ESCI 1/48th MiG-27 'Flogger D'

[Ghostbase]

Been looking forward to this GB and changed my mind several times about what to build. Also have to ignore the many half-finished kits littering the 'man cave' several of which were supposed to be in previous GBs!

So have decided to go for the 1/48th ESCI #4020 MiG-27 'Flogger D' which was issued in 1980 (this was re-released by Italeri in 2008).

I purchased this kit on e-Bay five years ago for £7.99 in total. At first touch the plastic feels hard and maybe brittle, but detailing seems to be quite crisp and far better than the awful ESCI silver plastic of a few years earlier. Cockpit and external detailing is sparse however I do have the option of a couple of Eduard sets via the 'Big H'.

The instructions are pretty sparse and also the markings and decals. The aircraft is shown as operated by the V-VS 16th Army in East Germany in 1978. I have checked several references and this continued into the 80's which I think makes this eligible for the theme of this GB.

The decals are ok for their time but not sure I trust something up to 35 years old so again have looked for a replacement set but seems to be little out there.

I have never made a Russian aircraft before so this is new ground for me. I do love researching and learning and fortunately I do have some excellent modern reference material

Should be fun! Michael

[Col.]

An 80s kit of an 80s subject The nose profile was very wrong but I remember building the kit back then and it went together well.

[RMP2]

I almost went for a MiG-23 or 27 for the shelf recently that would have worked for this GB, but wasnt overly impressed with reviews of stuff so Ill be keeping a close eye on this build.

Re the 23s with the 16th, have you seen these photos? - http://www.16va.be/galeries_vvs/mig-23mld/imgcol/index.html

[RMP2]

Whoops, thats a 27 you have there, so.... http://www.16va.be/galeries_vvs/mig-27/imgcol/index.html

[Col.]

Whoops, thats a 27 you have there, so.... http://www.16va.be/galeries_vvs/mig-27/imgcol/index.html

Always wanted to do a MiG-23UB for rarity value.

[Arniec]

Nice pick. I think there was a old decal sheet for this from Super scale int. These were based from the in action book from Squadron. Maybee I have this in my stash somewhere.

Cheers,

Edited April 15, 2016 by Arniec

[Davek72]

I live the Mig23/27 family so looking forward to this one. Will follow with interest.

[Ghostbase]

Looking to get started today so some sprue shots:

I think this is the MiG-27 specific tree with the duck bill nose cone, simplified air intake and a couple of bombs.

Fuselage halves and fuel tanks:

And wings, tail planes and fin, air intakes and detailed ejector seat!

Have decided to build this OOB so just a chance I might finish it by August

[Ghostbase]

I am really struggling with paints! The kit instructions call for dark green and brown camouflage, with light blue undersides. I really don't know much about Russian colours so I took a look at the Scale Modeller's Aircraft Colour Profile Directory and they have instructions for an Eduard MiG-21MF in East German colours which looks the same as this aircraft. As far as I can tell it quotes Mr Hobby colours as:

Green H303/303 which looks like FS34102. I think that might be Humbrol 117 Matt US Light Green?

Brown H37/43. The nearest Humbrol equivalent seems to be 110 Matt Natural Wood. I can't find an FS colour to match it however.

Grey H417/117. I seem to have translated this as RLM76 and maybe FS36473 'ADC Grey' which would be perfect.

My paint supplies these days come from Hobbycraft so my options are Humbrol, Revell or Tamiya.

Need to keep working on this!

Michael

[RMP2]

Having similar thoughts with my Su-25 colours for Humbrol paints.

H303 does come out as 117 on the conversion chart but Ill be trying shades of 150 as its close and I have it in stock.

H37 is tricky but 110 looks pretty close to my eyes.

H417 also not listed on my conversion sheet. If its any help my Eduard MiG-21 and Su-25 both call for H337 on the underside which comes out as 145 in Humbrol land. However Ill be going with a lightened off Revell 76.

To be honest, the Russian colours faded that much that a ball park colour/shade wont get undue concerns.

[Ghostbase]

Having similar thoughts with my Su-25 colours for Humbrol paints.

H303 does come out as 117 on the conversion chart but Ill be trying shades of 150 as its close and I have it in stock.

H37 is tricky but 110 looks pretty close to my eyes.

H417 also not listed on my conversion sheet. If its any help my Eduard MiG-21 and Su-25 both call for H337 on the underside which comes out as 145 in Humbrol land. However Ill be going with a lightened off Revell 76.

To be honest, the Russian colours faded that much that a ball park colour/shade wont get undue concerns.

Thanks for the comparison, I will have a look in my paint stash and see if I have these.

Michael

[Col.]

Given the manner in which this kit was tooled at a time when information was scant and incomplete I'm sure we can forgive you a measure of approximation with the colours

[Ghostbase]

Finally made a start this afternoon, have been spending my spare time on the new Airfix 1/48th Gloster Meteor F.8 which hit the top of the build pile as soon as it landed on the doorstep

The ESCI 'Flogger D' is an interesting comparison to the Meteor and shows how far model kits have come in 35 years. The plastic is shiny and brittle, detail very sparse, and the cockpit literally consists of the two fuselage halves, the wheel well, an instrument panel, joystick and a seat of three parts. Anyway, have spent the time cutting most of the major parts off the sprues, spraying the cockpit and air intakes with light grey from a rattlecan, and cementing some parts together.

