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Revell 1/72 MiG-25RBT (ex ICM)


npirnia

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Hello,

 

This is my most recently completed build: the Revell (reboxed ICM) MiG-25RBT.

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I really enjoyed this kit and the engineering was quite impressive. The fit was not quite as good as Tamiya or Eduard, but the kit still assembled very well for a large and complex aircraft. The design of the wings and fuselage leads to a very positive fit of all major components and takes the guess work out of aligning canted structures like stabilators and ventral fins. The design also provides full length intakes (almost – tapered and likely an element of forced perspective, but it looks great), a detailed cockpit, and robust landing gear. The main gear does need to be added early in construction; which is a hassle, but manageable.

 

There are several places where I deviated from the recommended construction in several places. Largely guided by this excellent article: https://www.themodellingnews.com/2019/04/construction-review-pti-172nd-scale.html

 

And then deviated in another spot by not paying attention…..I added the top of the fuselage before the sides. This made fitting the sides more difficult and may have contributed to intake fit issues. All worked out in the end, but it added time, struggle, and sanding/rescribing.

 

The model gives you the option of both long and short intakes, but doesn’t really specify which should be used in the Revell boxing. I wanted to build a Soviet machine and chose the Revell boxing as it featured a Soviet era RBT in “Red 04”. I only found one reference photo in a book from 1991 showing what I think is an RBT (just called a MiG-25R in the book) with long intakes so I chose them. My decision was made easier by the fact that I plan to build another of these and would choose one with the short intakes – probably the MiG-25RB. I am also really hoping that ICM releases either the MiG-25P or PD version as they did in 1/48.

 

The model was painted in Mission Models paints with a mix of MRP and AK extreme metals for the natural metal areas; which are pretty large on the MiG-25. As before, I diluted the Mission Models paints with a thinner consisting of 30% clear primer and 70% Mission Thinner (named CP30) along with a touch of Tamiya retarder. This mix allows me to spray very fine patterns for black basing using a 0.15 H-S needle without clogging and minimal tip dry. The ratio of CP30 to paint varies a bit by color, but is usually 70:30 to 60:40 CP30:paint. I learned the technique from this article and it has proven to be an excellent way to spray Mission Models paints: https://modelpaintsol.com/builds/arma-hobby-1-72-yakovlev-yak-1b

 

I used MRP metallics on another project (still WIP, but hopefully finishing next), but this was my first time using AK extreme metals. I was very impressed with the appearance and usability, but did encounter some of the issues mentioned on this forum with Tamiya tape residue. Luckily much of the residue came off with a cotton bud and isopropyl alcohol, but I’d rather not do this on a regular basis. I also discovered that the solvent in Mig panel line washes can dissolve the extreme metals. On the bright side, Mr Weathering washes and oils dissolved in Mr Weathering thinner are compatible and work well. I decided that I like MRP metals for areas that need to be masked for a period of time (MRP Super Silver metallic is almost identical to AK Aluminum in appearance). For the MiG-25, the pain rear fuselage is MRP Super Silver while the rear most panels are AK Pale Burnt Metal and MRP Burnt Iron respectively. The area was weathered with Tamiya smoke thinned and mottled onto the surface along with highlighting panels and panel lines. The metal areas were then finished off with oils and I am happy with how they turned out.

 

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The decals proved to be straightforward though a few tried to curl up with Mig’s Decal Set, but proved to be salvageable with some scarring. I gloss coated the model before decaling with Mission Clear Gloss which is a very smooth and robust gloss that resists decal solvents very well. After decaling, it was sealed with a layer of plain CP30 which makes an excellent base for weathering as it has a semi-gloss to almost gloss sheen. It can also be used between weathering layers to lock in the prior work before starting the next. It goes on very thin and smooth.The rest of the model was given a grime coat of Mr Weathering Multi-Grey (sometimes thinned and sometimes straight) with Multi-White here and there as well. Artist oils where used to complete the weathering and the model was sealed with AK Ultra Matte varnish. The final step was painting the pink canopy sealant using a MRP acrylic specially for this purpose. Photos show an often messy application of the sealant, but I still think I’ll make it tidier next time.

 

Thank you for looking and it is a privilege to post my work on this site! 

 

-Nick

 

PS - You may see little bits of ash on the model since the entire US west coast is burning due to forest fires :( I live in Berkeley near San Francisco. Nothing nearby, but the smoke and ash really travel.

 

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Outstanding build!  

I always felt this aircraft has a somewhat unsettling cold war "aura" about it, that you have captured extremely well.

