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CCCP Стелс истребитель MiG-37B Ferret E


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Picture being a kid in the 1980's.....(that's me BTW) and movies such as Top Gun, Iron Eagle 1,2,3 and no doubt up to at least 10 more that went straight to VHS, were staple to watch in the house I grew up in. Being the youngest of 3, with my Dad being RAF, aviation was in my blood, as well as modelling.

 

My eldest brother had built the fictitious F-19 Stealth Fighter and I absolutely loved it! 

 

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 I remember that "stealth" was the buzz word at the time and there were rumors of new aircraft were beginning to surface.....It wouldn't be until 1989 that a heavily airbrushed image of the F-117 "Night Hawk" emerged.

 

stealth.jpg?w=487

 

At the time it was suggested that the Russians were also developing a "Stealth" Aircraft, but given the secrecy at the height of the Cold War, no one really knew if it was true? Rumors of a MiG-2000 with predictions of what it may look like?

 

gd-mig-2000-3.jpg?w=177gd-mig-2000-22.jpg?w=442

 

An interesting design, up until Testors threw their hat into the ring.

 

“In the autumn of 1987, the US plastic model manufacturer Testors.. launched its model of the “MiG-37B Ferret E”- a Soviet equivalent to the Lockheed stealth fighter. Its appearance must have caused a few smiles around the Mikoyan design bureau. As its manufacturer admitted.. Its reception in the Pentagon must have been less amusing. Here in widely-distributed form was the first model to widely illustrate the use of RCS reduction technique.”

 

I can imagine there were several intelligence officers in the CIA that were a little concerned that the technology that was being developed for the F-117 suddenly appeared on a fictitious Russian aircraft.

 

The MiG-37B "Ferret"......Now this I loved even more that the F-19 Stealth.....the angles, the shape, the  low profile....all was so futuristic to me. I even had a Micro Machine of one too!

 

So, from looking through the stash, I have decided to actually build one......This time from Italeri...

 

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A little bit of gumph for you.....fresh from 1987.

 

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There are 2 main sprus for the kit and a clear spru for the HUGE canopy

 

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Confirmation of the mould and the Testors / Italeri link :)

 

 

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Cockpit detail is somewhat lacking. I have seen builds where people have used photoetch from an A-4M Skyhawk cut to size, but as I do not have anything like that to hand, the basic detail will have to do. Now interestingly, would the "Stealth" MiG still have the iconic Turquoise coloured cockpit? 

 

If so, I am interest to know how to mix the correct colour for it though?

 

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The decal sheet is pretty decent with 2 main options for colour scheme, though I have heard that the decal sheet is pretty thick and with some issues of silvering.

 

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Instructions are fairly basic, but straight forward.

 

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I don't foresee this build taking all that long to do, the decision for colour scheme though will be interesting to decide on, I dont fancy the plain black or winter cammo scheme that is suggested. Perhaps a more "What If" cammo scheme should this aircraft had been a reality and went into service. A few possible schemes.

 

87cefebf943fd004fa7e2ba0e0df62f1.jpgddic8ua-88c14721-194d-4a1c-8f8e-eb71460a8429714201_7795fea6e8_c.jpg

 

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I do quite like the scheme for the Sukhoi though...this may work nicely.

 

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Building will begin as soon as I can.....Thoughts and any ideas for paint schemes are all welcomed as I have yet to decide which direction to go in.

 

 

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  • Mikey-1980 changed the title to CCCP Стелс истребитель MiG-37B Ferret E

I love those old Testors/Italeri "stealth" kits from the 80's. I built a stretched version of the ferret that blends a little bit of the Mig-2000 with the testors kit (splinter camo too). I'm super excited to see how this one turns out.

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23 minutes ago, alt-92 said:

Good luck with this one. 👍🏼🍿

Fair warning: it's a terrible tail-sitter!

 

I suspected this......I'll be sure to pack out the nose with plenty of weight.

 

Any ideas on how much though?

