Search the Community

Hello folks! I wasn't sure if I should post this, but what harm can it do (me, with my reputation, at 3 am.....). Those that know me will know that I returned to the hobby briefly in 2003. At that time I hadn't built anything since a Star Trek Next Generation Enterprise in 1990. Moreover, I knew nothing of advanced or even the more fundamental techniques. Everything was hand painted, I only used enamels, only Humbrol filler, no scribing. At that point the hobby was different. I got back into it to help me through a bereavement, but was saddened when told by a LHS owner that it was 'a dying hobby' . Also told rhat this was the reason that they had hardly any models in stock, just a few dusty paints and no after market transfers. The chance of me getting after market wheels, etch, canopies, anything, seemed grimly remote after that. I didn't really know how to use the internet for my hobby, so just used it to buy a few low cost kits. One of them was the now called 'old tool' Airfix MiG 15. I built it absolutely OOB. I admit this model looks very rough, but I thought, why be embarrassed, just show what things look like when one is floundering, just bashing kits for fun (in my case to try to keep my marbles at the time), with very limited knowledge and resources. I remember that the fuselage halves really didn't go together well at all. The few panel lines there were wouldn't line up if the locating pins were lined up. The halves had slightly different curvatures and sink marks. The cockpit didn't fit well (what there is of it). The airbrakes are too thick for the closed position. The canopy really doesn't fit at all, no matter what one does (or at least, what I did). If left 'as is', looking in from the front intake, the model is completely hollow (no engine). I filled all of the exterior with lashings of Humbrol filler and sanded, filled, sanded....for a couple of evenings. I filled the inner fuselage void with dense kitchen foam pad sponge, dipped in black ink, then also stippled with Humbrol Matt black enamel paint. It is actually painted in the exact colours called out by the instruction sheet, right where the sheet told me to. I'm pretty sure the black bits are all wrong, but I just went with what it advised. This is, indeed, painted in real Airfix 'Silver Fox' and Matt Black . The decals crumbled so I rescued what I could and painted the numbers (is 'Bort' the word?) using the Matt Black and a little masking tape (Halfords car masking tape with a bit of 'tack' taken off, cut into fine strips) to help me. The pilot is improvised a little, I'm not sure they called out for a white helmet, but 'why not' was my attitude at the time. The aerial wire is stretched sprue. A bit of history. Now Airfix, Eduard and Special Hobby all have newer tools of the MiG 15 out. Moreover it seems that back then, a KP kit would have been kinder to me, but this kit cost me 99p, and was painted with enamels I had had since 1975, so overall, great value for money. At the end of these pictures is a link to Flickr, to a recently found set of pictures of nearly all the models I made between 2003 and 2006. They're all rough, but I liked them and thoroughly enjoyed building all of them . After 2006 I had a gap until 2015. Now I'm trying airbrushes, acrylics, after market everything, but haven't finished a thing since I started trying it all. It's a big learning curve. I sometimes wonder if 'basic and rough but completed' was better? I suspect I'm attempting to cop out and avoid the fact that I should get on with these new fangled techniques and finish something again, like everyone else! This model, and all but two others of all the ones I built, were destroyed during a move from England to Australia in 2008, so this RFI is 'virtual' in many ways. A blast from the past. Don't worry, I know it's rough! Best regards TonyT These are in artificial light as I was in a very poorly lit room, in December. The last few are the (dim) natural light: Natural light: Here's a link to some pictures of the others: https://flickr.com/photos/144781950@N05/sets/72157678997310210 I hope you enjoyed this little truly historic build . I may put a bright red Yak here too, if I'm brave enough. Thanks for looking TonyTiger 🐯