MiG-25BM Iraqi Air Force 1988 - ICM/Revell 1/48 with extras

[Marlin]

Hi. 

Since my Su-35 is almost ready for the display cabinet it's high time to start the next Big Russian.

And this time it'll be a MiG-25

 

This is what I have to work with during the next couple of months.
ICM's MiG-25 RBT in a Revell box.
001 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I don't understand why Revell had to use a so large box. It's almost empty when you open it.
002 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
Actually it was the large box that made me choose this as the next build. It was in the way.
That and Werner's @exdraken lovely build. 

 

The box contains seven sprues in grey, and one in clear plastic.
003 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
004 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
005 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
006 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
007 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
010 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I'm not going to build the RBT version you get in the box. I'll convert it to a BM Wild Weasel using the resin set from Cold War Studios.
008 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

The little box is full of resin parts, and some small PE parts.
009 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
011 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
012 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

CWS has provided paper belts for the ejection seat, but I don't feel comfortable with them. So I bought some PE belts from Eduard.
013 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

The air flow splitters in the kit looks a bit undersized so I'll swap them for a resin set from Armory.
014 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

I'll also add a pitot tube from Masters, and new ventral fins from CWS.
015 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And since I'm converting the RBT to a BM I'm going to need new decals.
I'll use Begemot MiG-25 decals.
016 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
And of course a full set of stencil, also from Begemot.
017 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

I'll be doing my BM as an Iraqi MiG-25BM from 1988.
The Soviets sent some BM's to Iraq to "field test" them and the anti radar missiles against the american AA systems the Iranians used during the Iran-Iraq war.
The Iraqi version differs slightly in colours from the Soviet. The Iraqi painted a false nose cone to make them look like the PD fighter verison from a distance.

 

And I've already started the build. 
I started with the very large 5.300 liter drop tank, it's almost the size as a MiG-21. 
019 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
020 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And with that I'm ready for autumn.

 

I don't think I'll have this one ready for the cabinet before New Year's.
To be continued.....
/Bosse 

 

[mstorin]

I'm going to follow this closely. I have the same kit with the same aftermarket, though I want to do a camouflaged Russian scheme. Looking forward to your build!

[Marlin]

Thanks mstorin.  

Glad to have you along. 

 

/Bosse 

[exdraken]

great project!

I know what I am talking of

 

I guess it will not take you all autumn... everything is actually quite straight forward! take your time with the plastic , everything fits really well, if cleaned  and dry-fitted- even the (rather small) intakes.

 

the landing gear can be mounted after painting, with a but of shoehorning

 

good choice of seatbelts  

 

the CWS pitot tube is rather good , I did not check if it is the same type as the Master one. (it is also nearly unbreakable..... ask me )

 

 

apart from that, there are several photos out there showing the fighter style disguise radome. I like it more than the recce one   also makes a lot of sense with the 4 large missiles, like the fighter !

 

 

what I am not convinced of, is if the BM was really used in Iraq, and then with Iraqi colors..... no photos out there... only rumors, like in the Begemot sheet...

or this book:

https://ospreypublishing.com/iranian-f-14-tomcat-units-in-combat

some relevant excerpt:

https://books.google.at/books?id=J5seDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA74&lpg=PA74&dq=iraqi+foxbat+Mig-25+BM&source=bl&ots=jv1947rTDu&sig=ACfU3U2ROJvoG3JEVpZiIE1eFslBqBl_xw&hl=de&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjQn6Dlr_PjAhXtQUEAHaXmDGwQ6AEwEnoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=iraqi foxbat Mig-25 BM&f=false

 

so maybe in the next US data leak, satellite images appear

 

 

 

cheers,

Werner

Edited August 8, 2019 by exdraken

[Marlin]

Thanks Werner.  

I'll check on the pitot tube when I come to that stage.

Good to know that the u/c can be mounted later on.

As for the rumours, let's call it the "alledged" Iraqi MiG-25BM. 

 

/Bosse 

[Marlin]

Hi
I did some work on the cockpit of the MiG-25 yesterday.
021 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
A small PE part was glued to the backside.
 
022 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
Some real nice details on the consol.
I wonder how this will look when painted?

To be continued.....
/Bosse

[exdraken]

nice start on the tiny cockpit in the enormous nose!

[Marlin]

Thanks Werner.  

I'm actually surprised that the cockpit is so tiny on such a large aircraft.

/Bosse 

[exdraken]

20 minutes ago, Marlin said:

Thanks Werner.  

I'm actually surprised that the cockpit is so tiny on such a large aircraft.

/Bosse 

you know, those planes were designed for speed, and speed only! no room for fancy cockpits of canopies that would sacrifice speed...... so tucked in deep, concentrating on some screens and numbers......, I assume enjoying the great views at normal operating height were not part of the designers requirements

[Marlin]

I agree, I don't think the Soviets designers had any thoughts about making  your workplace enjoyable.

 

/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi.
Just a quick update.
The Soviet interior designers have been painting the cockpit.
023 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

The forecast for tonight is detail painting and laminating a PE instrumentpanel.
To be continued.....
/Bosse 

[Marlin]

Hi. 

