Jump to content

TRUMPETER 1/32 MIG 3


Recommended Posts

Here is my entry for this GB, the Trumpeter 1/32 Mig 3 which I intend to build straight from the box, with just the addition of some cockpit additions and seat belts.

Firstly the obligatory box and sprues shot, you will see that when I found it, I had already removed the fuselage halves from the box, but not yet cemented anything.

2F56AE8F-8A40-4A76-91C1-FEF4DC4F7926_zps

IMG_0910_zpslfkokkpo.jpg

Having removed the rest of the major components from the sprues, I have started construction by making up the control surfaces and adding the radiator matrixes to the underbelly housing. As with several of they early kits, Trumpeter have supplied rods and photo-etched hinges for the control surfaces to make them moveable but I have left these out and will replace them with thin plasticard where necessary, i.e. where they should be visible.

IMG_0911_zpsvvbcojxp.jpg

The next stage will be the cockpit, and I have spent some time on the web trying to decide on the colour. One noted expert on Soviet VVS aircraft has come to the conclusion that there is no firm conclusion, so really you could paint it any colour and defy anyone to tell you it is wrong. I have noticed that on many Mig 3 builds the cockpit interior is the same colour as the aircraft underside, and as mine will be pale blue, then that is what I will go for, Xtracolour Russian medium blue to be precise. I have also been studying the cockpit colours in a Russian Mig 3 rebuild and the tubular structure appears to be slightly lighter than the main background colour and the seat pan is green so I will also go for that to add a little variation.

IMG_0917_zpsvaf32rtv.jpg

IMG_0913_zpsghbc9rz7.jpg

I have also seen in period black and white photos pale coloured instrument panels ( possibly natural metal? ) so I might go for that also. Unlike some of the later Trumpeter kits, the instrument panel is just plastic and not of the " film sandwich " variety,  so I intend to use instrument decals ( Reheat ) hence the white undercoat. The cockpit side panels are ready for spraying with all the fitting holes for the tubular structures and ancillaries plugged with plastic rod and bits of cocktail sticks.

IMG_0916_zpsz9c4c8hw.jpg

That's it for now, thanks for watching and feel free to comment.

 

Cheers

 

John  :pilot:   

 

Edited by Biggles87
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice choice, I build one a while ago and was really impressed with it, I took a lot of advice from Massimo's soviet warplanes site, looking at photographs of my subject the instrument panel was a light grey colour, this was identified as AE9, for which I used Humbrol 196 Satin Light Grey.

Here's a link to my build which may or may not be useful !

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, Biggles87 said:

Thanks Dennis, that's a really nice build and I'm sure it will be very useful.

Looking forward to your next build, if you havn't already started and I've missed it.

 

Cheers

 

John

Hi John thank you for that and I hope my build is of some use to you. Sadly the builders are here at the moment to build an extension on my house which will give me a new garage and a new study, so my modelling gear is all boxed up and put away until it is all completed, so no modelling for me for a while, but I can still watch your build..

 

Chjeers

 

Dennis

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi John. Good to see you here with a build. Nice looking kit and it looks like you are off to a good start! :thumbsup:

:popcorn:

Kind regards,

Stix

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the link Peter, I hadn't seen that one. I do have Massimo's book for Mushroom Monthly on the Mig-1/Mig-3 which is proving very useful.

 I'm starting a got a couple of days enforced rest after an injection into a dodgy knee, so I should be able to crack on, I've already moved the necessary equipment into the kitchen.

 

Cheers

 

John

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

23 June

Sorry this update has been a long time coming as I have been having difficulties loading photos again ( not been able to load more than two at a time ) so I have combined a couple of weeks building  into one post 

 The instrument panel proved to be very time consuming, as I could not find my Reheat decals I used MDC dials instead which broke up as I applied them, but after completing about half the instruments I found the old ( probably 20years ) Reheat instrument which still work, and I used 1/32 dials for the main flying instruments and 1/48 dials for the bottom row of smaller ancillary instruments, it still took a long time as the smaller dials kept floating away on the Microsol! Here are the major cockpit components minus the control column, and straps

 IMG_0951_zps4cfy0dpm.jpg

 

In between attaching and painting the various cockpit components, I attempted to modify some of the details I'm not entirely happy about in this kit. The rivets are represented by little pin holes, as is usual in Trumpeter kits, whereas the Mig 3 was flush riveted and extremely smooth ( according to Massimo and photos ) so I  gave the relevant areas a good layer of acrylic primer and then sanded them back to the plastic, leaving an impression of the flush rivets as slight depressions only. Another problem you can see from the photo below, the completely empty inner of the oil cooler fairings combined with the circular hole(?) in the side of the nose, combining to give a " see through " look so I have made the hole rectangular and inserted a piece of 1/24 HVAR from an Airfix Mustang into it to give a representation of the oil cooler and cemented both fairings to the fuselage.

IMG_0922_zpskcdvalsp.jpg

IMG_0927_zps0ek5wm4x.jpg

IMG_0935_zps9gifxb3s.jpg

 

One more thing I have attempted to improve is the over emphasised fabric effect on the control surfaces with very deep " sags " between the ribs, in photos from Massimo's book, the ailerons in particular are very smooth. I have used the same method as with the wing rivets and below you can see the results after one coat of primer followed by rubbing down with a foam sanding block. I was also going to use this method on the fuselage rivets ( hence the masking on the rear ) but they don't seem as pronounced so I will settle for a couple of coats of paint to blend them in a little.

