Soviet sentinel

[exdraken]

Fantastic work on this rare bird!

[Angus Tura]

This has been passing me by Col. Looking good but also something like hard work. It does look a bit more bearable that the Amodel.

 

Alan

[Andwil]

16 hours ago, Hewy said:

love those seats,i don't think they'd help the pilots field of vision  if a nato plane was creeping up on the fiddlers sides or rear though

I don’t think the designers of the Fiddler ever envisioned it as a dog fighter though!

[Col.]

Finally stopped messing around with the cockpit parts and stuck them all together, along with the nose undercarriage bay, in the forward fuselage halves. Thankfully the fit of this assembly was straightforward.

 

 

 

Been seam checking and only a couple of tiny spots to sort out. A balance check with this section push-fitted to the main airframe assembly suggests its centre of gravity is close to the main undercarriage so while Trumpeter don't mention a need for nose weight some is going in anyway as they've already lied to me on this one!

[Natter]

Mmmm... looking at what yiu have had to do so far, is this really any better than the A-Model kit?

[Jabba]

A lot of work in the cockpit to get that right. Also the kit seems to throw up some oddities with shape and fitment of parts issues.

[Col.]

9 hours ago, Natter said:

Mmmm... looking at what yiu have had to do so far, is this really any better than the A-Model kit?

In comparison to the A-Model kit this one offers the advantage of better molding quality and greater detail but is far from a perfect representation of the type; at best a good approximation that potentially requires less work to create an accurate model.

2 hours ago, Jabba said:

A lot of work in the cockpit to get that right. Also the kit seems to throw up some oddities with shape and fitment of parts issues.

The most surprising thing for me is that nobody picked up on the inaccuracies in the various in-box reviews I read. Granted some, such as the wing leading edge profile, are not immediately obvious but others, the intakes in particular, are clear in any good photos of the type.

Those bloody awful aforementioned intakes are causing this project to loose momentum while time is spent considering how to best tackle them. At the moment I'm vacillating between cutting off and scratch-building new intake supports and splitter plates with correct shock cones blended into the kit intake parts or simply gluing the inaccurate mess together and moving on.

[PeterB]

Hi Col,

 

If I were doing it then I think I would just try to modify the actual cones and leave it at that. Not worth losing any sleep over it - I always say my kits are  just an "approximation" to the real thing!

 

Pete

Edited December 22, 2020 by PeterB

[Hewy]

 Thats a Great looking cockpit col

[trickyrich]

she's coming along very nicely Col, I like all you mod/detailing work. 

 

My new fav resin model company, JetMADS is planning to release a 1/48th monster of this aircraft.  That'll end up in my stash for sure!   

[Col.]

On 12/22/2020 at 1:08 PM, PeterB said:

Hi Col,

If I were doing it then I think I would just try to modify the actual cones and leave it at that. Not worth losing any sleep over it - I always say my kits are  just an "approximation" to the real thing!

Pete

To be honest Pete I've spent too much time dithering on this one issue. Major work to replace the whole assembly would give the best result but I simply don't have the psychological energy to that effort yet doubt I'll be satisfied with anything less. All of which is academic given I don't have any time to work on it at the moment.

 

On 12/26/2020 at 6:26 AM, Hewy said:

 Thats a Great looking cockpit col

Thank you Glynn.

 

5 hours ago, trickyrich said:

she's coming along very nicely Col, I like all you mod/detailing work. 

My new fav resin model company, JetMADS is planning to release a 1/48th monster of this aircraft.  That'll end up in my stash for sure!   

This thing in 72nd scale is bigger than the 48th scale Tornado so it'll be huge in 48th! You're gonna need a bigger shelf Rich  

[Jabba]

Col not wanting to disrupt your thread, I have put some picture in my build of the A Model and Trumpeter intakes to show the different sizes.

[Col.]

16 hours ago, Jabba said:

Col not wanting to disrupt your thread, I have put some picture in my build of the A Model and Trumpeter intakes to show the different sizes.

Can't get the link to work but the intake shapes are clearly different to what Trumpeter have produced 

 

Просмотр картинки : #1124721/ Ту-128 "Скрипач" - двойной подход к "Тушке'' (scalemodels.ru)

 

[Col.]

