CCCP Стелс истребитель MiG-37B Ferret E

[Orso]

I have been thinking about the Batplanes and such. I don't really think that Bruce Wayne could or would spend all that money to develop a plane for Batman.

It would take lots of money that have to be hidden what the purpose of the spending is for and also a large bunch of constructors that would keep it secret.

But after the fall of the Soviet Union a MIL Mi-24 Hind bought on the black market could be an option. I was for a while planning on a Yak-38 as a Batplane build.

 

[binbrook87]

Nice to see you back from the 'dark side' Mike! 😁 Look forward to seeing this one come along. Go for the splinter camo! Just remember to take out shares in some masking tape and lots and lots of patience. Oh did i say patience? 🤪

[Mikey-1980]

Now a Yak -38 as a Batplane would be interesting?

 

I think you should do it @Orso flex the imagination and go for it! a few modifications here and there and I think it could work. 

 

 

I have no doubt that doing splinter cammo will be a right royal pan in the proverbial to get right. Amy recommendations on specialist masking tape there @binbrook87 ??

 

I guess a trip to the Range at the weekend then eh Gra?

 

 

[binbrook87]

3 hours ago, Mikey-1980 said:

I have no doubt that doing splinter cammo will be a right royal pan in the proverbial to get right. Amy recommendations on specialist masking tape there @binbrook87 ??

Hoho! Be prepared. 😁 Use Tamiya tape buddy. Don't use normal masking tape as i did once! It loves to bring all the paint off. 🤨 If you go for it...put down the lighter colour first...then mask the lighter areas off...the spray the next darkest colour...then mask this off etc etc. Takes time but pop some tunes on in the background relax and jobs a good un! 👍

[Mikey-1980]

ahhhh I though that would be the best method.

 

I have plenty of the Tamiya masking tape and already been subjected of standard "masking tape" bleeds and pulls paint off with our fail.

 

Looking forward to the paint part of the build. Hopefully I will actually get time to build the Ferret haha!

[Mikey-1980]

Morning all!

 

Managed a little time on the Ferret last night,

 

Essentially the polymer used for the kit is pretty hard and takes time to glue anything into place. The cockpit alone took 5 attempts to set.

 

But it's in place now with some additional paint needed around the cockpit before it is sealed up with the canopy.

 

 

You can just about see the detail of the control panels.

 

 

 

The next task was to try and position some weights in the nose section to counter the potential tail sitting of the MiG-37

 

After some trial and error with some 8mm bolts, I think I may have solved it....there is a further one stuck to the rear of the cockpit as well.

 

 

Test dry fit to see if the bolts cause any fitment issues and all seems to fit nicely! For a change....

 

 

What may cause a challenge is painting the engines and what seems to be an early idea for vectored thrust flaps for the MiG.In hindsight maybe I should have painted these up prior to gluing them into place......hmmmm

 

 

This is where we are at the moment, some additional detailing needed for cockpit area, though not entirely sure how to do it. Perhaps gain some inspiration from the MiG-29 ?

 

 

 

[Mikey-1980]

 

Quick update for you and a steep learning curve experienced yesterday.......do not spill cynoacrylate...especially not on clothing...as it will burn through and cause issues.

 

Managed to chemical burn a hole through the ReelBigFish gig hoodie I was wearing at the time.....no happy with myself at the moment

 

Anyways....on with the show eh?

 

Fuselage was sealed up and it feels like there may be enough weight but will find out when the tail fins are attached.

 

 

I thought a little bit of light grey would be suitable for the air intakes as they will be difficult to paint once the cover is placed over them like this

 

 

The underside of the wings has revealed a few large panel gaps but these can be filled in and smoothed out reasonably easy.

 

 

 

Not to sure whether to keep the weapons bays open or closed?

 

Thoughts?

 

 

[Parabat]

I would keep it closed up to preserve those lines. 

[alt-92]

13 hours ago, Mikey-1980 said:

Fuselage was sealed up and it feels like there may be enough weight but will find out when the tail fins are attached.

Fastest way to check is taping the fins flat on the backside.

It's the weight that matters after all - but looking at those bolts it might be enough.

Handy tip I've seen someone do on here is old coins, those could do just the trick and they can be wedged in a small opening (behind the seat/bulkhead)

[Andre B]

We also have the MiG 31 Firefox from the 1982 movie with Clint Eastwood...

 

https://www.anigrand.com/AA6014_Mig-31.htm

[Serkan Sen]

On 6/3/2020 at 9:51 AM, Mikey-1980 said:

After some trial and error with some 8mm bolts, I think I may have solved it....there is a further one stuck to the rear of the cockpit as well.