IMG_0939_zpsw8ylw8uj.jpg 

In terms of ejector marks on visible surfaces the kit is pretty good, the glaring exeption is the interior of the supercharger intakes as shown, which will be extremely difficult to remove neatly. After studying photos I have come to the conclusion that the tunnels are a bit too long so I am going to remove the offending pieces and replace them with plasticard which will shorten the tunnels and perhaps give a better appearance of the hinged shutters.

IMG_0937_zpsrgkpuqol.jpg

I have now cemented the wings together and added the ailerons, after more filling and sanding. I had thought of attaching the upper wing halves to the fuselage first, in the style of Plastyx, because there is a locking tab on the inner surface which gives a very positive fit, but after playing around with several possibilities I came to the conclusion that the supercharger intake parts would be better fitted with the wings joined but before cementing to the fuselage. The wing flaps are in four parts, inner and outer on each wing, with reasonable detail on the insides of the inner pair but no corresponding detail on the undersides of the wings, and big holes to fill should they be left down. As I cannot find any pictures of Mig 3s with flaps down on the ground, except crashed or damaged ones, I will leave them retracted except for a slight droop on the inner ones, which I have seen in pictures. 

IMG_0928_zpsjehz59jp.jpg

IMG_0940_zpsxkd2zkdc.jpg

IMG_0941_zpsvfa2epxp.jpg

IMG_0942_zpsu0zmg1be.jpg

Hoping to insert the finished cockpit and join the fuselage in the next couple of days then I'm going to take a short break from this and put some rivets on my Spitfire.      

 

That's it for now, thanks for watching and feel free to comment.

 

Cheers

 

John :pilot:    

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 John Your doing a cracking job of the little mig, i like what your doing to the wings and  control surfaces ,very good cockpit too, i must say i do like ww2 fighters in 1/32 and i have quite a few in the stash but not this one,look forward to more

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks guys, glad you like it. 

These days I find that my attention span seems to be reducing in inverse proportion to the increase in age, so this has just the right amount of detail for me. I started the Trumpeter F4U last year but it took so long to build the engine that by the time I finished it I had lost interest.

 

cheers

 

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some great progress John.

 

On 23/06/2017 at 7:27 PM, Biggles87 said:

The instrument panel proved to be very time consuming, as I could not find my Reheat decals I used MDC dials instead which broke up as I applied them, but after completing about half the instruments I found the old ( probably 20years ) Reheat instrument which still work, and I used 1/32 dials for the main flying instruments and 1/48 dials for the bottom row of smaller ancillary instruments, it still took a long time as the smaller dials kept floating away on the Microsol! Here are the major cockpit components minus the control column, and straps

You have my sympathy. I just did the same on my Yak-3 and I also have a bit of a story to tell - unfortunately most due to my own stupidity :(  But your perseverance created a terrific cockpit and all these dials do make a difference :thumbsup:

 

On 23/06/2017 at 7:27 PM, Biggles87 said:

One more thing I have attempted to improve is the over emphasised fabric effect on the control surfaces with very deep " sags " between the ribs, in photos from Massimo's book, the ailerons in particular are very smooth. I have used the same method as with the wing rivets and below you can see the results after one coat of primer followed by rubbing down with a foam sanding block. I was also going to use this method on the fuselage rivets ( hence the masking on the rear ) but they don't seem as pronounced so I will settle for a couple of coats of paint to blend them in a little.

IMG_0939_zpsw8ylw8uj.jpg

It is beyond me why it is currently so trendy to overdue the fabric covered control surfaces. As you noticed, they are normally dead flat with the rest of the structure and the only thing protruding is the rib tape which is not very thick at all. But your correction will make them look much more authentic.

 

Lots of attention to detail in your build which will pay dividends on the finished model.

 

Cheers, Peter

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, I also like the look of the Mig-3. It will be finished in the winter scheme as illustrated on the box, I did think of doing the white with green outer wings ( I don't believe they were red ) but I didn't want to buy a whole decal sheet just for a couple of numbers.

 

Cheers

 

John

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Excellent progress and I am impressed by you attention to detail and corrections. Very nicely done cockpit too. Well done. :thumbsup:

KInd regards,

Stix

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Styx and Craig, it's about to turn wet and cold again here so I think the painting will probably have to wait a few day.

The words to accompany the last update:

I was surprised to find that when I installed the cockpit the tops of the tubular structures did not fit under the cockpit sills as expected. The width of the interior is determined by the width of the instrument panel so perhaps it's supposed to be that way, or perhaps I got something wrong, anyway it's too late now. I was congratulating myself that I had remembered to fit the tailwheel strut before joining the fuselage halves, something I often forget, when I knocked the fork offI while removing.the elastic band from the fuselage, rats! I still have the other half in the box so I will have to cobble something together at the end of the build.

I dry fitted the wing to fuselage joint several times and was satisfied that it was near perfect only to find that when I came to cement it something had changed and it wasn't quite so perfect, don't you hate it when that happens? After about 40 minutes of fiddling I settled for what you can see above, which was mostly fine except for slight steps between the rear of the supercharger intakes and the wing root fillets.

Nose panels and tailplanes next then I'm going to leave it for a few days.

 

Cheers

 

John

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Coming together very nicely John. It is always frustrating when you try fit all and are happy with the result and after painting it, the perfect fit isn't there anymore :wall: But it looks you made it work at the end. :thumbsup:

 

Cheers, Peter

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Peter. I can't imagine that PB will have done themselves any favours acting the way they did. I can understand that they are a business and not a philanthropic organisation, but the way it's been done smacks of ransom ware " Give us the money and you can have your photos back ". I hope it doesn't work.

I will re-post some of the missing photos with the next update.

 

Cheers

 

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...