Well I said I'd detal paint the cockpit.
But I took a closer look at the instruments decals provided by Revell and thought I'd try and use them instead of painting. Not much of the cockpit will be seen once the cockpit is finished anyway.
024 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
And I can live with this result, much better than I could ever paint it.
Shame I can use the IP decal as well, but the BM has a different IP from the RBT.

To be continued.....
/Bosse

[Parabat]

Looking good, yes I wouldn't bother trying to improve that cockpit, it looks fine already! 

[Marlin]

Thanks Parabat.  

/Bosse

[Calum]

I think decals over raised detail can be really effective in smaller scales when the builder does it well. This proves it again. great job

[Marlin]

Thank you very much Calum.  

/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi,

I've had a very productive weekend, even though I had to work overtime on Saturday.

I glued lots of plastic on the MiG.

 

Some very large wheel bays.
025 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

I've painted the PE IP.
026 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

Glued the undercarriages together.
027 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

The enormous belly tank is painted, four thin coats with a Tamiya spraycan.
028 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

I've glued the wings together.
029 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

Why did ICM put the deviding line in the middle of the other panel lines?
030 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

So I've started to fil the gap with liquid sprue.
031 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

The cockpit is starting to come together.
032 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

And I've started to glue the fuselage innards in place.
033 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
034 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

I also had time to prime almost all parts yesterday. So the plan for this evening is to start to paint the air inlets, ducts and wheelbays. Perhaps glue some other parts together as well.

To be continued.....
/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi, 

I'm building the MiG in small steps each evening.
And now I've got some more progress to show you.

I've glued the nosegear bay and nose gear to the fuselage.
035 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
036 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I can soon close up the nose section.
I just have to finish the ejection seat first.

 

The intake channels are also almost finished.
037 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And that's about what I had time for yesterday.

 

A neighbour who's retired and have all time in the world came and dropped off a large plastic bag of yellow chantrelles.
038 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
So I spent the rest of the evening with a paring knife instead of a hobby knife.

To be continued.....
/Bosse 

[exdraken]

Nice start!

Look out when aligning the interior skeleton.... the worst fitting parts from my experience is the rear side panels. There is always a little step...

 

[Marlin]

Thanks for the heads up Werner.  

Yesterday I had planned to close up the cockpit.
The instrument panel was done and I only had to glue everything together.
039 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

Only to discover that I'd missed to prime the lower part of the cockpit. 

040 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

So I couldn't close the cockpit up, instead I had to prime the missing area. 
And this evening I can paint it in Soviet Turqoise. 

To be continuned.....
/Bosse 

[Marlin]

Hi. 
Just a quick update. 
I got the ejectionsseat and harness done yesterday.
041 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

And glued to the cockpit.
042 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
043 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

So next step will be to close up the cockpit.
To be continued.....
/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi,

I got some more progress to show you. 

But first some food.
044 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

A fillet of beef with potato gratin, cognac sauce and lots of butterfried chantrelles.

 

We were celebrating my 20 year old twins start of higher education.
Emelie will take a course about cultural heritage & archiology at Stockholm University for three years, and Erik will study law at Uppsala University for four and a half year.
I'm very pleased with their choices and that they now will have something to do after a sabbatical year.

 

And now lets get back to the build.
This is last time we see the cockpit.
045 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

And then I closed it up.
046 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And I discovered my next misstake, I hadn't noticed that the backside of the wheelbays is a part of the intakes. 
047 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
So more primer and then paint had to be added.

 

I've got the resin probes glued to the intakes.
048 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

 

And yesterday I could glue the rear part of the intake in place.
049 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

To be continued.....
/Bosse

[IPMS19]

- YEAH  another FOXBAT.........!!!!I will follow your WIP with great interest. What I've seen till now looks promising. The building doesn't generate big .problems. The big CWS nose fitting is not that bad;A few adjustments are just necessary at the joining of the plastic fuselage and resin part.

The main gear is a bit too high which lessen the general nose up sitting.

[Marlin]

Thanks alot IPMS19, glad to have you along.  

I really like this kit, its a fun build. 

And I like so much that I ordered the PD/PDS version last week. 

That's a build that'll go straight to the worktable without hibernating in the stash. 

 

I can see that the CWS resin nose will be a bit tricky to glue on. 

My example has a bad pour line on the inside. 

Either I have to cut most of the glueline on the top part of the plastic nose section, or I'll have to gently cut the inside of the resin nose with my Dremel tool.

 

/Bosse

 

[IPMS19]

3 hours ago, Marlin said:

Thanks alot IPMS19, glad to have you along.  

I really like this kit, its a fun build. 

And I like so much that I ordered the PD/PDS version last week. 

That's a build that'll go straight to the worktable without hibernating in the stash. 

 

I can see that the CWS resin nose will be a bit tricky to glue on. 

My example has a bad pour line on the inside. 

Either I have to cut most of the glueline on the top part of the plastic nose section, or I'll have to gently cut the inside of the resin nose with my Dremel tool.

 

/Bosse

 

- I've just thinned the inside of the resin to match the plastic thickness with dremel. Glued it with cyano then fixed the joint with cyano covered with resin powder  ; Be careful, this mixture dries instantly, needs to be applied right on the assembled parts then after the  usual sanding you get a very strong clean joint. Be sure to sand only the resin as much as possible , as the mixture cyano/resin is much more hard than the plastic.