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Indian MiG-21FL conversion (Eduard) 1/72 - 19apr21 still working on the canopy (started again!), plus the pitot and nose antenna


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6 minutes ago, Hook said:

Didn't Indian Fishbeds feature English stencilling..?

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

Maybe but I searched and could find any. The Eduard ones are vague enough anyway ;). the only negative, as Pranay @PranayKumar99 has said, is that the Indians used Black stencils, rather that the blue.

 

Martin

 

 

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After a far bit of phaffing around and concentrating on getting the LeO done, as well as starting the Africa GB, I have made some progress with the FL. She is now stencilled and has had a Flory Dirt wash.

 

A few days ago I posted a question thread about the PE for the seat and this (see below) got me re-started on this little treasure. 

You can see the rsult of the PE question above. Getting the seat finally done has made me re-think about the visibility of the cockpit. I wasn't too impreressed with my work earlier on the cockpit but now the finished seat, regaled in its PE jewels, seems to beg to be open to the world. So, I've decided to change from a closed canopy to an open one. This means a bit more work - masking the inner surfaces of the canopy, painting and adding further PE (below)

 

FL51

 

Today I spent the morning wrestling with Tamiya tape, a Swann Morton scalpel and the plastic part. I used my spare canopy to guide my cutting. Eventually it was cut and applied. After that I took out the Badger 200 and gave her a blast of Colourcoats LIght Gull Grey (used for the interior). It is now drying before I atttach the PE shown above. 

 

Aside from this I have got some parts attached, like the rocket rails, nose radome, tailplanes, etc. There are still a few bits to add and she'll be done. I got some grey parts washed with a very diluted Humbrol Dark Grey wash. Here's what is left currently:

 

FL50

 

Not a lot so there are no excuses for not getting her done ASAP!

 

Martin 

 

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  • RidgeRunner changed the title to Indian MiG-21FL conversion (Eduard) 1/72 - 13apr21 canopy, seat, and the last few bits :)
12 minutes ago, VT Red Sox Fan said:

Martin, coming along nicely!  Really like how the spots are coming out--best, Erwin

Thanks Erwin. I see you have been producing some great stuff! :)

 

Martin

 

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On checking this image taken at the MOFTU, Tezpur (credit: Simon Watson and public domain) I noticed that the far machine had a different aux pitot - or is it my eyes playing tricks? 

 

FL53

 

This one, also credit Simon Watson, but at Iron Fist 2014 and Public Domain, has the standardfit:

 

FL54

 

Martin

 

 

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3 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

I noticed that the far machine had a different aux pitot - or is it my eyes playing tricks? 

No you're right, the upper photo shows a short probe, the lower a longer one.

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3 hours ago, Wez said:

No you're right, the upper photo shows a short probe, the lower a longer one.

Thanks Wez :). As I am modelling C754 I need to fashion a small probe. It looks much like those on the MiG-17, I think. 

 

Martin

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17 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

FL53

 

I agree with your observation Martin. At first I thought I could also see a big difference between the two canopies with the nearest machine having some complex looking (locking) mechanism on the lower edges of the canopy, then I convinced myself it was down to camera angle, and that I was seeing the internal lower part of the far side, of the nearest canopy - I think!

 

Terry

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11 minutes ago, RidgeRunner said:

Have you started any of your Eduard Fishbeds yet?
 

Sadly not yet. Have been distracted by real life 1:1 projects, an arm injury, and a bit of temptation from the dark side of finescale 4mm railway modelling 😱

 

Terry

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10 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

 

Sadly not yet. Have been distracted by real life 1:1 projects, an arm injury, and a bit of temptation from the dark side of finescale 4mm railway modelling 😱

 

Terry

I’ve also now noticed that the sealer around the canopy glazing isn’t as represented by the Eduard decals. To me it looks like the “orange/brown” single line to the rear is okay but otherwise it needs a beige demarcation?  It also appears no to have any sealer apparently around the front screen. I think, therefore, I need to mask the canopy and apply some “beige” to the rear and along the sides.

