Mark's F-13

[MarkSH]

Hello all,

 

I have had this kit for ages, the only other MiG 21 I have ever built was the ancient Airfix kit which I probably did around the mid 70s.  So I was delighted to see an opportunity to build the Trumpy kit...less excited however to see that the STGB was going to be at the start of the year along with pretty much all of the other GBs I wanted to partake in.  I saw someone else on the forum say that their modelling year was "front loaded" with GBs and I know what they meant!

 

Anyway going to give it a go nonetheless. 

 

 

This will be strictly OOB as the archetypical Soviet aircraft depicted on the box art and just like the Mig 21s I remember from Ice Station Zebra....except when they mysteriously morphed into F4 Phantoms of course,

So no 3D printing....well maybe some tyres coz there are only vinyl ones in the kit....no AM extras and no naughty detail scratch building...straight out of the box....promise!

 

This is going to be a busy year.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[modelling minion]

Great choice Mark, I will probably be building the same kit myself and like yourself plan on doing it as much OOTB as I can. I might add a resin seat but am unsure yet and as you pointed out the rubber tyres supplied by Trumpeter I might also need to invest in some replacement wheels too.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Welcome aboard sir, a 13 is always welcome as the grandaddy of all Mig-21’s. Rubber tires hmmm, why any manufacturer still does that I don't know ? 3D or A/M resin sound to be your best chance. 

Edited February 8, 2022 by Corsairfoxfouruncle

[MarkSH]

12 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Rubber tires hmmm, why any manufacturer still does that I don't know ? 3D or A/M resin sound to be your best chance. 

Totally agree, can't understand the idea of even including a vinyl set along side the injection parts, but on their own, as you say hmmm! Anyway that being said, the rest of the kit looks very nice.

 

I have 3D modelled some replacements for the supplied tyres as I suggested, took under an hour:

The right-hand model is the base mesh created in Rhino3D and the left-hand one is the same geometry after some sculpting in Blender to create the slightly weighted look complete with a flat spot.  Both are closed polysurfaces so should print just fine...hopefully!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Roundels Everywhere]

1 hour ago, MarkSH said:

The right-hand model is the base mesh created in Rhino3D and the left-hand one is the same geometry after some sculpting in Blender to create the slightly weighted look complete with a flat spot.  Both are closed polysurfaces so should print just fine...hopefully!

They're looking really good - I hadn't thought of supplementing kit models with 3d print, is it something you've been doing for a while, how did you get started?

[MarkSH]

28 minutes ago, Roundels Everywhere said:

I hadn't thought of supplementing kit models with 3d print, is it something you've been doing for a while, how did you get started?

I am not new to 3D modelling as I use a range of software for work as an Illustrator. I am new to 3D printing having only acquired a printer (Anycubic Photon Mono) around the middle of last year.

 

I am using it quite a bit for, as you say, supplementing kits, its made quite a difference to my Stranraer build for the Matchbox GB:

I am also trying to do some models for print as standalones, currently working on my own take of Gerry Anderson's Fireball XL5:

 

 

Its a fascinating process and very enjoyable when it works.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

 

 

[modelling minion]

Those replacement tyres look really good Mark, might need to tap you up for a pair of those if I can't get any anywhere else.

I really like the look of your Fireball XL-5 models, very smart.

[MarkSH]

@modelling minion, I'll do a set of prints and see what they come out like and verify that they fit correctly with the kit wheel hubs.  If they are OK, you're than welcome to a set.

[modelling minion]

You, sir, are a genuine star.👍

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

4 hours ago, MarkSH said:

I am not new to 3D modelling as I use a range of software for work as an Illustrator. I am new to 3D printing having only acquired a printer (Anycubic Photon Mono) around the middle of last year.

Hmmm someday In the future if you're interested I need a set of truck tires in 1/24 scale. It would be a total of six tires with rims. I can send you photo’s, dimensions and what not

[MarkSH]

34 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Hmmm someday In the future if you're interested I need a set of truck tires in 1/24 scale. It would be a total of six tires with rims. I can send you photo’s, dimensions and what not

Yeah, more than happy to have a look.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

13 minutes ago, MarkSH said:

Yeah, more than happy to have a look.

I will gather the info and D/M when its all together. 

[John]

That looks like a nice kit. I've been swithering about it, but I might take the plunge now.

 

J

[modelling minion]

Turns out I don't have this kit Mark, what I do have is the J-7A Chinese version based on it, though I need to check if I can build an F-13 from what is in the kit. Might have to fall back on either this or my -UM trainer.

