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Mig 15 Scratchbuild


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5 minutes ago, Reconcilor said:

Thanks Fozzy,

Have been watching your B17G advance with much interest! Will not try to match your dedication for detailing which is simply awesome. 👍

 

To turn that block of wood into that MIG is just simply fantastic !...and doing it by the old school of modelling approach is just simply amazing and refreshing to see!

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Wow - excellent result with the canopy. 

 

2 hours ago, Reconcilor said:

.... and used '3M Scotchcal Electrocut film'

 

looks like it's similar to Bare Metal Foil - though probably a whole lot cheaper !

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20 hours ago, hendie said:

Wow - excellent result with the canopy. 

 

 

looks like it's similar to Bare Metal Foil - though probably a whole lot cheaper !

Hi Hendie,

Yes, Broadly similar to BMF, especially in this case because of its metallic finish. However, there are some significant differences. This stuff is thicker and more robust and much less likely to tear or wrinkle, hence much easier to use. It also has much stronger adhesive and is less likely to lift over time. It comes in more than 200 different colours. 

As for expense - I don't know! These bits were given to my dad by one his mates who used to work as a signwriter, so ours was free! If you think about it's main application though, it's bound to be the kind of product that generates heaps of off-cuts, so an enterprising type might be able to hunt some down. I will be using this stuff again!

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2 hours ago, Buddyboy12 said:

Really enjoyed following this build!

 

Looks Fantastic, cant wait too see whats next:D

 

Andy

Thanks Buddyboy, 

Great to have you along for the ride. 👍I must say I'm getting some sort of sick satisfaction being the only one who knows what the next project will be. 🤓Van Roon probably thinks he knows, but even he might be wrong! 😀 One of the great things about scratchbuilding is you can pretty well build anything you want. Suffice to say, I don't think it's likely that anyone will guess what's next. 🤔

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The Mig with the Golden Guns!

 

Ian Fleming's final and shortest James Bond Novel was 'The Man with the Golden Gun'  so perhaps it is fitting that this is one of my last postings for this project and probably the shortest.

 

Dead simple update this one, probably insulting your intelligence really, but I'll put it in because it's essentially the first time I've ever used brass for any model-building (putting photo-etch aside for a moment) and I have learned one or two probably rather obvious things that I can share.

 

You may recall that a while back I made the housing for the 37mm and 23mm cannons and that when I did this I had some brass tubing ready to go to become the barrels. Well the time has come to simply fit the barrels, which I'm afraid to say are going to be pretty simple affairs - no flash eliminators or muzzle brakes etc - sorry about that folks, maybe next time.

 

So Job number one is to cut the 37 mm barrel to length. Now this brass stuff is metal - so you have to use a hacksaw, right? That's what I thought anyway. Here's the rather absurd resulting view that follows from that line of thought.

IMG_6086

Suffice to say, what I have learned about brass is that despite the fact that it is a metal it is actually very soft!   Durrr!!!   So just by touching it with a hacksaw I quickly learned that the stuff can bend like a piece of wet lettuce. So I stopped and had a re-think.

 

Ahhhh! - How about using that old razor blade again?  Perfect!  

IMG_6087

Naturally enough the two thinner bits were even easier to cut with the razor.

 

Now since I had drilled the relevant holes a couple of months ago all I had to do was just slip the tubes into the holes and stick 'em in with a dab of two part epoxy. I'm using two-part epoxy very frequently now and don't know how I got by without it in the past.

 

I will admit that I had to manoeuver the 37mm quite carefully to get it parallel to the other two - but I got there in the end.

IMG_6089

 

So now I have a Mig15 with golden guns.  Latter on they got a light touch of gun-metal enamel and they look a lot less exciting now.

 

Regards,

Reconcilor

 

Edited by Reconcilor
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Looking awesome

Cracking job !

 

Little tip for you

You can cut brass tube with a scalpel blade. Tube on cutting mat, blade 90' to tube on your mark. Roll back and forth keeping blade at 90'. Normal tube takes 3/4 rolls. If you intend sliding a smaller size inside you will need to clear the burr with a file

HTH

 

Kev

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Thanks Longshanks,

That's what I ended up doing in the end; rolling the tube under the blade as you described. I did not realise how workable brass is and am looking forward to using it a lot more in future.

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Next Project Kicked Off!

 

Hello again,

 

With the Mig 15 getting close to an end I would like to invite all interested parties to have a preview of my next project.http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235021633-hmasm-ae2-scratchbuild/ I really hope some of you will follow me across into the maritime forums where I will attempt to scratch-build the Royal Australian Navy's World War One submarine 'AE2'. Like I said - it's a bit of a change!

 

In the meantime I will be continuing with the Mig project and with luck will finish the WIP in the next week or two.

 

Very Best Regards,

Reconcilor

 

 

7-03-2007%203-31-25%20PM_0000_Detailed Shot

 

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Blade Aerial

 

Getting right down to the 'rats and mice' in this build now.

 

I actually find this stage a bit nerve racking - every time I do anything to a model I risk damaging something, furthermore anything that does not go 'just right' is most likely going to be visible on the end product.  Earlier on in the project these things are less of an issue because any damage or imperfect work is usually easily corrected or hidden. At this point however, there's everything to loose and only small incremental detailed improvements to gain.

 

Anyway, this Mig needs a blade aerial. 

