Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 (edited) Here we go then! Really, really wanted to do one of these for a long time now. This will be my first Russian jet, and ashamedly I’m going to finish it Vietnamese style. This is of course Airfix’s new tooled 1/72 offering and I’ll finish it out of the box using their scheme with some home made mods along the way. With sprues inspected and washed, let’s get on with the tub. Nice and straightforward construction. They’ve moulded belts this time which is new to me, well at least for Airfix. They’ll be ok for 1/72 for me, so no need to make them this time, particularly as the tub is tiny. I’ve looked at a few reference photos and painted accordingly. Used the decals which look really good and there’s a nice cavity for weight... here it is, cotton bud for scale. Next update, ejector pins and air intakes!! JB Edited October 21, 2020 by Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James G Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 Looking good. I have done a lot of 'red star' aircraft but if I got this kit I would do it in the Vietnamese colours too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 Nice start! I have a soft spot for the Fresco.... What a small plane it is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 6 hours ago, James G said: Looking good. I have done a lot of 'red star' aircraft but if I got this kit I would do it in the Vietnamese colours too! It’s going to sit next to my Phantom 2 in SEA Camo. Besides, I’ve already got a nice NMF lighting of similar era so that decided it 😁 Just now, exdraken said: Nice start! I have a soft spot for the Fresco.... What a small plane it is! It’s tiny. Just trying to squeeze some 20g(!) of lead shot weight into the nose and I’m out of room already. I reckon there’s about half that but feels ‘enough’. Maybe Airfix were doubling stating 20g to avoid angry modellers 🤞 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 Managed to get some more bench time today thanks to nap time for the toddler! we have a nice air intake complete with ejector pin marks which are quite visible with NMF. I’ve sanded these back (they were right at the front, not the ones where the tub will sit) and hit it with some AK extreme metal aluminium. I’ve also found a nice join post gluing the tub halves together. Covered that with CA, sanded back and also covered with AKEMA. Added around 10g of lead shot plus PVA and then sealed with varnish. Might blu-tak some more weight behind the tub to be safe... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 18, 2020 Author Share Posted October 18, 2020 More bench time... this is unheard of!! Boring stuff I’m afraid, just NMF laid down on some parts and sanding, filling, sanding, filling. Added more weight behind the tub as I said I would. Chickened out you might say! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almac Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 Nice start with the cockpit etc. I’ll follow your progress as I’ve got this one as well and it is kind of in my thoughts to start soon. Cheers Allan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis95 Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 You will need a LOT of weight in this one buddy. The exhaust assembly sits right on the fulcrum of the tail and quite far down so it acts as horrific counter weight. You may want to think about some added weight behind the tub but watch out for the transparent fixings you need to install before closing up. Stunning build so far. I finished this kit earlier this year. The tub can be a pain to line up and the nacelle is a sod. Remember to leave the little sensor offset and not directly in line with the pit. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 18, 2020 Author Share Posted October 18, 2020 6 hours ago, almac said: Nice start with the cockpit etc. I’ll follow your progress as I’ve got this one as well and it is kind of in my thoughts to start soon. Cheers Allan Glad to have you joining, Allan. 5 hours ago, Lewis95 said: You will need a LOT of weight in this one buddy. The exhaust assembly sits right on the fulcrum of the tail and quite far down so it acts as horrific counter weight. You may want to think about some added weight behind the tub but watch out for the transparent fixings you need to install before closing up. Stunning build so far. I finished this kit earlier this year. The tub can be a pain to line up and the nacelle is a sod. Remember to leave the little sensor offset and not directly in line with the pit. Great advice, I’m adding as much as I dare. Hopefully the landing gear won’t collapse! The instructions reference a little notch to align the tub in the body which appears to be doing the job but I will forget about the clear parts so cheers! Did you add the wing tanks? Not sure if the Vietnamese Migs had/needed them? More research needed before I bond the wings together... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis95 Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 1 hour ago, Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen said: Glad to have you joining, Allan. Great advice, I’m adding as much as I dare. Hopefully the landing gear won’t collapse! The instructions reference a little notch to align the tub in the body which appears to be doing the job but I will forget about the clear parts so cheers! Did you add the wing tanks? Not sure if the Vietnamese Migs had/needed them? More research needed before I bond the wings together... Off the top of my head, I did add the wing tanks. There's also a clear part to go in the wing which needs to be in there before bonding if I remember correctly 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 19, 2020 Author Share Posted October 19, 2020 On 10/18/2020 at 8:59 PM, Lewis95 said: Off the top of my head, I did add the wing tanks. There's also a clear part to go in the wing which needs to be in there before bonding if I remember correctly I think I will do the same. Will add more to look at plus I could hide more weight in the front of them Added the clear part thanks. Just trying to see if there are any tints to the clear parts before sealing up the fuselage and wings. Can't find any reference shots - BM's, any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyJammedKenny! Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 Nice work on this, and I love your pics of the cockpit "bathtub." Did you use the kit's decals for all those crazy dials? They look great. The real thing is an ergonomics nightmare for the pilot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 20, 2020 Author Share Posted October 20, 2020 19 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said: Nice work on this, and I love your pics of the cockpit "bathtub." Did you use the kit's decals for all those crazy dials? They look great. The real thing is an ergonomics nightmare for the pilot. Cheers, yes used the kit decals. The panel is flat so if you don’t use them, it’s off to the spare parts box for some raised detail control panels, if you have any! Was it? Looks like a fun little jet to fly... not that I’d have a clue!