 

Martin

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On 4/13/2021 at 2:24 PM, RidgeRunner said:

This means a bit more work - masking the inner surfaces of the canopy, painting and adding further PE (below)

Oh, how I hate PE, but I am the first to admit that it adds fantastic detail. I started out by getting the PE parts Cut out and cleaned up. The side rails needed folding and I managed to get this accomplished. It then all started to go wrong :(. I got the rear piece attached (see the diagram above), albeit slightly askew. I then tried the first side rail which, for some reason, would not adhere to the surface. The CA glue simply Wouldn’t harden. Eventually it took a turn for the better and settled itself down. At this point I was starting to think it was looking a bit scruffy. Next I attempted to get the other side rail applied and it pinged in to oblivion! All in all I was unhappy so it all got removed. After the CA finally hardened I sanded the surfaces back and started building my own internals for the canopy. They wont be so pretty but will add some topography to the part. :). It will be entirely plastikard and rod. 🤞. I’ll post pictures once I get to where I am proud of them :)
 

I forgot to say that prior to the above debacle re-masked the outer surfaces and got the sealer airbrushed, using Humbrol 121. It now matches the great reference shot earlier. However, to add to my woes, my H&S airbrush hose sprung a small air leak! :(

 

Martin 

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On 15/04/2021 at 08:55, RidgeRunner said:

I’ve also now noticed that the sealer around the canopy glazing isn’t as represented by the Eduard decals. To me it looks like the “orange/brown” single line to the rear is okay but otherwise it needs a beige demarcation?  It also appears no to have any sealer apparently around the front screen. I think, therefore, I need to mask the canopy and apply some “beige” to the rear and along the sides.

 

Martin

 

I wouldn't get too hung up on the exact colour, the stuff we use can range from a pinky colour to a dark brown.

 

 

1 minute ago, RidgeRunner said:

Oh, how I hate PE, but I am the first to admit that it adds fantastic detail. I started out by getting the PE parts Cut out and cleaned up. The side rails needed folding and I managed to get this accomplished. It then all started to go wrong :(. I got the rear piece attached, albeit slightly askew. I then tried the first side rail which, for some reason, would not adhere to the surface. The CA glue simply Wouldn’t harden. Eventually it took a turn for the better and settled itself down. At this point I was starting to think it was looking a bit scruffy. Next I attempted to get the other side rail applied and it pinged in to oblivion! All in all I was unhappy so it all got removed. After the CA finally hardened I sanded the surfaces back and started building my own inter sms for the canopy. They would be so pretty but will add some topography to the part. :). It will be entirely plastikard and rod. 🤞. I’ll post pictures once I get yo where I am proud of them :)

 

Martin 

 

I'm with you on PE, I've got some to use with my Texan but I'm unlikely to use most of it.

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Moan and groan :( ....... Having attempted to build the internals I realised that my ideas were too simplistic and it was looking too much of a mish mash. The Humbrol Stone I had painted wasn't constant and the masking wasn’t great either. 

 

FL30

 

So, with the good fortune of having some spares, I have built another canopy! :). This time I have tried to match the detail that I can see in photos, using very thin card and 0.5mm rod. 

 

 

FL28

 

I am much happier. There is a little cleaning to do where the Thin cement ran a little (fortunately not on the glazing :) ). Now with my other two recently crafted items I am, again, closing in on RFI for this beauty :). Here is the canopy, again, the upper nose antenna and the modified auxiliary pitot (my terminology). You can see that I have tried to mimic the canopy latches with rod. It is'nt accurate or realitic but it should give the right impression. Certainly it is better than my fumbled attempts with the PE! The antenna is simply thin card inserted in to the end of some rod. I will sand it to shape and install. The "pitot" is simply the kit part modified with some 0.5mm rod.  

 

 

FL27

 

I'm now awaiting a new paint mask set :). When I get to the painting stage it will be the Humbrol 27002 with H121 stone for the sealant. The orange-brown decal will be good for the further "sealer" at the rear. Inside it will be Colourcoats Light Gull Grey again with detail picked out with a dry brushing. All that Will be preceded by H1 Primer. I also need to fashion to two actuators for the canopy as they are not included in the kit. 

 

Martin

 

 

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  • RidgeRunner changed the title to Indian MiG-21FL conversion (Eduard) 1/72 - 19apr21 still working on the canopy (started again!), plus the pitot and nose antenna

Hello Martin,

 

I already like this a lot! I think the paint scheme you chose will be a real eye catcher. Something very different.

 

The brown putty used around cockpit windows is brown (like in flower pots) when new. It gets slightly lighter over the years. That darker brown is a completely different stuff.

 

spacer.png

 

This is an MiG-21 BIS. The stencils are mostly in black and some in red. Originally everything was in Russian language but some were replaced with Finnish. On earlier MiG-21 F-13s stenciling was in English (and some on Finnish). Most common colour was bright blue and some (especially those that had something to do with electrics) were black and then of course some were red.

 

Cheers,

Antti

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Hold the Front Page!!!! On browsing through the insrtuctions for the Eduard PF I now see that there is the exact "pitot" shown in pictorial form but I cant find any reference to it on the instruction sheet. Maybe I'm going doolally? It is part H7. It means, of course, that I have the part! :)

 

Martin

 

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