 

It needs to be scaled off - note that since the aerial is not positioned vertically on the aircraft, but is canted off to starboard, I cannot just copy the profile view, if I do I will build it too short. So to get the correct vertical extent of the blade, I need to measure the length of offset from the frontal view...

IMG_6111

 

and using other measurements from the profile view I reconstruct the true geometry of the blasted thing. Here it's just drafted onto a piece of paper.

IMG_6113

 

The paper is cut out and stuck on a piece of brass.

IMG_6116

 

I must say I'm very impressed with brass as a medium - I always thought it would be somehow difficult and that only a 'master modeller' would be able to use brass. One thing I have concluded during this build is that 'master' modellers' are at least in part 'master modellers' because they know which mediums are easiest to work with.  Bass-wood, PETG vacform plastic, Liquid Ambar and brass sheeting have all proved very friendly to use. They tend to flatter one's skills.

 

Anyhow, following a failed attempt to use tin-snips to cut the brass I found, yet again, that scissors were the best tool for this work.

IMG_6120

 

They tend to curl the brass - but that's the only real drawback.

IMG_6121

 

After squashing and beating the brass back to a flat form, I cleaned up the rough edges with a small file, removed the paper and gave the brass a polish.

IMG_6125

 

Looks nice!

IMG_6126

 

Now I drilled a guide hole, slightly smaller than the brass root on the base of the aerial, into the airframe. Don't worry about the missing canopy, that's a boring story and it's been subsequently sorted out. 

IMG_6128

 

The aerial press fitted quite nicely into the hole.

IMG_6130

 

So following the application of some two-part epoxy, some ppp filler and a lick of paint with a hairy stick, I ended up with this.

IMG_6131

It's a bit rough actually - but like I said at the start, at this stage any slight error is likely to be more visible.

 

You might also note a small stub of stretched sprue embedded in the airframe about 1 scale metre ahead of the blade aerial.  I'm sure you all know how to stretch sprue so I won't subject you to how it got made.  This is the forward anchor point for a wire aerial that runs from this anchor back up to the tip of the tail. All going well, that wire aerial plus a last handful of minor details, will see the completion of this project.  So next posting should be the last substantive WIP post.

 

Best Regards,

Reconcilor

 

 

 

 

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Got there!

 

This is the last construction post - this is it - the end of the project.

 

Drill a hole as shown - it probably should be ideally smaller than this but I need some EZ line to fit through this hole 'EZily' :mellow: so I've made a concession to practicality.

IMG_6140

 

Here's the stuff. If you are modeller who ever has to rig anything you simply must get some of this stuff. Strong, thin, stretchy. Never goes slack, available in a variety of colours (and thicknesses too I seem to recall).

IMG_6141

 

Tie it off and then secure it further and fill the hole with some two-part epoxy. Cut off the dead end. Touch up the scar of the hole with a little aluminium paint on a hairy stick.

IMG_6142

 

Tie off the other end onto the stretched-sprue anchor point. Secure with some more two-part epoxy.

IMG_6144

Now with the wire aerial sorted move onto the jet pipe.

 

Find that bit of plastic tube that I have been using as a handle for the last few months. Get a bit of sand paper and thin the trailing edge of it to a nice sharp convincingly thin end to the jet pipe. Spray the thing a shade of magnesium.

IMG_6152

 

Cut it to an appropriate length that will fit inside the pre-drilled hole for the jet-pipe.

IMG_6153

 

Paint the inside of the bung hole where the jet outlet will fit. I was going to put some engine details in here, but really, there's just no point. Anything that goes into this 'coal hole' is going to be invisible anyway.

IMG_6154

 

See what I mean...

IMG_6155

 

I know that this will be a press-fit because I've been using this same tube as a handle for the last few months.

IMG_6156

 

Yep - just slide it into place. No glue needed, this will sit there perfectly happy now forever more.

IMG_6157

 

Drill a hole on the starboard side and add a brass pitot tube. I also added a port and starboard navigation light on each wingtip using small slithers of coloured decal.

IMG_6160

Paint the pitot tube aluminium and call the project done.

 

Got there!  :party:Phew!

 

IMG_6448

 

A bit rough in parts - but overall a pass I think.

 

Heartfelt thanks to everyone that has followed along and offered advice and encouragement it's all been much appreciated and has kept me going during what's been a somewhat longer project than I first anticipated.

 

Have now posted an RFI thread, here is the link so you can pop across and have a closer look at what she looks like.

 

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235022047-mig15-scratchbuild/

 

Best Regards and Thanks Again.

Reconcilor.

 

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.............Have now posted an RFI thread, here is the link so you can pop across and have a closer look at what she looks like..........................

 

 

On my way Reconcilor!

 

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Well done Mate. 

I was there when we convinced you to cut the wing fences. It was well worth listening to your descriptions and explanations to arrive at such a fine conclusion. 

May I add AE2 is a most worthy project, just don't use a signed historic cricket bat as the basis. 

Grant 

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15 hours ago, mike romeo said:

Fantastic finish!  Very impressed.

 

Regards

 

 

Martin

Ahhhh,

'Mike Romeo' himself! I thought I remembered the name from somewhere. One of the original felonious five who voted for a natural metal finish on this thing! Oh the pain and sanding and filling and sanding you and your ilk have caused!😀

Pleased you like finish. It came up better than I thought it would.

 

Reconcilor

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  • 3 months later...

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