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 20, 2020 Author Share Posted October 20, 2020 (edited) Well... tonight was close the fuselage night. It didn’t go as well as I was hoping but it’s done. Had some real challenges getting the halves aligned, surprisingly the tub and exhaust assembly were not the problems, it just doesn’t seem to go together particularly well and the design is a bit stupid considering you’re trying to get a nice neat finish around the air intake. It’s made of the two halves and then a bottom bit followed by a three-quarter circle nose piece... there’s going to be a lot of clean up with the sanding sticks: I added another 5g of weight in the end before closing up. Here’s a nasty step, not helped by the clear parts. I have some nasty gaps to fill and some re-scribing to do!! Edited October 20, 2020 by Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 24, 2020 Author Share Posted October 24, 2020 A bit of progress this week. Using CA, I have filled and sanded down most of the problem issues on the fuselage and the wings. I will have to scratch build some raised detail on the nose as that needed to be removed to get rid of the seams. I’ve also added some detail behind the ejection seat and gunsight, not necessarily accurate but just covers the seams and adds a bit of interest. I’ve also re-scribed some lost lines underneath and doused with TamiyaET. There are still some fit issues where the clear parts on the belly which I will need overcome. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus999 Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 This is coming along well! I'm a little disappointed that this doesn't fit as well as some of Airfix's other new kits. I waited for a year to get my hands on one of these. Still, you've got a solid start and that cockpit looks fantastic! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis95 Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Looking good so far bud. You're through the worst of it now! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 28, 2020 Author Share Posted October 28, 2020 On 10/25/2020 at 4:17 PM, opus999 said: This is coming along well! I'm a little disappointed that this doesn't fit as well as some of Airfix's other new kits. I waited for a year to get my hands on one of these. Still, you've got a solid start and that cockpit looks fantastic! Yeah, I have struggled with this one in comparison to their recent mustang, zero and Kate for example. Thanks on the cockpit though, I do like the finer detail. On 10/27/2020 at 3:25 PM, Lewis95 said: Looking good so far bud. You're through the worst of it now! Yeah hopefully plain sailing now... oh hang on the underside of the wings are NMF 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 28, 2020 Author Share Posted October 28, 2020 Tuesday means modelling night! Plus I sneaked a few hours here and there at the weekend. I’ve managed to glue the wings in place and spent some ‘fun’ time with the CA, filler and sanding sticks. Hopefully I’m there now, will see as I start putting paint on. I also used my very high grades of sanding clothes to buff the underneath of the wings as they’ll be NMF. They are nice and smooth now, so hoping I’ve caught all the gaps and scratches... will find out when I lay the first coat of AKEM. Glued the canopy tonight as well. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 31, 2020 Author Share Posted October 31, 2020 Filling, sanding and buffing has largely paid off. Some minor issues to deal with but the base NMF for under the wings and areas where I will chip the camo, is down: 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 Got the main green on this week after pulling the AK Gausy varnish off with Tamiya tape, in efforts to protect the NMF on the wings 🤦🏻♂️ Airbrushed the darker blotches as per Airfix guidance. Quite pleased, used my new Sparmax 3 airbrush and it’s done a fine job. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyJammedKenny! Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Looks great! Yours is excellent work, especially for a freehand airbrush job. Have you read General William Momyer's Air Power in Three Wars? If not, I recommend it. It goes into some detail about MiG-17 ops in Vietnam, and although "old" scholarship, it is quite revealing. I think his book is still required reading at Squadron Officer School. Momyer was 7AF commander during the War, and harbors no illusions about the quality of North Vietnamese (and North Korean!) pilots who flew these aircraft and relied on ground-controlled intercept officers, based at ground radar sites, to guide them every step of the way (from takeoff to landing) and make all tactical decisions for them, except when to fire their cannon. The MiG-17 was not designed to be flown by pilots possessed of independent initiative. With a handful of notable exceptions, the real heroes of the VPAF were the ground controlled intercept officers and their Soviet advisors. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted November 11, 2020 Author Share Posted November 11, 2020 On 11/7/2020 at 4:46 PM, TheyJammedKenny! said: Looks great! Yours is excellent work, especially for a freehand airbrush job. Have you read General William Momyer's Air Power in Three Wars? If not, I recommend it. It goes into some detail about MiG-17 ops in Vietnam, and although "old" scholarship, it is quite revealing. I think his book is still required reading at Squadron Officer School. Momyer was 7AF commander during the War, and harbors no illusions about the quality of North Vietnamese (and North Korean!) pilots who flew these aircraft and relied on ground-controlled intercept officers, based at ground radar sites, to guide them every step of the way (from takeoff to landing) and make all tactical decisions for them, except when to fire their cannon. The MiG-17 was not designed to be flown by pilots possessed of independent initiative. With a handful of notable exceptions, the real heroes of the VPAF were the ground controlled intercept officers and their Soviet advisors. Thanks for that, I was having trouble with the sparmax 20 as it was continually clogging with Tamiya paints no matter what I did, so replaced it with the 3 upon advice from airbrushes.com. It’s on the verge depending on paint to thinner ratio but when it flows well, it’s a treat to use as per this result. I haven’t read the book you recommended but I did read/hear about the tactics used by the North in the war from Col. Robin Olds autobiography and found it astounding. I will add to the list though! Considering what they were up against with American air tactics and hardware, they were pretty formidable. Hence why I had to have one to sit next to my Phantom 2! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted November 11, 2020 Author Share Posted November 11, 2020 Tuesday night was modelling night once more, so some progress with decals after varnishing and correcting some camo issues at the weekend. As I like to do when I do a new model, I tried something different this time with some post shading using Tamiya clear smoke. Worked ok, but I will need to carry on with oils post matt cote. I also chipped the camo paint job back to NMF with a cocktail stick, after looking at reference photos. Decals went down ok on the NMF with a good dousing of Microsol and set. There are a lot of stencils to apply on the camo which just won’t be seen so I probably will leave them out.... we’ll see. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyJammedKenny! Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Looks great! What kind of clear-coat gloss do you use? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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