Eduard 1/72 Mig-15

[Mozzy19]

I see I'm not the only one having paint trouble. :hmm:

Nice save though and a nice bit of scratch work there.

Sean

[Brews]

I like your use of wires in the gear bay.

[Tomoshenko]

Despite being diverted by domestics I have managed to make some progress. The fuselage and wings went together well. The fit is good and what gaps required filling were down to user error. I was a little overzealous with my sanding in parts, so had to do a tad re-scribing here and there. It gave me an excuse to purchase some scribing templates from Parabellum in Brum. When I arrived they’d had a power cut, but we were allowed to shop by torchlight (iPhone light). The owner sifted through a box of aftermarket stuff, templates of all manner of description, and various other exotics on the doorstep of the shop while it was chucking it down (it’s summer in England). Any other shop probably would have had the place cordoned off with red and white tape with all the shoppers herded behind safety zones. Sorry to digress but I feel It’s worth mentioning as it underlines the importance of supporting your local model shop.

I scribed some detail in the wrong place and had to fill and re-scribe. Even now it's not entirely accurate but it passes the "looks about right" test. Lesson learned for next time.

I tried to cram in the equivalent of a fragment of a super dense black hole for the nose weight. Don't like to take chances.

No problems with the wings and tail.

I drilled out the gun sight, and after fiddling around with stretched sprue resembling Thomas Edison’s experiments with light bulb filaments, I found one that fitted snuggly. Dickens knows how I’ll mask it. Sorry about picture quality.

Sorry the photo is blurred.

Canopy masked using the masks, plus the HUD screen and internal screen and a couple of bits and bobs.

Sprayed.

At long last I have something resembling a Mig on the bench.

Drilled out the main gun, not that it will be much noticeable when finished. I am continuing to prep the fiddly bits such as undercarriage flaps and wheels etc. prior to a final coat of primer. Am on holiday next week, but will be back for the final run.

[Tomoshenko]

A final coat of Alclad primer was applied. It is gossamer thin, like the membrane of a cell wall. It takes a little getting used to but goes on well. Gives a nice sheen and retains detail. It only required a minor touch up here and such as the gap near the gun sight.

Then went on the gloss black. I opted for Tamiya gloss in the end. After my experience with the enamel blue on the slipper tanks, I didn’t want to risk ending up with a crazy paved Mig. The thirty year old Humbrol 21 black will have to wait for another day, laid down to rest like a well matured wine.

I used quite a thin mix (60/40). I wanted to retain as much detail as I wanted, so kept misting on light coats. Didn’t want any runs or build-up of thick paint. It gave a nice sooth finish, but ideally it should have another coat as you can see under the flash it doesn’t have that showroom gloss black sheen. I don’t think it would pass muster with the vehicle guys on here.

However, the kit provides a wing section that is not used. Presumably it’s for the BIS version. I also sprayed that black, and micromeshed a section to get a really smooth finish. I test coated this with Aclad Aluminium and there was no difference in the finish. I reasoned there was not much point making extra work for myself and possibly compromising detail or busting something. I’m not going for the highly polished effect (though it is tempting), and I do reckon you’d need a car showroom wet look to get a good finish if you were using the Alclad airfame or polished aluminium, or chrome.

So I went ahead and bust my Alclad cherry on an aircraft good and proper with the aluminium Alc-101.

I am quite pleased with the result for my first attempt. It does not have the perfect mirror touch feel, but it has a nice effect. As I remarked earlier on in the thread, I can understand its appeal.

This will be left overnight before I begin masking off and applying different shades to panels. Don’t want to end up with a big fat thumb print in the middle of the wing or worse. Not sure whether or not to buff it up yet. Some modellers do and some don’t it would seem. The finish is shiny enough and it will eventually have a coat of Klear. I leave that for the time being.
Next up will be finishing off the bits and bobs such as the wheels and wheel bay flaps. I’ll leave the red on the nose for last as I’m using Humbrol H19 and don’t want to risk a reaction. Though I will test it on the spare wing first

[Mozzy19]

That paint finish looks really nice. Keep up the good work!

Sean

[Procopius]

Really enjoying both the modelling on display and the clever turns of phrase.

