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Desert Adversaries - Airfix MiG-17F "Fresco-C" Mali and Burkina Faso 1/72 - 17may21 see the last post


RidgeRunner

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Thanks a million chaps :) @PeterB @Wez and @Sky Keg

 

I now think my rushing and ham-fisted assembly played a part. Sadly I had so much cemented and set before I realised my errors. I now see that the nose intake on my build had ended up ovoid! I will see how much I can backtrack and start again. That’ll not be for a few days as I have a few days of family stuff.... Back soon :)

 

Martin

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Hmmmm...  have to say that I'm not too impressed by what I'm seeing of the Airfix kit. It still seems to be a huge improvement over the other available kits but I was hoping for something much better.

Said that, I'm sure that with the right skills, patience and dedication it's possible to build a great model out of it, as demonstrated by @Sky Keg

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4 hours ago, Giorgio N said:

Hmmmm...  have to say that I'm not too impressed by what I'm seeing of the Airfix kit. It still seems to be a huge improvement over the other available kits but I was hoping for something much better.

Said that, I'm sure that with the right skills, patience and dedication it's possible to build a great model out of it, as demonstrated by @Sky Keg

Thank you Giorgio.  You are too kind my friend :like:

 

You are correct regarding the Airfix Fresco.  I too, was disappointed with the kit.  

 

Mike

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Sadly my attempts at recovery haven’t proved worthwhile. Given the tolerances I dont think it is worth trying to get “second hand” bits in to a new fuselage. Therefore I have relegated the parts of my first attempt to the spares box and will start again. I suspect that my placement of the lead weights compromised the fit somewhere.

 

I picked up a replacement Airfix kit for around £11 so not a very expensive exercise. I might use the “spare” fuselage I now have to prove the concept of merging the Airfix and Bilek.
 

Back soon ...... Martin

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7 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

I might use the “spare” fuselage I now have to prove the concept of merging the Airfix and Bilek.

 

'Every cloud' and all that. I'm sure some of the parts will come in handy. And like you say, at least it's not a mega expensive or hard to come by kit.

 

Good luck with the other projects.

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Right, I'm off ........ again!

 

I was tempted by Wez's @Wez PE post so I ordred three sets. These arrived today :)

 

 

fresco12

 

Having got the MiG-21 and LeO tucked away for a weeks nap before letting out of the cupboard again, I had some time to get one set of PE on to my Mk2 version of first build. As you can see, the background colour around the various side panel instruments is a much lighter grey than the Humbrol 164 that I have previously used. I therefore made a decision to try to get closer to that colour, opting for Humbrol 64 instead. My other option was to paint around each object of each panel. I decided that was too painful. I just dont have the patience. So, out with the H64! 

 

So far I have the sidepanels attached (super glued). I rounded the corners and edges once the glue had set and then used PPP to fill the various inevitable gaps between the PE and the kit parts. Once dried and wiped in to shape I painted the cockpit with the H64.  It isnt a perfect martch but I reckon it'll look okay once everything is together.

 

fresco13

 

Once dry I will go over the grey with a light wash and some dry brushing. I hope that will bring the two together more.  After that it'll be installation of the instrument panel (PE), various levers and hand-pulls in the cockpit. Then the two halves can go together and I will think about weights! ;)

 

Martin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • RidgeRunner changed the title to Desert Adversaries - Airfix MiG-17F "Fresco-C" Mali and Burkina Faso 1/72 - 02mar21 PE arrived, cockpit restarted

Hmmm ..... while packing away some paints etc I have discovered a better match for the PE colours. It is Colourcoats Blue Grey from the Soviet range:

 

fresco14

 

It looks like I will be re-painting once the H64 has dried! :(

 

Martin

 

adding @Smudge @modelling minion as they had already seen my earlier post

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2 minutes ago, RidgeRunner said:

Hmmm ..... while packing away some paints etc I have discovered a better match for the PE colours. It is Colourcoats Blue Grey from the Soviet range:

 

fresco14

 

It looks like I will be re-painting once the H64 has dried! :(

 

Martin

 

adding @Smudge @modelling minion as they had already seen my earlier post

Doesn't necessarily mean your original colour is wrong as Eduard seems to use the same grey for everything on the pre-coloured etch. I have no doubts that you can paint around the etch without any issues Martin. 

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6 hours ago, modelling minion said:

Doesn't necessarily mean your original colour is wrong as Eduard seems to use the same grey for everything on the pre-coloured etch. I have no doubts that you can paint around the etch without any issues Martin. 

True, mate, I could but why spend good money on PE and then paint around the detail with my shakey hands ;). The Blue Grey actually looks good. I'll do a test before committing to anything. :)

 

Martin

 

Edit: added image 

 

 

MiG-17 cockpit

 

 

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Yep, that looks like a good colour for a Mig cockpit.

 

Slightly off topic here, Martin. Although I think it has come up regarding Mig-17's. What colour do you use or would recommend for Soviet era wheel hubs? The green colour. I think I've seen it referred to as Tractor Green.

 

Cheers.

