BigMouthStrikesAgain Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Impressive, enjoying this one 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 I primed the model with my usual primer, Alclad Grey Primer, the kit plastic is almost exactly the same colour making it hard to work out where I had covered. Once dry I went for a coat of Akan Grey (73059). I've used Akan paints for my last 2 or 3 builds and found them to be great, giving a nice smooth finish. This time however I couldn't get the paint to stick, I'm not sure if I over thinned it or what the issue was but I ended up having to strip of a little in places, surprisingly once dry a lot of the kit was fine and I used a new pot of the same grey to try again, this time it worked as normal, not sure what the problem was. I used some pre and post shading and this is the result, really happy with it considering I thought I'd ruined the whole thing at ne point. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza l Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Wow that's progressing quickly, I've hardly started mine. I'm now having trouble acquiring the Akan paint sets... every one seems to be out of stock apart from a seller in Hong Kong and I don't fancy that much. Is there much difference in colour between the Alclad grey primer and the Akan grey? I was thinking about just using that with the help of Alclad white primer to vary the tones of grey. gazza l 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPMS19 Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Wow that's progressing quickly, I've hardly started mine. I'm now having trouble acquiring the Akan paint sets... every one seems to be out of stock apart from a seller in Hong Kong and I don't fancy that much. Is there much difference in colour between the Alclad grey primer and the Akan grey? I was thinking about just using that with the help of Alclad white primer to vary the tones of grey. gazza l I got mine directly from AKAN in Russia without any problem - Paypal accepted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Good progress Muzz...I left the nose gear off until the very end as it was just asking for trouble having it sat there during all the man handling. The AKAN paints are superb, (just picked quite a few sets and individual pots up from Martin of Coastal Craft at the Huddersfield show and can now paint just about any Russian/WP aircraft I have). I particularly like their faded versions as they seem to get the tone just right and by adding light or dark greys to it you can vary individual panel shades which I prefer to throwing dark panel washes all over the thing something I personally find unconvincing. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted February 26, 2016 Author Share Posted February 26, 2016 Gaz, as the General says, have you tried Coastal Craft? That's where I've pretty much got all my Akan paints from. I ordered to pots of the Mig-31's colours a couple of weeks ago. If you're struggling Tamiya XF-83 is a close match, there's a big difference between the Alclad grey. If you look back at the pre paint photos the Alclad grey is basically the same colour as the bare plastic. General, I stuck to the instruction plan as I wasn't sure how easy it would be to add gear etc after, I've even got the hydraulic rams for the airbrakes sticking out the bottom, managed not to break anything so far! 😅 Muzz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 You've done well not to break anything Muzz. On that note, after studying the destructions for quite some and 'dry fettling' the thing I found that nearly all the dangly bits could be added at the end of the build. The nose gear leg halves needed trimming before hand as the fit of the two part leg was very tight. I CA'd them together and held with a small clamp to be on the safe side. The tricky bit was fitting the entire main gears, wheels and all as they were pre painted, detailed and needed to be twisted and pushed to locate firmly. Once in and all the drag struts were fitted they were more than up to the job taking the weight well with no splaying evident, testament to the quality of the model (particularly as I'd put extra weight in the nose). My article on the kit will feature in the April edition of Airfix Model World for anyone interested in how I got on with the model... Keep at it Muzz...well worth the admission fee... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntPhillips Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Wow that's progressing quickly, I've hardly started mine. I'm now having trouble acquiring the Akan paint sets... every one seems to be out of stock apart from a seller in Hong Kong and I don't fancy that much. Is there much difference in colour between the Alclad grey primer and the Akan grey? I was thinking about just using that with the help of Alclad white primer to vary the tones of grey. gazza l It does seem that boss man Mike's initial review build has created a lot of interest in the kit and the AKAN paints, to the point where the paint has become very difficult to find. I've read good things about the Mr Paint range so I've ordered some of their Soviet/Russian colours direct from Mr Paint in Slovakia, as the UK distributor doesn't seem to have them available. Hopefully they'll arrive next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza l Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Gaz, as the General says, have you tried Coastal Craft? That's where I've pretty much got all my Akan paints from. I ordered to pots of the Mig-31's colours a couple of weeks ago. If you're struggling Tamiya XF-83 is a close match, there's a big difference between the Alclad grey. If you look back at the pre paint photos the Alclad grey is basically the same colour as the bare plastic. General, I stuck to the instruction plan as I wasn't sure how easy it would be to add gear etc after, I've even got the hydraulic rams for the airbrakes sticking out the bottom, managed not to break anything so far! Muzz Thanks Muzz, I think I will have to go with the Tamiya option as everyone seems to have sold out of 73059 grey... my fault for dilly dallying around. gazza l 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
March Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Regarding the landing gear - I few have mentioned that they have had complications. I don't think it's an issue with the kit per-se, just a combination of them being attached early in the build and having to be wary of knocking them. G-Factor have a set of brass landing gear out - I have a set on order. Fantastic work though Muzz. Really like the detailing, especially in the wheel bays. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted February 27, 2016 Author Share Posted February 27, 2016 Been cracking on and getting more done, radome grey area's painted again with Akan followed by the black leading edges on the fins and forward fuselage. I undercoated the black areas on the forward fuselage with Mr Metal Color Stainless Steal so that I could scratch around the panel lines and rivets. And then some scratching with a tooth pick.... The radome grey areas in the twin fins were painted and weathered followed by the black leading edges. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James G Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Lovely work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 huuuu I need one! - urgently! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 great work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 Sprayed a gloss coat of Alclad Aqua Gloss and then on with the decaling! Still a lot of stencils to go. As you can see the kit has grown even longer, the radome is on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMouthStrikesAgain Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 WOW really nice work there. Loving this build and can't wait to start mine - inspirational..! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 I like the scratches on the anti-glare panel... a LOT faster than mine too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 a LOT faster than mine too! Thanks guys. The benefits of not running a forum with 17 odd thousand members Mike! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin @ AMK Hobby Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Sorry I am late to the party. This is a cracking build Muzz. If you have any issues with the canopy let me know and I’ll send you a new one. Looks brilliant so far, apologies again for missing it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IGKent Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Great progres! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 Thanks Martin, it's been a while since I've enjoyed a build as much as this. Just powering through the stencils now, thanks for the offer, I think the canopy will be fine, will know when the masks come off. Muzz 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPMS19 Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Thanks Martin, it's been a while since I've enjoyed a build as much as this. Just powering through the stencils now, thanks for the offer, I think the canopy will be fine, will know when the masks come off. Muzz - In regard of the canopy I'm a bit scared by its redish color, but may be is it a trick of an effect of the photo..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildagreek Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Wow! Looks good! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breaker Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Muzz, that chipping is excellent. I'll have to remember that technique for when I want some chips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted April 15, 2016 Author Share Posted April 15, 2016 At last another update, been away on holiday for a few weeks so thee was a bit of a pause in construction but moving on................... The weather is more or less finished and I've sprayed a couple of coats of Alclad flate kote. Hopefully the next update will see the afterburners and pylons attached! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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