 

 

Test dry fit to see if the bolts cause any fitment issues and all seems to fit nicely! For a change....

Usually I use modelling clay as counterweight at most forward nose position sometimes with  some little lead pieces inside. This lets me to keep amount of counterweight as minimum as possible and it gets the shape of body perfectly without using any glue.

Serkan

[Mikey-1980]

That's not a bad idea for the modelling clay for a counter weight? 

I'll have to remember that one. 

 

Cheers @Serkan Sen

 

 

[Aardvark]

On 5/27/2020 at 11:47 AM, Mikey-1980 said:

“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. It's 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.

In reality in Soviet Union was work on over stealth coating.  For obvious reasons, practically nothing is known about them, it is only known that the MiG-23 and MiG-27 were used for testing in these works.  In the 90s, during the demonstration of the MiG-29, Yeltsin made statements that this MiG-29 has a stealth coating, but whether it was fake or true it is not known.  As for reality, as for Stealth projects, there were many of them.

On 5/27/2020 at 11:47 AM, Mikey-1980 said:

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

For Soviet aircraft:

70-80 years 

- air intercept scheme was overall grey (MiG-23/25/31)

- front-line bomber grey/white

(Tu-22M/ Su-24)

- attack/fighter-bomber/ recognition/ ECM/ fighter 2-tone/3-tone/4-tone camouflage ( MiG-23/25/27/29, Yak-28, Su-7/17/25)

- air superiority scheme 2-tone/3-tone camouflage

(MiG-29/Su-27)

 

I have and F-19 and MiG-37B.

 If one (!) LBU calmly intervenes in the F-19 bomb bay, then only two R-60s can fit into two small MiG-37 bomb bay!  That's all!  Options 50 kg bomb FAB-50 or rocket I do not consider because they sound funny. 

R-60 is a melee missile, and it is a very weak missile, it can be shot down by a fighter, but for the same AWACS it may not be enough.  In any case, the Stealth air superiority fighter armed with two R-60 missiles sounds funny, so the maximum that you can think of for the purpose of the MiG-37B is an AWACS attack.

AWACS attack

it's intercept mission, therefore if the MiG-37B existed in reality, it would have to be completely gray like the MiG-23/25/31.

🤗

On 5/27/2020 at 11:47 AM, Mikey-1980 said:

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.

The stencil in decals are really in Russian, and this is really not a set of Russian letters, these are actually Russian words ..... but the phrases are composed in such a way that any Russian who holds this decal in his hands and has an idea of  real stencil on Soviet/Russian aircraft fall out of laughter!

😁😁

On 6/1/2020 at 10:23 AM, Mikey-1980 said:

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.

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?

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. 

For all Soviet/Russian aircraft standard ejection seat differences models K-36! 

The exceptions are Tu-22M / Tu-128, Yak-28, MiG-21/23/27, Su-7/17M-M2 and L-39. Tupolev, Mikoyan and Yakovlev resisted K-36 for a long time, but they had to capitulate.  L-39 is a Czech-made aircraft.

So, for MiG-37 need K-36!

But the problem is that any  K-36 ejection seat from the aftermarket  no install into the MiG-37 cockpit at 72th scale, it is just really big ejection seat for such a small model cockpit.  However, I managed to put a K-36 ejection seat from the Su-24 VES / Stream into the MiG-37B, because it has a smaller scale than necessary.

I think the MiG-37B at 48th scale has the same problem with size cockpit.

 

Of course, this is nothing more than my recommendations for the application of reality in an unreal plane.  Follow these tips or not is a private matter for everyone.

 

 

 

B.R.

Serge

 

 

Edited June 6, 2020 by Aardvark

[Mikey-1980]

That is a hell of a lot of awesome info Serge! 

 

Thank you.

 

Although the paint scheme you've suggested are period accurate, I kinda want to make a what if scheme, hense the splinter camo scheme. 

 

I am getting more and more interested in Soviet aviation and the innovation undertaken. I may just have to lean on your expertise again.

 

Cheers 

 

Mike

 

Edited June 7, 2020 by Mikey-1980

[Mikey-1980]

Morning campers!

 

Well the principle build has been completed for the Ferret. And it had gone together reasonably easily too.

 

Only minimal filler needed along the wings and possibly a little more around the tail. The canopy was a little tricky to mask up as it appears there is a smaller window behind the main canopy, so I decided to leave it in.

 

 

Still undecided whether to have the air breaks extended or laid flat?

 

Thoughts?