 

 

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16 hours ago, Smudge said:

Yep, that looks like a good colour for a Mig cockpit.

 

Slightly off topic here, Martin. Although I think it has come up regarding Mig-17's. What colour do you use or would recommend for Soviet era wheel hubs? The green colour. I think I've seen it referred to as Tractor Green.

 

Cheers.

 

 

You are right, mate, "Tractor" Green is often considered correct, and it may well be. However, with time, weathering, wear and tear, and different maintenance oprators involved, the colours gets very varied. I use Colourcoats Vert. To me it shows well for the scale. I then give the wheels a few applications of Tamiya weathering shades depending on the theatre the aircraft was operating in. I use Vert for the fin tip di-electric panels and nose cones too.

 

Martin

 

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On 02/03/2021 at 15:51, RidgeRunner said:

 I use Colourcoats Vert. To me it shows well for the scale.

 

Thanks mate. I do have a few of their tins. Next time I'm putting an order together I'll remember to add a tin if Vert. Probably need some of the Soviet Block stuff :)

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36 minutes ago, Smudge said:

 

Thanks mate. I do have a few of their tins. Next time I'm putting an order together I'll remember to add a tin if Vert. Probably need some of the Soviet Block stuff :)

I got the Blue Grey on the cockpit today and it is pretty much bang on:). I’ll post photos once I’ve got the cockpit built :)

 

Martin

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4 hours ago, Smudge said:

Probably need some of the Soviet Block stuff

Strangely enough if you live near any branches of either "The Works" or "The Range" then you should find them selling a brand of cheap acrylic paint  (Anita's all purpose acrylic paints) that are around £1 and a couple of their paints are great for Soviet stuff. Their "Ocean Blue" is what I have used on the cockpit of my Hinds and they do a green that is a good match for the tractor green used on wheels and dielectric panels.

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21 hours ago, modelling minion said:

Strangely enough if you live near any branches of either "The Works" or "The Range" then you should find them selling a brand of cheap acrylic paint  (Anita's all purpose acrylic paints) that are around £1 and a couple of their paints are great for Soviet stuff. Their "Ocean Blue" is what I have used on the cockpit of my Hinds and they do a green that is a good match for the tractor green used on wheels and dielectric panels.

Cue a raid on the kids craft box after they have got out of the bath!

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A bit more time on the Fresco :)

 

The cockpit halves are glued now but I need to add the instrumnent panel, gunsight, control column and seat. The latter will be added after painting. With this now dried I have dry tested the fit, given my distaster before. It looks to me that the cockpit can be fitted with the minimum of cement (in case of misalignment) and that it all comes together okay. Here are the bits:

 

 

fresco20

 

fresco18

 

fresco16

 

I now need to work out how to get the 20g (Airfix's recommendation) in to the available space! 20g of fishing weights and IKEA shelf lugs are in the milk cap! :(

 

fresco15

 

Martin

 

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  • RidgeRunner changed the title to Desert Adversaries - Airfix MiG-17F "Fresco-C" Mali and Burkina Faso 1/72 - 05mar21 dry fitting the fuselage and weights!

Well, so far, so good :). I managed to cram weights in just about every place. My crude test of balancing the dry-assembled fuselage on a biro at the mainwheel fulcrum point seems to show it is okay. 🤞I then glued the jet pipe in place and used minimal cement to hold the cockpit. All seemed okay alignment-wise. I then chose to cement the cannon bay cover in place on the port side. The reason being that it seems to sit slightly under the level of the fuselage, giving a pronounced lips. Doing it at this stage means that there is plenty of room to manipulate it and get it as flush as possible.  

 

fresco21

 

Dry fitting the two fuselage halves seems to show that everything is coming together okay. The only slight reservation is about the fit of the upper fuselage around the rear of the cockpit aperture. I think the tight engineering and production of this kit doesn't allow for much paint on the joints. I think that somewhere - not yet discovered - there is a minute excess somewhere. I'll keep looking.

 

The side you see below does not have the cannon cover cemented yet and, therefore, you can see a slight lip. I dont want to count my chickens just yet but I am feeling much bettter about this Airfix kit now. I think it is okay but needs careful handling. Note to self and a lesson learned!!!!!

 

fresco22

 

Once these parts have cured I will get the lower fuselage glazing in place, for which I have painted the internal surround black, and then close up the fuselage. 

 

That's it for today. I can start my weekend feeling much better about this :)

 

Martin

 

 

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  • RidgeRunner changed the title to Desert Adversaries - Airfix MiG-17F "Fresco-C" Mali and Burkina Faso 1/72 - 05mar21 dry fitting the fuselage, weights added, jet pipe and cannon cover installed

Hi all!

 

A bit more done on the Fresco, and she is now looking like an aeroplane! :)

 

As I work more and more on her I realise that there are many fine tolerances to be aware of and as a result you need to keep sanding sticks handy to get things together. Even with that I have still encoutered resistance to closing up. This is particularly evident on the upper fuselage behind and ahead of the cockpit void. It is nohing that a little filler can't resolve. 

 

First of all I completed the closing of the fuselage. I believe that doing this in stages is the key with this kit, easing parts in to the correct position and cementing as you go, is the best practice here. 