[Tomoshenko]

Thank you for your encouragement and compliments. I went camping in Dorset for a week before the schools broke up. Hence lack of activity on here. I did get to pay a visit to the Fleet Air Arm Museum, which along with the fine weather and beer, made the holiday. They also have a Korean Mig-15 in there too, so was able to undertake some research as it were.
Must admit my WIP updates have the frequency akin to exchanges between Earth and the Voyager or AN Other deep space probe and their planetary fly-bys. Will pick up more pace with the deadline looming and holidays and domestics out the way. Practice for future WIP threads.
Anyway, before leaving and on my return I applied some different shades of Alclad to various panels and inspection / access points. I thought I’d experiment by making my own masks by cutting out the shape to be sprayed out of Tamiya tape affixed to glass using a scriber and templates:

Gently ran the scriber inside the template, deeper and deeper until I went through to the glass. Probably a 50/50 success rate, but it doesn’t take long to knock them out. Bit fiddly aligning the mask exactly around the panel. Once in place I ran a cocktail stick along the panel line. This gave a reasonably defined edge.
I was quite pleased how they came out, and it is good practice and technique for future projects. Although I don’t think Eduard or any aftermarket companies have anything to worry about just yet.

Started with a few.

Then a few more (sorry about picture quality).

And then as you can see I got a little carried away…

It took several stages, and it was a tedious but somewhat addictive procedure. Knowing when to stop – remain sane - was the hardest thing. What made it worse is that I watched the Men’s final of Wimbledon on the one day as well, and went to bed unable to exercise from my brain the myriad of spots, circles and rectangular shapes flashing before my eyes and in my mind. Oh well some people pay for that sort of thing I suppose.
Anyway this is the result:

For the wing tips and circular panels I used White Aluminium which was brighter than I expected; the rest were Dark Aluminium which was less subtle than I expected; and Duraluminium which was more subtle than I expected! Well I did say this would be an Alclad learning curve. I am quite chuffed with the result though, even though it probably does look as though it’s caught a bout of Alclad Measles. From what I’ve seen from library sources the small panels are different shades and there isn’t an awful lot of variation in the larger panels. Although the airbrakes should be much darker, but I was suffering from masking fatigue and couldn’t face anymore Tamiya tape. One is free to debate the merits and science of scaling up and scaling down colours and shades and artistic licence if they wish.
Admittedly it would benefit from some free-hand airbrushing and subtle shading, however being a little rusty with the airbrush, and I confess as an Alclad newbie, lacking in confidence (this time round and on a live WIP), I played it safe and quit while ahead. The stuff has wonderful potential though, and I understand in the hands of an experienced Alclad veteran all things and shades are possible.

There is a slight sting in the tail – isn’t there always! There is a very slight bleed of red through the masking on the port side (you will see it in future posts). It is barely discernable and probably me being anally retentive, but irritating as I thought I’d followed the usual modus operandi of masking to the letter, and I know it’s there. More so because I am well pleased with how the red (HU19) came out. Also while spraying I was pestered by a pesky fly which I swore was going to land on its freshly painted red nose!
Well it’s a GB after all and fun is the name of the game. I’m not going to faff around trying to redress something that probably doesn’t need redressing, make things worse, and ruin what is a lovely build.
Next up will be the decals and Klear, then finishing off the canopy and fiddly undercarriage bits.

[Mozzy19]

That looks great! Really nice job.

Sean

[Natter]

I built the Hobbyboss Mig-15 with the Pavla nose and the Eduard etch. I adjusted the undercarriage to the right length and was well pleased with it. Yours however make it look like the first modelling efforts of a six year old!

[Tomoshenko]

Thank you for your comments.

Here it is after a coat of Klear and decals – two on the underside, and two on each side, pretty much the proverbial “five minute job”, like the Airfix “transfers” of old. A little shiny and toy like at the moment.

I masked off the guns and gave them a coat of gunmetal metalcoat. Thinking it would give a better finish as opposed to the hairy stick. Well it did, but…

All had been going well until I removed the masking tape. Aaaargghh……………….

