I'd still have gone for it anyway - but at least I would have been mentally prepared for the challenge.
Min.
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Hot off the bench and finished just yesterday! This is a commission build for a friend, OOB except for the aftermarket seat belts from Eduard.
Revell's 1/32 P-51D kit, whilst affordable, was not quite what I expect of a modern, new-tool kit in this day and age. Some notable issues around fit include:
- Just about EVERYWHERE!
All major joins required filling and sanding, reminiscent (to me) of the very old Hobbycraft kits I'd built in the past. Details were soft and sprue gates were massive! Honestly, I switched to my more heavy duty cutters rather than risk my good nippers to get parts off before cleaning up the flash and burr lines. In short, I would not look to build another of this kit.
I am so looking forward to going back to 1/72 after this! But... she's finished nonetheless, and I'm hoping her new owner will be satisfied with the results.
Once again, thanks for looking
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Amazing work! What was the model like to build?
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Superb!!! Love the scheme, and you truly did it justice!
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@Hobo and @flashlight - I used Gunze paints, specifically for the camo they were H312 Light Green, H27 Tan, and H52 Olive Drab.
The exhaust was Tamiya acrylics Gun Metal, given a wet coat of Mr Hobby Self Levelling Thinner over the top which I find changes it to an almost chrome-like sheen - be careful as it is very easy to over-do the thinners... too much and it will ruin the effect.
Thank you all for the kind comments.
Min.
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Zvezda kit built in the latter part of 2018. This was a practice build (and my first serious attempt at freehand camo work) before I tackled the Eduard kit. A mostly OOB affair, with the Master Models pitot tube as the only aftermarket addition.
As always, thanks for looking 🙂
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Very nicely done!!
I hope mine turns out as nicely when I build it.
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4 hours ago, Rich G said:
I always thought the Finback looked like a bit of a bodge job, part Mig 21, Mig 19 and Sukhoi 15.
I agree. There's definitely a frankenstein sort of look to it, and it's quite a large beast compared to the MiGs.
I have some other PLAAF jets in the stash, must get around to building them one day soon 😉
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Another tidy build
How was the fit? I've got this in the queue for my next project, right after I finish with a commission build I'm working on.
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Love the camo work!!
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Looks excellent!! Great job on the old kit!
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6 minutes ago, BerndM said:
Sounds good. The decals in Academy kits were often a weak Point in the past.
These were too. The big USAF insignia on the port fuselage cracked where I worked it to conform around the IFR port bulge - you can see it clearly in the very first photo. Fortunately the rest of the decals went over relatively flat surfaces.
The new Academy kits, however, have Cartograf decals
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9 hours ago, bombernut said:
Those of us who have seen Min's models in the plastic know the rest of you are in for a rare treat.
Good to see you posting to Britmodeller Min. This Finback is a really nice job.
Cheers Matt, thank you for the kind words!
I'll put more of my past builds on here in due course, including the Draken, MiG-21, Flogger, and F-104.
Min.
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11 minutes ago, BerndM said:
Smashing build. The details and the surfaces of the kit look great as well.
Kit decals ?
Thank you, and yes, kit decals straight out of the box. I liked the markings and a mud mover Marines bird was what I wanted - win
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1/72 Academy MiG-23S Flogger B
in Ready for Inspection - Aircraft
Posted · Edited by Min
@Drunken_Jedi I had to dig around to find the answer to that, I used Gunze H324 Light Grey. Hope that helps.