Flankerman

This one? Ken

and.... SB stood for 'Skorostnoy Bombardirovshchik' - or simply 'Fast Bomber' - like the German 'Schnell Bomber' programme. As Warhawk points out the 2 should be followed by the engine type ..... SB 2 M-103 or SB 2 M-100 or SB 2 M-105 etc.... Never just 'SB 2' Meanwhile... back to modelling the beast...... Ken

I'm in the middle of a house clearance - so I'll be 'offline' for a week or two as far as building goes. All down to you for the time being Alexey...... Ken

I built the Amodel Be-200ChS in 2011 (blimey! is it that long ago??) :- http://www.flankers-site.co.uk/modl_be-200.html I didn't have any trouble at all with the decals - in fact I wrote a magazine article about the build - and wrote:- The Amodel decal sheet is very well printed by Decograph – with dense colours and good registration. Only one marking option is given – the first production machine for MChS, coded RF-32767. This plane (ex RF-32517) carries the name of twice Hero of the Soviet Union, major general of aviation Vasily Rakov. The decals went on beautifully with no hint of silvering even without the use of setting or softening agents. There is a slight hint of translucency on the forward MChS ‘star’ (called a Windrose) – where it lies over the underlying orange and blue stripe and the front vee shape on the stripe does not quite meet up with the radome. This latter problem may mean that either the stripe is slightly too short, or I have not painted the radome correctly. You must have had a bad example..??? Sorry for the thread hijack - but I had to come to Amodel's defence on this one. Ken

I'd use Halford's Appliance White' - over a few misted on coats of Halford's White Plastic Primer - with great success. The primer was applied - and then gently sanded down to an eggshell finish before the Appliance White top coat. Appliance White straight onto grey plastic needs care to get a nice dense coverage - hence the use of the primer first to give it something to 'key' to. A good trick is to warm the rattle can in hot tap water before use - and test it on some scrap plastic first - I've encountered 'rogue' cans of White Plastic Primer that spattered on me. Oh! - and shake (rattle) the can after warming it for a good ten minutes before use. Hope This Helps Ken

I've made a start....... Being a limited-run kit, all the parts need 'fettling' to fit... edges need trimming to square them up, some of the parts have flash in awkward places, delicate parts need careful trimming and are prone to breakage ......etc All par for the course for this type of kit. The four seats have sides that are way too thick - and benefit from being thinned down...... (as moulded left, half trimmed middle, fully trimmed right).. What's the collective consensus on seat belts??? - just lap straps - or full 4 - point over-the-shoulder type straps ????? The instructions are lacking - and there are are very few colour notes in the instructions..... After trimming, the mounting struts are attached... The mounting parts are very delicate and easy to break when removing them from the thick sprue gates - but they are nicely moulded. The seats are attached to a floor - which then fits into a groove in the cabin side panel..... But.... the floor is too thick (or the groove too narrow) to fit - so I had to widen the groove and tapered the floor edges until it fitted. This would have been easier to do BEFORE I attached the seat - so Top Tip - make sure parts fit before assembling them !!! More later... Ken

The Zvezda 1/144 scale A-90 is a re-boxing of the Revell kit :- http://www.flankers-site.co.uk/modl_a-90.html It has issues around the nose intakes and cockpit - but it is fixable.... Thanks for all the compliments guys - much appreciated. Ken

I have never found clear evidence that the A-90 could be 'flown off' the An-225 - in other words, could the A-90 fly out of ground effect??? Delivering the A-90 (configured in its 'flying rescue' / Spasatel guise) to an airport near to where it was needed by the An-225 - and then unloading it and getting it to the nearest water seems overly complicated. You would need a massive crane at least at the destination airfield That's why I suspect that it would be flown off the An-225 - and then fly conventionally in 'aeroplane mode' - before 'landing' on the water and assuming its WIG/Ekranoplan flight. Fascinating all round... Ken

Is it the guy on this website Serge... ?? http://www.greenmats.club/forums/topic/6917-готово-калинин-к-7-mikromir-172/ If so.... does he say how much weight is needed ed?? A lot - or just a small amount ?? Can you ask him ??? Ken

Excellent build and 'conversion' Toby I built my FiCon about a trillion years ago - back in the 1980's when the kit first came out:- http://www.flankers-site.co.uk/modl_ficon.htm I made a 'working' trapeze for the RF-84K Recce Fighter and mounted the GRB-36D as if in flight - with the RF-84K suspended beneath it. I was on a 'parasite fighter' kick at the time - and built the Soviet 'Zveno-1' http://vvs.hobbyvista.com/Modeling/Tupolev/TB-1/Duffy/index.php and the Zveno-6 'Aviamatka' :- http://vvs.hobbyvista.com/Modeling/Tupolev/TB-3/Duffy/index.php I was also planning a B-50 with straight-winged F-82G's mounted on the wingtips (Project Tom-Tom) - and a B-29 with an XF-85 Goblin in the bomb-bay - but never got around to building them. The whole subject of 'parasites' or 'piggy backs' is fascinating - there are quite a few out there and you could build up quite a collection of models Stay Safe Ken