Rather than have this one taunt me any more the intakes were tackled at last. They should have a radius where the splitter plate curves to form the intake mouth as well as a shallow angle where the plate meets the shock cone. Neither of these features are represented in the Trumpeter parts. The shock cone is also too broad an angle but the first step to making any progress was choosing to ignore that issue in favour of moving this project forward. It'll still bother me but not as much as this one lingering on the Shame Shelf.

 

 

There's sufficient material on the splitter plate lip to reshape it for a representation of the angles with some careful file work. After cleaning up the ejector pin marks inside the intake those parts were glued together and some thick glue ran into the corners. Once that was dried a little filing and sanding of the outer edge radiused the corners to look more akin to the real intakes. Not perfect but a sufficient compromise to move forward.

 

 

 

 

This one is a big beast. That's a 6" rule resting on the wing.

Edited December 28, 2020 by Col.

[Andwil]

Big and mean and very Russian looking.  Great!

 

AW

[Col.]

10 minutes ago, Andwil said:

Big and mean and very Russian looking.  Great!

 

AW

The very reasons why I was first attracted to it That and a set of F Big Missiles

[Col.]

New Year, same project, new progress. Took a little time away from the Fiddler to finish something else for 2020...

 

 

...which inspired me to get back into this one,

Thinking about those fragile undercarriage components led me to consider fitting the doors as a way of affording them more protection. The nose bay doors were straightforward enough but need the leg to be in position as it doesn't clear the hinges and therefore can't fold back any more,

 

 

So that's a bit counterproductive

The main bay doors, however, are a longer story; lots of cleaning up required to get them prepared for fitting and then thankfully something lurking in the back of my mind made me check reference photos. Trumpeter would have us fit all doors hanging down. Tupolev, on the other hand, built the real thing so that most of the main doors closed after the gear had cycled. So all the hinges need to be removed from eight of the twelve doors in order that they can be fitted closed. Thankfully once that is done they do fit well in the close position,

 

 

 

See the two small doors either side of each leg? They're hateful little gits that need lots of trimming to their tiny hinges and encouragement to fit. With hindsight they really should be fitted before the wings are put together. Was about to say if I ever build this kit again that's what I'd do but no, I'll be happy to have only one of these in my display cabinet, much as I love the type.

Edited January 23, 2021 by Col.

[modelling minion]

That really is looking great Col, you did a good job on getting those u/c doors to fit so nicely.

You only really need one Tu-128 in your collection, its not as if they come in a great variety of schemes is it.

[Col.]

6 minutes ago, modelling minion said:

That really is looking great Col, you did a good job on getting those u/c doors to fit so nicely.

You only really need one Tu-128 in your collection, its not as if they come in a great variety of schemes is it.

Thank you Craig and yes, I like your thinking, one is enough to illustrate the variety of schemes worn by this type

[Hewy]

👍 good progress  col , must remember, wheels up when i build this kit then, and to  get plenty of silver paint in, 

[Jabba]

Well done with the U/C doors, this whole kit is becoming a pain to build.

[RidgeRunner]

Its nice to see you flying along with @Jabba, Col

 

Martin

 

[Col.]

Has it really been 21 days since I last updated this thread? In GB terms that's four pages ago!  Oops.

So what have I been doing in the meantime? Well, sadly, not much model-making 'cause life gets that way sometimes. Here, however, is a minor update with what turned out to be a far more major and involved job than first envisioned...

 

 

See those towel rails either side of the pylons? They're not for drying the ground-crew's washing on (although I can't guarantee that didn't happen as well) but rather missile guide rails. They are also bloody difficult to make. Each rail is supported by 7 tiny struts. Each strut is made from .010 by .020 plastic. In order to mount each strut I drilled two .015 holes and then linked them together with a scalpel and file. So that's 2 holes x 7 x 4. 56 holes. I only broke one drill and both my eyes in the process of that task  Afterwards 28 struts were gradually fitted and trimmed. Then 8 rails were glued very carefully to the strut ends. It took a while.

The rails are slightly oversized at .020 but I don't have and couldn't be bothered sourcing .010 rod since they'll be largely hidden by the fins of the FBMs. The effect is sufficient for me. Next up is a check for any other protuberances Trumpeter have neglected.

[CliffB]

Fiddly stuff Col 

[Jabba]

Very good work in getting those rail right. I will possibly cheat with those and have a look in my A Model kit to see if they are there.