 

32 minutes ago, jalles said:

I love those old Testors/Italeri "stealth" kits from the 80's. I built a stretched version of the ferret that blends a little bit of the Mig-2000 with the testors kit (splinter camo too). I'm super excited to see how this one turns out.

I was thinking of the splinter cammo.....but also I really like green and tan scheme too.

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1 hour ago, Mikey-1980 said:

Any ideas on how much though?

That knowledge has been lost in the mists of time (and booze, and parties) I'm afraid....

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7 hours ago, Mikey-1980 said:

 

 

_20200526_185000

 

A little bit of gumph for you.....fresh from 1987.

Fantastic bit of gumph! I love the flawless (ahem) Russian transliteration of 'Steh-alt-kkhhh' (probably means something completely different, like u-bend or piles). I remember flying Microprose's F-19 over Libya on a CGA monitor at about 1fps (less on landing) and having a great time. 

Edited by Bangseat
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2 hours ago, Bangseat said:

Fantastic bit of gumph! I love the flawless (ahem) Russian transliteration of 'Steh-alt-kkhhh' (probably means something completely different, like u-bend or piles). I remember flying Microprose's F-19 over Libya on a CGA monitor at about 1fps (less on landing) and having a great time. 

Russian transliteration for stealth is just "стелс". "Стеалтх" is something completely nonexistent and outrageous, haha
I remember that game too, along with the Accolade Formula 1 and LHX

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Italeri had this kit also in 1:72.

 

So I made one, in a fictive East German Air Force version:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/21603181@N08/17559258629/in/photolist-sKDMQr-9gHqQE

 

 

BTW, the Kamov-58 helicopter is in the same league:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/21603181@N08/18580015744/in/photolist-uL1Haa-uL1H9D-uiRrmG-uiRrn3-uiRro5-i5rKZY-hvDCYY-bspyLo

 

modelldoc

 

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I do have the 1/72 version in the stash that is about 75% complete. Though it has been consigned to the shelf of doom at the moment. 

 

I do reeeeeally like the MiG-31 Firefox, and there is a 1/48 scale kit out there. Just have to be able to justify the cost

 

https://www.anigrand.com/AA6015_Mig-31.htm 

 

 

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db471ar-37c94aed-deef-4339-90c7-0b29e930

 

To be honest this isn't too bad, and potentially achievable too I think?

 

I think I have a dark grey and light blue rattle can in the stash to do this too?

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Good morning Comrades!

 

Work on the Ferret officially was underway over the weekend. With no real guidance on what the cockpit should look like, it was pretty much swing it and see what feels right?

 

As it was a MiG, all-be-it fictitious, I decided to go with the light blue colour for the cockpit, but also to give it a very 1980's feel to it. So lots of colourful lights that seemingly have no meaning or actual use.

 

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The actual display panel had almost no detail on there, so I went with what the USSR at the time may show as a "digital" display. The surface is pretty small and vague, but I thnk it looks OK?

 

DSC_3248

 

Inspiration for the cockpit seat was from an array of MiG cockpits so a green/grey combo was take with a light black wash applied over it. 

 

DSC_3249

 

 

The tub itself isn't the biggest, but should be reasonably exposed to be seen once the canopy is applied to the kit.

 

It will be a tail sitter as already been mentioned, the nose section doesn't have a lot of room for weights, so 4 steel nuts are to be glued into place, which I hope will be enough?

 

Slow start, but getting their. :)

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Really like the suggested splinter cammo schemes. Especially the grey, grey,black in the top right corner.

 

I would be very interested in learning how to do this though?

 

Any hint and tips would be greatly appreciated. Especially because of your awesome paint schemes for the SU-27 & 33 there too :) 

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5 hours ago, Mikey-1980 said:

Really like the suggested splinter cammo schemes. Especially the grey, grey,black in the top right corner.

 

I would be very interested in learning how to do this though?

 

Any hint and tips would be greatly appreciated. Especially because of your awesome paint schemes for the SU-27 & 33 there too :) 

You can find full build reports in the links I have added in my previous post including how to design and make masks.

Please let me know if you need support at any point.

Regards

Serkan

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