 

 

I also decided to keep the weapons bay doors closed to keep the lines smooth and to help with the paint as well. Only a little but of filler needed for the wings as they didn't quite fit flush. Easily sorted though. A little more work needed prior to paint though I think?

 

 

Airbreaks and undercarriage doors ready

 

 

These may not be the correct pallet to use, but they are the closed I have in the paint draw so will have to do for the moment.

 

A few ideas for inspiration.

 

 

 

[Aardvark]

2 hours ago, Mikey-1980 said:

 

 

1. With putty absolutely

exactly like that

problem in 72nd scale.

2.Pay attention to two rectangular hatches with round edges  on nose!  It can be assumed that these are radio-transparent panels of the side radar, so they can be painted in any of the Soviet / Russian radiolucent colors.

😉

 

B.R.

Serge

 

P.S.

WOW!

What is this?

Edited June 8, 2020 by Aardvark

[binbrook87]

Excellent stuff Mike...coming along nicely 👍 As it's a fictitious aircraft (or is it? Haha) then you can use some artistic licence on the colours and not get too hung up about accuracy... the 2 shades of grey and black look pretty cool

Edited June 8, 2020 by binbrook87

[Mikey-1980]

Not a clue @Aardvark Found it sifting through google images but it is pretty damn cool though!

I believe this is though source and the builder on this very forum. @jalles

 

 

Thanks for the tip on the radiolucent colours. out of curiosity, what are they please? haha!

 

Also found this scheme too for the SU-47

 

37 minutes ago, binbrook87 said:

Excellent stuff Mike...coming along nicely 👍 As it's a fictitious aircraft (or is it? Haha) then you can use some artistic licence on the colours and not get too hung up about accuracy... the 2 shades of grey and black look pretty cool

That's my plan exactly, same with the cockpit detail.....a bit of '80's nostalgia mixed with a "What if" theme.

 

 

[binbrook87]

59 minutes ago, Aardvark said:

WOW!

What is this?

Looks like an early 'guess' at the current Sukhoi PAK FA. Nose and intakes aren't correct though. Pretty cool though nonetheless 👌

[Aardvark]

59 minutes ago, Mikey-1980 said:

Thanks for the tip on the radiolucent colours. out of curiosity, what are they please? haha!

Difficulties translate....random cone paint.

For example:

 

45 minutes ago, binbrook87 said:

Looks like an early 'guess' at the current Sukhoi PAK FA. Nose and intakes aren't correct though. Pretty cool though nonetheless

In any case, it’s interesting whether the modeller’s fantasy is based on a real project?

 

 

B.R.

Serge

[Mikey-1980]

Looks like it was a concept design for the PAK FA

 

 

Have to admit, I kinda prefer this to the SU-57?

 

Thanks for the link as well, From looking through, it could just be a slightly different shade of grey to pain over though particular panels?

 

I think for any future Soviet model builds I know where to come for the expert knowledge too  

[Aardvark]

3 hours ago, Mikey-1980 said:

Thanks for the link as well, From looking through, it could just be a slightly different shade of grey to pain over though particular panels?

Dark grey, light grey, white, green ....acid blue as on  this MiG-29: 

(Anton Pavlov (c), Recourse photo:

http://www.airforce.ru/content/anton-pavlov/1471-mig-29ub/?langid=1 )

 

All colour what You want!

 

B.R.

Serge

[Mikey-1980]

o0o0o0oo0o0o00o0o thats a sexy little minx of a MiG-29 there! Very nice!

 

On a slightly lighter note...and thought I'd share this lil gem of a track with you all. Labi Sifi in his own right, smooooooooth as silk and one heck of a piece of music

 

 

 

At 2:05 you will instantly recognise this awesome riff from legendary Rockney heros of mine Dave Peacock & Chas Hodges...... @binbrook87 I think you may know them as Chas 'n Dave.  

 

 

Enjoy!!

[Aardvark]

16 minutes ago, Mikey-1980 said:

thats a sexy little minx of a MiG-29 there! Very nice!

This is what ultimately happened with the famous MiG-29 shark teeth from the 120 IAP Domna, by the way in the photo You can see single versions. In book Anton Pavlov have some page about this MiG-29.

 

17 minutes ago, Mikey-1980 said:

On a slightly lighter note...and thought I'd share this lil gem of a track with you all. Labi Sifi in his own right, smooooooooth as silk and one heck of a piece of music

 

 

The first thought that came to my mind when listening: "Is this the source of inspiration for Jamiroquai?"

 

B.R.

Serge

[Mikey-1980]

Not quite, but I can see where you may have thought that though.

 

It was in fact the debut track by this notorious rapper from Detroit.