I wouldn’t mind if I’d been careless, but the decals went on so well and were given a couple of coats of Klear. I’d de-tacked the masking tape on glass too. Methinks only enough coats of Klear necessary to withstand re-entry are required when masking decals, but clearly (no pun intended) prevention is better than the cure – don’t do it.

Anyways I stopped feeling sorry for myself. I’m not going to let a scorpion like sting in the tail ruin what has been an excellent build.

I managed to salvage some of the decals, but removing them from the masking tape was like unscrambling an egg.

The number three was restored but alas the bottom stroke of the two disintegrated and has a bad case of continental drift.

Bereft of any suitable spares I had no choice but to touch it up after yet more fiddly micro masking. I didn’t have an exact matching blue either, and with no desire to be faffing around mixing blues at this stage, I plumped for good old HU14. It had given me some jip with the slipper tanks above, so now it was time to redeem itself.

As you can see it is not a perfect match and lacks the definition of the original decal. It is something I will have to live with. However, it is a reasonable job and will be less noticeable after a dab of Klear once it’s cured.

Here’s a few shots now the painting is complete aside from the odd touch-up and walkways. I used a mixture of washes, Paynes Grey and turps at first, but it didn’t have the effect I wanted, so I opted for an artist’s pen. It took ages and I feel as though I’ve been fiddling about with little strips of masking tape and marking out lines for an eternity. Every time I closed my eyes I could still see Nazca Plain-like images.

I’d rather the panel lines were more subtle to be honest, although they do provide nice definition, albeit not true to scale. I will sort out the lighting for when I come to take photos for the gallery. Pleased so far, my Mig at last has some individuality and character.

Next up will be final assembly of undercarriage and canopy.

[Tomoshenko]

Right, first I masked off the undercarriage hydraulics. Now I know it looks a little obsessive, but I wanted to try out Alclad chrome.

Here they are after a coat of the chrome and with the other bits and bobs. Have to be honest Alclad literally is alchemy in an airbrush

Walkways were masked off last prior to a squirt of NATO black. Have to say by this stage I was thoroughly cheesed off with masking and sick of the sight of yellow Tamiya blinkin’ tape! Also on account of the fiddly bits of masking that have seemingly taken over my life in recent weeks, I have inadvertently deposited bits of Tamiya tape throughout my home, workplace, and other localities in south Birmingham. Yep I keep finding little bits of tape in all manner of places. I feel I have served as a carrier for seeding some kind of invasive species.

Finally the pit is opened up. Have to say it looks very nice and the Eduard masks work well on the canopy.

Okay everything glued together, including the aerials and pitots. As you can guess at this stage I was paranoid about spilling a large blob of cyano on the fuselage. I kept having images of the solvent eating its way through plastic and paint, akin to how the acid blood Alien from the films eats through everything. Fortunately this did not happen, so the good residents of south Birmingham were spared the sight of a blazing Mig being hurled from my window.

re we are then:

Well an excellent kit and an enjoyable build. Very pleased with the outcome. It is not perfect. Aside from the trials and tribulations I experienced above, there are a couple of bits that could be touched up. There is a very slight gap where the front canopy meets the fuselage, the masking of the red could be a little sharper, and the port canon is bent upwards slightly – on account of my breaking it and having to glue it back on. There are a few other niggles here and there, but I’m not telling you

There was one casualty – a small piece of PE which resembles some kind of spigot on the undercarriage (literally 0.5mm square) broke off and disappeared into oblivion. I tried in vain to find it, even tried to make my own from scratch, but lacking micro surgical implements and an electron microscope I accepted defeat.

Any road I live with the fact that my realisation will not quite match my aspiration. It seems there is a Faustian element of striving for perfection, an impossible state that cannot be achieved and will only result in frustration! Enough of my half-baked philosophy and over to the gallery.

Thanks for looking all, and thanks to the GB hosts.

[Mozzy19]

That looks superb!

Sean

[-Neu-]

Hey Tomoshenko

This is a fantastic build. I appreciated all the little steps and challenges as well as how you overcame them. God knows how many times I've pulled up sealed decals on a model by masking tape. Your painting solution is fantastic. Really really well done model. Congrats and thank you for participating.