Thanks for the Heads-up on the tailsitting issue Serge - I'll bear it in mind when building my K-7. There may be room in the front of the wheel sponsons - or the front (hollow) angled mounting strut for some weights (?) Ken

It was the K-9 missiles on the E-152A that were disguised as AIM-7 Sparrows by painting the fins with black triangles..... John R is talking about the K-80 missiles on the E-152M....... I don't know why they had those black markings - but I'd just go with your strapline John R..... Stop trying to be perfect and get it finished! There's a photo of the above configuration on page 47 of Yefim Gordon's 'Soviet Heavy Interceptors' (Vol 19 in his Red Star series) Ken

My Mikro-Mir Kalinin K-7 has survived the current vagaries of the international postal services and has finally arrived into my eager hands.... Ordered on-line from the Ukraine from :- https://amarket-model.com/ the kit was packed inside a stout carboard box with the contents cocooned in bubble wrap and although it took a while, it arrived undamaged - excellent service The impressive box art shows what the finished model should look like.... The massive wing is made from hollow fibreglass-resin with a superb glass-like surface finish with a restrained fabric effect - it spans a staggering 74 cm (29inches).... Underside view - with an La-5FN for scale..... The rest of the kit is injection-moulded plastic with excelent engraved detail - these are the vertical rudders.... The corrugated external finish is particularly well done - being very restrained and true to scale ..... I won't show all the sprues here - you can see them on my website :- http://www.flankers-site.co.uk/model_kalinin_k-7.html This sprue has the extremely delicate mouldings of the Scarffe rings and machine guns for the numerous gun turrets.... At 26cm (10.5in) - the tailplane is bigger than a Spitfires wing.... The tires have legible raised lettering........ The cockpit glazing is thin and crystal clear.... Self-adhesive masks are inluded - as is an etched brass fret and simple decal sheet. The instructions are printed on six A4 sheets - folded in half to make a twelve-page 'booklet'....... The centre page is the simple painting and decal placement guide..... This is an excellent new kit from Mikro-Mir and must have cost them a small fortune to create - an expense reflected in the retail price. It is an interesting replica of a bonkers design - and I can't wait to get it started... Ken

WIP is here :- Some pics of the finished model........ The contraprops came from an old Contrail vacform Tu-95, the number 21 was painted on using a cutout mask and the eagle emblem was made by a friend who scaled up the Revell 1/144 A-90 kit decal. My 1/72 scale Orlyonok at speed across my lounge carpet... Closeup of the cockpit glazing - note the rear view mirrors and simple 'artificial horizon'. The rough red outline is deliberate! Note the large anti-spray strakes... Scratchbuilt gun turret with 12.7mm barrels from suitable tubing. Rear engine and contraprops - note the APU exhaust and Russian Navy flag. NK-12MK turboprop showing the 'pen nib' exhaust fairing. Sequence showing the nose opening..... Note the cruise engine exhaust nozzle - note that I have got it wrong - it should be narrower to allow it to pivot to direct the thrust under the wings for takeoff and straight back for cruise. Almost fully open - note the front hydroski with its beaching wheel..... Loading ramps extended... The BTR-80 is a crude limited-run injection-moulded kit that I picked up in Moscow many years ago - long before the current crop of decent kits. Closeup of the sideways-opening nose... On display at Scalemodelworld 2014 - next to my Modelsvit An-124 and Flankers - to show scale. Closer view from Telford... The model was made long before I photgraphed the real thing - now on display on Khimki reservoir in Moscow... After being floated upriver on the Volga from Kasspiisk on the Caspian Sea, the A-90 'Orlyonok' ekranoplan - number 26 - is being prepared for display at Khimki reservoir in 2007. Note the cruise ships at the Moscow North River Terminal in the background. I'll post more of my pics later... Ken

After casting around for a piece of tubing of suitable diameter to make the engine nacelle for the NK-12 turboprop - I hit upon the idea of using a section cut from the circular fuselage of an old Airfix Il-28 kit...... With a rear pen nib fairing added and the front end modified, it made a decent nacelle. The main hydroski - with its ten beaching wheels - was made from plastic card with resin copies of a suitable wheel from the spares box cast by a friend.... The whole airframe was primed with Halfords Grey Plastic Primer after which the front nose section was finished off with a jetpipe inserted into the rear end of the engine tube. Anti-spray strakes were added, the windows were glazed with flat panels of clear plastic and plastic card baffles fitted into the intakes. The domed fairing that straddles the front and rear fuselage was made using a template carved from wood - which was then used to plunge-mould a plastic card dome. The gun turret was made from a series of contentric rings of plastic card carved to shape - with the 12.7mm barrels made from plastic tubing. The pylon-mounted navigation radar was scratched from plastic card. The nose section was fitted with a hinge on the starboard side and attched to the front of the fuselage. To stop it swing open too far, a length of aluminium tubing was fitted to make the hydraulic ram. The inside face of the nose section was detailed as per the photographs of the real thing.... The multipe latches around the nose/fuselage join were added using lengths of channel-section Plastruct. Ken