An excellent job of the finishing and weathering too! :clap::clap:

Glad to hear you're not in direct threat from the fires - hope the whole situation comes under control ASAP.

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Brilliant! 👍 Lovely job on the paintwork and a subtle panel wash that's very effective. Another one on my 'to-do' list. I was going to attempt a 1/48 scale one but the size is plenty large enough in the smaller scale 😁 Stay safe out there my friend 🤞

Edited by binbrook87
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Fantastic weathering techniques, the entire package is beautifully done and really captures the look of the 25.:like:

The back end looks really sharp. I've just finished the ICM kit and found the jet pipes and surrounding area a bit woolly detail wise. Did you enhance the jet pipes at all? they look really good compared to the offerings in my kit.

Bit of info, to save painting the sealant Begamot have just released a decal sheet of pink sealant. Not sure if its in the shops yet.

Cheers

Pete

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20 hours ago, kapam said:

Outstanding build!  

I always felt this aircraft has a somewhat unsettling cold war "aura" about it, that you have captured extremely well.

An excellent job of the finishing and weathering too! :clap::clap:

Glad to hear you're not in direct threat from the fires - hope the whole situation comes under control ASAP.

I totally agree! I grew up during the Cold War and Soviet aircraft totally have an "evil empire" vibe for me that makes them fun to build and look at. I think the MiG-25 and Su-15TM particularly convey this.

 

The fires are getting better, but the smoke lingers for a long time and the air quality is terrible. The most troubling part is that this is relatively early in the season and there has been 2 big statewide fire events so far. :( Thank you for the kind thoughts.

5 hours ago, Pete in a shed said:

Fantastic weathering techniques, the entire package is beautifully done and really captures the look of the 25.:like:

The back end looks really sharp. I've just finished the ICM kit and found the jet pipes and surrounding area a bit woolly detail wise. Did you enhance the jet pipes at all? they look really good compared to the offerings in my kit.

Bit of info, to save painting the sealant Begamot have just released a decal sheet of pink sealant. Not sure if its in the shops yet.

Cheers

Pete

Thanks for the tip about the decals! I didn't enhance the exhaust, though the whole rear had to be heavily sanded after an airbrush malfunction lead to a very rough application of primer. I had to strip and sand the whole airframe; plus I found a ghost seam shortly after applying my first layer of MRP Super Silver and I went down the rabbit hole fixing it..... Luckily I managed to salvage it, but did need to enhance or rescribe some panels on the ventral surface. The exhaust themselves are stock, but I did spend a lot of time painting and refining them with weathering. I started with AK metallic smoke thinking it would be a good jet exhaust, but it was more of a cool, dark, metallic grey that wasn't quite what I wanted. However, I found the contrast between "cool grey metallic" and "warm metallic" to be a really good effect so I masked alternating exhaust petals and oversprayed MRP burnt iron. This was a great starting point that was improved with thinned tamiya smoke (which is nothing like AK metallic smoke tone wise) and then washes / oil paints. Is it possible that your exhaust was a slightly short shot? ICM is still a relatively small firm.

10 hours ago, binbrook87 said:

Brilliant! 👍 Lovely job on the paintwork and a subtle panel wash that's very effective. Another one on my 'to-do' list. I was going to attempt a 1/48 scale one but the size is plenty large enough in the smaller scale 😁 Stay safe out there my friend 🤞

Yeah, it is a very large airplane for 1/72 - a good 31 cm long! It is convinced me that I should build some 1/48 kits since I find this big guy to be more satisfying to look at than my 1/72 A-4M and MiG-21MF. A 1/48 MiG-25 would be really huge - at least 5 cm longer than a 1/48 Tomcat!

 

Thanks to all for the kind words and support!

 

Best,

 

Nick

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Super cool and I really like that fuel tank - never seen that before.

 

To me, although I know this was a high flying interceptor, the coolest image I have of the MiG-25 in my mind's eye is of it zipping flat out at low level across the sea to Japan in the famous defection incident. That must have been something to see if you'd been on a well-located fishing boat...

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11 hours ago, Uncle Pete said:

Great job. 👍👍 If I may ask... How can one get hold of a jig like that?  Google has been of no help to me in the past.

I bought it here:

http://umm-usa.com/onlinestore/index.php?cPath=21_162
 

He has a lot of useful tools and raw materials for scratch building. I bought a set of forceps from him and they are substantially better than what I had before. It markedly reduces the risk of pinging a small part to no-where! :)

 

-Nick

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