 

After the fuselage I got the forward part of the starboard cannon cover attached, again after some manipulation. This still leaves a little gap along the join but either filler or Gloop (dissolved sprue) will sort that out, I think. After that the nose ring went on. You can see, and @viperchief reported this, that there is a gap. The ring, or correctly "part-ring", should be cemented bit by bit to ensure to stays flush with the fuselage skin. A small shim will be needed to close up the gap. 

 

The rudders are on, and correctly canted to the right. I also installed the tailplanes. These need some sanding on the pegs to get them to go in fully. 

 

 

fresco24

 

The speed brakes are now installed. Again, the sanding stick is needed to reduce the thickness of the plastic and stop them protruding beyond the level of the surrounding skin. 

 

 

fresco26

 

The wings are on! Remember to install the small transparency under the port wing AND drill out the location positions for the pylons. 

 

 

fresco29

 

fresco30

 

That's about it for today. She is curing for a while before I tackle the filler, where needed, etc. That'll be tomorrow's job.

 

Martin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • RidgeRunner changed the title to Desert Adversaries - Airfix MiG-17F "Fresco-C" Mali and Burkina Faso 1/72 - 08mar21 she looks like an aeroplane! :)

A little more done :)

 

I reached for the plastikard and got shims in the gap around the nose ring and the gap along the edge of the cannon cover, pulling that flush with the surrounding fuselage skin. I will get them shaped once cured.

 

 

fresco33

 

I have also taken the Gloop stick to a number of other gaps, namely the wing/fuselage upper joints, the fuselage upper behind the cockpit and the fuselage upper ahead of the cockpit. The area behind the cockpit will, once sanded back, take a PE piece as a cover. I also drilled out thr three chaff dispenser holes in the starboard side of the fin but I got them a bit skewed. I have therefore refilled with Gloop (for strength) and will re-drill them. It may be obvious, but I must say it in case it isnt, but you need to mask around areas to be filled with Gloop to avoid spoiling surrounding detail. Dont worry, though, about stringing because that is generally dry befoe it hits any parts of the model and can, therefore, be removed easily.

 

fresco32

 

with tape removed:

 

fresco34

 

Right, that's me done! Tomorrow will be a bit more ..... 🤞

 

Martin

 

Edit: Comment - I build very, very few Airfix kits. It was my staple when I started buildig in the 1960s, but not now. This one has shown me - assuming this is the norm - that they (Airfix) have an aversion to neat crisp edges and good joins..... :(    

 

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A little more done :)

 

The first task was to go around her and, using Squadron White, I filled major gaps, such as there were any. Thereafter, once dried, I sanded these down, along with the Gloop-filled areas on the wings and around the cockpit. I then installed the pitot housings on the wing tips, after removing the pitots themselves. After that, for the finer gaps I used PPP and smoothed that off with a wet Cotton bud. The cannons were removed from the three blisters and 0.3mm holes drilled as pilots for the brass replacements. I also drilled out the chaff holes on the starboard side of the fin. 

 

Next I installed the gun sight. It seems to me that, though, that Aifix have it positioned incorrectly. They say to put it on top of the instrument panel. However, photos show it higher and effectively sat within the coaming area. I've opted for that position and extended the step on the kit part to get it to sit where I think it should be. I have also seen that the sight had supporting brackets on each side and these were covered with a loose material, held down by spring clips. I've mimicked this with two short lengths of 0.5mm square rod and a little Milliput. The area behind the seat has also had the pierced metal plate attached.

 

Before adding the Milliput and "brackets":

 

fresco39

 

Millput and brackets in place:

fresco37

 

Underside

fresco36

    

 

fresco35

 

 Once the Millput is hardened I will paint the area above the IP and fit the masked windscreen. It will then be a matter of getting some foam inthe cockpit, masking the jet pipe and applying some thin primer. Soon after that will be the first paint!!! :) 

 

Martin

 

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  • RidgeRunner changed the title to Desert Adversaries - Airfix MiG-17F "Fresco-C" Mali and Burkina Faso 1/72 - 09mar21 filled and sanded, gunsight, cannons, some PE and ready for priming :)

Some of the more recent Airfix kits  I've built give the impression that they aren't very good at right angles. Or at least, not sharply defined right angles, whether miniature or larger parts. The tight tolerances of their kits really do require better tooling for the moulds.

 

Cheers,

Mark.

Edited by lasermonkey
Removed aberrant apostrophe.
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33 minutes ago, lasermonkey said:

Some of the more recent Airfix kit's I've built give the impression that they aren't very good at right angles. Or at least, not sharply defined right angles, whether miniature or larger parts. The tight tolerances of their kits really do require better tooling for the moulds.

 

Cheers,

Mark.

Their idea of panel lining is a joke, too! Give me SH, Modelsvit, KP, etc any day ........... Maybe its the UK's yellow jacket brigade removing the "sharp" edges in case a child tries to build one ...  If a child tried to build this Fresco it would end up a real mess ... like my first attempt! 

 

Martin

 

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