So far the fit of parts is good and I am hoping not to need too much filler however the fuselage top and underside halves could present a challenge.

Enjoying this one so far.

Michael

[Davek72]

Following with interest Michael.

[Col.]

Good to see you getting started with this one. Be a nostalgia trip for many of us I'm sure.

[CliffB]

As Col says, it's nice to see this one under way

Cliff

[Ghostbase]

A couple more hours this afternoon, have cemented the upper and lower fuselage halves with swing wings free to move, also added forward fuselage/cockpit:

The join between the rear upper and lower fuselage sections is much better than I was expecting and should need a minimum of filler. I am using Deluxe Materials 'Perfect Plastic Putty' which is new to me so will be interesting to see how it works here.

Just looking forward to armament and just wondering what on earth this is supposed to be?

Maybe an AA-2-2 'Advanced Atoll'? I do have a Trumpeter 1/48 MiG-23M 'Flogger B' in the stash and maybe this needs to be replaced?

Similarly with the kit bombs, I think these might be the FAB 500 KG bombs however if so they should have circular cowls around the fins?

They fitted together well though...

Michael

[Ghostbase]

Good to see you getting started with this one. Be a nostalgia trip for many of us I'm sure.

Is a nostalgia trip for me as well Col! I have the Trumpeter 1/48th MiG-23M 'Flogger B' in the stash and was a possible build for this GB, it has 260+ parts whereas the parts for this kit would be between 70 and 80 in total.

Have done a bit more today. have added the jet intakes, the 'duckbill' nose and the tail fin:

Have to say that I was impressed with the air intakes. Only two parts each side is true however they fitted well, need a bit of filler however I am happy with these:

The 'duckbill' nose was loaded with metal shrapnel from the now seldom used toolbox in the shed and hopefully I can display the Flogger with her wings drawn back, fitted on quite well. The tail fin was a different matter, it would not fit into the slot on the upper fuselage and in the end I had to completely remove the tab. Going to need some filler...

More soon! Michael

[Ghostbase]

Filler! Have said this before, this is the stage that I detest - filler, sandpaper, dust This is usually the stage at which my builds stop for months, lets see if I can do better this time.

Quite a lot needed on this 35 year old kit though it could have been worse. The top side:

And the underside:

Just realised that I missed a couple of joins around the forward fuselage, have put everything away now so have to do it tomorrow.

The last build that I completed in 1/48 scale was a Tornado GR.1 and this 'Flogger' is proving to be an interesting comparison.

More soon. Michael

[exdraken]

you are a brave guy!
tackling this one having a Trumpeter MiG-23 in the stash...

concerning the weapons, yes, the missiles resembles the aa-2 atoll, the bombs some heave soviet GP bombs...

if you want to go for accuracy on this build I would first replace the plane itself and only then the weapons.....sorry for the bad news....

Edited May 3, 2016 by exdraken

[Arniec]

You are getting there. I don't know what filler you used, but when I use mine (Tamiya grey filler) I can always swipe the rest away with a cotton swap dipped in some Gunze thinner (also used for Mr surfacer). That way you don't need to sand and all the panellines stays preserved.

Cheers,

[Col.]

Given how agricultural the real machine looked I wouldn't be overly concerned about perfect fit and panel lines

[Ghostbase]

You are getting there. I don't know what filler you used, but when I use mine (Tamiya grey filler) I can always swipe the rest away with a cotton swap dipped in some Gunze thinner (also used for Mr surfacer). That way you don't need to sand and all the panellines stays preserved.

Cheers,

Oh dear, it was a stupid mistake! I have just started using 'Perfect Plastic Putty' and it is much more liquid than what I have been used to before, it can be removed quite easily with water applied to a cotton bud. I was in a rush because I was tired and wanted to get to bed so I just slapped it on. So more work later on

[Ghostbase]

Well, it all went wrong as this stage does on almost every build I do. Feeling sorry for myself? Yep!

In fact all the filling went well with the exception of the tail fin which snapped off when I handled it too roughly. I tried to cement it back however it didn't go back on exactly. Now looks like this:

So have to apply more filler, this time going to be patient and apply in small quantities and use a cotton bud soaked with warm water to remove any excess

Have been sat in the sun this afternoon reading Ian Black's book 'The Last of the Phantoms' where he describes the MiG-23/27 as looking very similar to the Sepecat Jaguar from certain angles!

Have to go to Hobbycraft in the next couple of days to get some wood brown paint so I can start with the airbrush.

Michael

[Ghostbase]

All going so wrong! Reattached the tail fin and it didn't really fit so more filler needed. Looked again and a couple of degrees out of true which a few years ago would not have been an issue but now it has to be right! So, have snapped it off!

On the plus side I now have a new tin of Humbrol H110 'Wood Brown' as well as finding an unopened tin of H122 'Israeli Light Blue' in the stash. So get the fin attached again, filler as needed and fire up the airbrush

Michael