The wings are made in the same way as the fin - a shaped balsa core skinned with thin plastic card.... The fuselage / fin joint in progress.... After adding a simple cockpit interior - a long session of filling (using Milliput and Squadron 'Green Stuff') - followed by sanding and re-filling until a smooth finish was achieved... Milliput for the larger areas, Green Stuff for the smaller, final gaps..... Making the horizontal tailplane - using the same balsa and plastic card method... Finished tailplanes.... Wing endplate floats made from laminations of thick plastic card (top) - and sanded to final shape (bottom) All the major sub-assemblies ready to be joined.... Fuselage section showing the amount of filler needed to achieve a smooth finish.... Rear fuselage and fin...... Nose section..... More to follow.... Ken

Fin and separated rudder skinned........ Narrow plastic card strips are used to form the curved roof..... Just like making a flying model...... with balsa ribs and stringers - but in solid plastic..... Filling in the surface between the rear fuselage and fin. It looks crude but it will all be filled and sanded smooth later... Adding the fillet at the top of the fin leading edge... The starboard side still needs 'planking' in...... The nose section is a much more complex shape - so I used a centre side-view 'keel' and added the bulkheads on either side - cut to shape from the drawing... Note the circular cutouts for the jet engines and the rear entrance door.. Magazine photo showing the sideways-hinged front section..... A length of plastic tube is used to form the intake and exhaust for the jet engine. Note the planked in vee planing bottom... Top view of the nose section showing the port side jet engine intake.... Nose section after planking in - with scraps of plastic card filling the radome.... Time to break out the filler...... More Later... Ken

Here's one I made earlier........... During a computer cleanout, I 're-discovered' my photos of a scratchbuilt A-90 Ekranoplan that I made some 20 years ago..... so I thought I'd share the build with you.... Excuse the quality of the photos - they are now quite old - and not the best I have ever taken. The build was inspired by the release of the Revell 1/44 scale A-90 - plus some drawings I found in the Russian magazine 'Aerohobby'.... The drawings are excellent - and most importantly - they have cross-sections, so they were scaled up to 1/72, on printed out in A4 and the sheets taped together. The main fuselage section is essentially a rectangular box - with a curved roof (like a railway carriage) and a vee-shaped planing bottom... Here's the inverted 'floor' with plastic card bulkeads attached as per the drawing to form the vee...... Now the right way up, the rectangulay starboard side panel is attached.... .... together with the port panel and rear bulkhead...... The fuselage inverted to show the planing vee... The centre keel of the rear fuselage is added and shaped bulkheads are attached on either side. The curved roof bulkheads are fitted to a centre keel to form the outline shape....... The planing bottom and flat rear side panels are attached........... The fin is made from a plastic card outline shape - with balsa wood stuck to both sides and sanded to aerofoil section....... Checking the fin for fit - and 'planking in' the lower rear fuselage with strips of narrow plastic card........ The port side lower rear fuselage is planked in.... The fin has the rudder separated and is skinned with thin plastic card... More later.... Ken

Excellent build and finish .... Great job on an unusual subject. Ken

In 2012, I attended the 100th Anniversary celebtrations at Zhukovsky in Moscow....... http://www.flankers-site.co.uk/moscow_2012.html https://www.rbth.com/articles/2012/08/13/100_years_in_the_sky_centenary_of_russian_air_force_16987 Discuss......... Ken (Dons tin helmet)

Aren't there any Nord Noratlas's still flying ???

It isn't the 'Caspian Sea Monster' Adrian - that's the much bigger 'KM'....... Note the 1/144 scale Tu-95 'Bear' for size comparison....... It is quite big in 1/72 scale..... my scratched A-90 next to my Modelsvit An-124 at Telford 2015.... There was a plan to carry the A-90 piggy back on top of the An-225 - to carry it to any corner of the world, where the A-90 would separate to fly to its destination - a kind of Soviet 'International Rescue'.......... Great work so far Jaime - it's looking great... Ken

Excellent Ye-8 Paul..... The 'Who's copying whom' trio is great - it shows perfectly the similarity between the Ye-8, J-10 and Typhoon...... Ken

I converted my 1/72nd Monogram B-36 into a GRB-36 'FICON' - using an Italeri kit to make an RF-84K...... Although the photo says '2000', the model was built in 1981 - unbelievably, nearly 40 years ago...!! How time flies...... Ken

I always have problems with those etched props...... The 'shaft' linking each blade to the circular hub is so delicate that it is too easy to snap off a blade whilst bending in the pitch. On my Blue Ridge Models USS Albacore, they provide a neat resin plug to set the pitch - you just place the etched brass into one plug, place the other plug on top and gently squeeze them together...... easy peasy...... Although the pitch is set relative to the hub, the blade is still flat along its length - the plug doesn't cater for the change in pitch along the length of the blade.... The best solution is Mike's 3d-printed props - scale thickness with correct variable pitch.... Ken