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Fulcrums


zebra

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Two of my favourite aircraft are the MiG-29 and Su-27. I've been smitten with the MiG-29 ever since I saw it for the first time at Farnborough in 1988, and have fond memories (and not enough photos) of Fulcrums and Flankers at Farnborough and Fairford in the 90s. So I can't explain why I've never built a model of either of them.

 

Fast forward 30-odd years and a Zvezda Su-33 came into my possession (thanks again @vppelt68). That prompted me to think about all the Flankers and Fulcrums I want to build and, having gone a bit mad in lockdown, I built up a stash of them in 1/72 pretty quickly. So time to get building. I'm starting with two MiG-29s, and will get onto a couple of Flankers next.

 

These are the Zvezda and Revell 1/72 MiG-29S (9.13) Flanker C - actually the same kit although I've found Revell has made at least one change to it. Box shots:

Revell MiG-29

 

Zvezda MiG-29

 

These are going to be fairly quick builds with no aftermarket apart from decals. I have a couple of Linden Hill sheets and a Begemot sheet so lots of options to choose from. One of them will be in Uzbekistan colours, not made a decision on the other but I'm leaning towards a Soviet aircraft from the late 80s.

 

I've made a start. The Zvezda instructions have you assemble the main airframe components first, then move onto the cockpit. The unconventional build order works in this case as the cockpit tub is moulded into the upper fuselage. So I've got the fuselage and wings assembled pretty quickly, I've also got started on painting some cockpit bits but not photographed them yet. Here's how they're looking tonight:

 

MiG-29 WIP

 

thanks for looking

Julian

 

 

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Really interested in this Julian as the Mig-29  has long been a favourite of mine, fantastic aircraft.

I have a couple of 1/48 ones in the stash but no 1/72 ones and I believe this kit is meant to be one of the most accurate out there so I want to know how well it goes together, rather well from what I can see so far. I think I have the 1/48 version of the decal sheet that you have, I do have a soft spot for the less well known ex Soviet republics. I do also really like your second choice of a Soviet aircraft from the late 80's and would like to point you in the direction of this site;

 

http://www.easternorbat.com/html/soviet_115th_regiment_mig-29s_.html

 

The site is a wealth of information on Soviet/WARPAC aircraft and has lots of pictures that I have't seen anywhere else.

 

I shall follow your builds with great interest.

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4 hours ago, modelling minion said:

Really interested in this Julian as the Mig-29  has long been a favourite of mine, fantastic aircraft.

I have a couple of 1/48 ones in the stash but no 1/72 ones and I believe this kit is meant to be one of the most accurate out there so I want to know how well it goes together, rather well from what I can see so far. I think I have the 1/48 version of the decal sheet that you have, I do have a soft spot for the less well known ex Soviet republics. I do also really like your second choice of a Soviet aircraft from the late 80's and would like to point you in the direction of this site;

 

http://www.easternorbat.com/html/soviet_115th_regiment_mig-29s_.html

 

The site is a wealth of information on Soviet/WARPAC aircraft and has lots of pictures that I have't seen anywhere else.

 

I shall follow your builds with great interest.


Thanks - I’ve got a GWH 9.13 in the stash as well but 1/72 makes a lot more sense when I’m building several. My impression of this kit so far is that it’s very nice and I doubt it’s going to give me any problems. I’ve got an SMT in the stash as well which will probably be appearing in Algerian markings in the Africa GB.

 

thanks for the link - those photos look a lot like the Soviet one I’m planning for the second one.

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A bit more progress today - been concentrating on the CF-188 though - intakes are on. Whilst these fit pretty well I'd have preferred them to be a single part - each intake (actually the full engine trunk) is in two parts - one for the side, one for the rest of it - and whilst it's easy enough to get them to fit, it does leave a seam to clean up and a little filling to do in a couple of spots. Anyway here's how they look tonight:

 

MiG-29 WIP

 

With a bit of luck I'll have two complete airframes this time tomorrow.

 

cheers

Julian

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Back from my holiday and back in business. Not got a lot done today but they're looking a lot like MiG-29s now:

 

MiG-29 WIP

 

Back to work tomorrow so time will be limited, but hopefully will be able to move things along and get some paint on them this week.

 

cheers

Julian

 

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First coats of paint on. The brown one (that's supposed to be sand but looks a bit more like mud to me) is going to be in the Soviet Frontal Aviation scheme, and the light beige is for the Uzbekistan AF scheme.

 

MiG-29 WIP

 

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On 1/25/2021 at 7:18 AM, Col. said:

Going to be two radicaly different schemes for this pair?

Very different! The Soviet one is similar to the camouflage that would have been more commonly seen on a MiG-23 or Su-25, whilst the Uzbek one is a pretty unique mix of light beige, light grey and green. 

 

I got the next colour on each of them today. I tried a new (to me) product - AK camouflage putty - and was pretty impressed. It's very easy to manipulate and shape, easier to use than blu-tac, and doesn't leave any residue. The Akan paint is new to me as well - I'm a bit less impressed to be honest, the colours are good but the finish seems to be very fragile and has already shown itself to be susceptible to scratches. Going to have to be very careful with it.

 

Here's how they're looking tonight:

MiG-29 WIP

 

cheers

Julian

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It's interesting to note how the simple addition of a few colours in a camouflage pattern can alter the look of an aircraft. Hopefully the fragility of those Akan paints isn't going to give you issues in the future Julian.

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Grrrr... I'm not a fan of these Akan water-based acrylics at all! The latest coat didn't go down at all well - the stuff just doesn't want to stick to any surface, whether it's my original primer or, as in this case, a previous coat of the same kind of paint. And I've got no confidence at all that it's not going to lift off under masking tape. So these two Fulcrums are going to have their paint stripped off (shouldn't be a problem, a gentle breeze will probably do it!) and will be put on the back burner while I source suitable alternatives from a brand that I trust.

 

There's something about 2020. I had a much higher than usual failure rate last year, and these two (plus my Noratlas) don't seem to want me to finish them! Maybe the modelling gods are telling me to get on with my 2021 builds!

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Back in business! A combination of some tried and trusted brands (AK real colour, Mr Paint and SMS) and a busy day with the airbrush has got me right back on track:

 

MiG-29 WIP

 

Just a few touch-ups needed, but I'll do that once I've got the rest of the painting done - one more camouflage colour to do on the Soviet one, then the undersides, radomes and dielectric panels etc.

 

thanks for looking

Julian

 

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