[MarkSH]

Evening all,

 

I made a start as one would expect in the cockpit.  As I mentioned earlier no AM parts or such like just out of the box, however.... whilst the cockpit is very nice OOB  the seat is a little lacking in details so I have busied it up a bit , the kit comes with a little fret of PE but the seat belts contained therein were rather spindly so I made some foil belts as well as a textured fabric backing.  I found that the cover foil from Philadelphia soft cheese (other soft cheeses are available) has a very nice 'knurled' embossing so two tubs of Philly later I got this:

 

 

My favourite New York Baked Cheesecake with homemade compote Yum!

 

But I digress I also retained the foil:

 

....and started work on the seat

 

I replaced the kit's head protection cover? with one made out of some PE fret as the kit effort would have scaled out to about 48 mm thick, the buckles are left over PE from a Blenheim exterior detailing set and a seat pull handle from lead wire.

 

 

The cockpit components all painted up (done in a medium dark grey as I believe the early Mig 21s did not receive the more colourful blue/green colouring), pin washed and dry-brushed.

The seat was painted from reference photos as I could not find any images to support the Trumpeter paint callouts at all.

 

I have added some left over PE placards from various other builds.

 

The cockpit all fits together very nicely.

 

...and added lots of blobs of colour just for interest

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[modelling minion]

Wow!

That is an excellent start Mark, absolutely fantastic work. Your added details on the seat are superb and really bring it to life and the instrument panel is great, in fact the whole cockpit is and you are quite right about the colour, no icky green until part way through the PF series.

The cheesecake looks fantastic too, making me feel hungry!

[arfa1983]

Yes that is fantastic! 

[MarkSH]

1 hour ago, arfa1983 said:

Yes that is fantastic! 

Thank you it was really delicious, but did I really need the extra cream!?

[modelling minion]

57 minutes ago, MarkSH said:

Thank you it was really delicious, but did I really need the extra cream!?

Always!😁

[arfa1983]

6 hours ago, MarkSH said:

Thank you it was really delicious, but did I really need the extra cream!?

Cockpit is not too shabby either! 

[Wings unlevel]

Very tasty so far!

[franky boy]

Great start Mark. 
 

You guessed what I’ll be stopping to buy for desert on the way home tonight......

 

James 

[Johnson]

Great start, very good cockpit.

 

And, the Fireball XL-5... Wow! (a child of the 60s)

 

Keep up the good work.

[Hewy]

Top job, the cockpit looks very smart👍

[Troy Smith]

On 10/02/2022 at 11:25, John said:

That looks like a nice kit. I've been swithering about it,

 

On 09/02/2022 at 10:15, MarkSH said:

Anyway that being said, the rest of the kit looks very nice.

A Hungarian MiG obsessive (now frozen here) was not impressed.   

It's a 'devil in the detail' thing,  in that the detail are mostly wrong. 

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/257354-148-trumpy-mig-21-f-13/

It rambles on, and in the end...

 

"I dont have any developments for the simple reason that I dont think there is any point in spending time on this Trump kit. Sorry about this. I had made a lot of measurements and got to the same conclusion as Floggerman, everything is there on the kit, but almost everything is wrong either in shape or size. On the previous page I had a photo taken in March from overhead of the wing (just as I did for about every square centimeter of the real aircraft) with my friend Pali we had measured the wings and everything is wrong on it, the proportions, the size, the shape of the aileron, the flaps. I think they have taken some kind of general drawing and used it in the design of the kit saying a few centimeters here and there would not make a change. This is sad, but its the way some of the kits designed today. I say SOME as there are a few manufacturers who care about proper research.

It would be possible to carry on with page after page of comparison photos, showing the kit and the original, giving dimensional data, but I dont see any point in this. It would be perfect for a future kit manufacture, aftermarket manufacturers, but I dont intend to do all the research instead of them. Also based on most of the replies to this and other topics where such inaccuracies are pointed out, most people simply dont care about them and say that the kit is good for them as it is. So why do any of the work on photo comparisons, measurements???????????? I only get bad press at the end."

 

 

So, if you want a 1/48th F-13 before Eduard finally get around to doing one, and are not too obsessive, it will do the job.  

 

It builds well, so it is a 'nice kit'   but even though they have them in Chinese museums, and actually built them, they didn't look at those....  There is a reason Trumpeter get a bad rep.

 

On 11/02/2022 at 18:44, modelling minion said:

what I do have is the J-7A Chinese version based on it, though I need to check if I can build an F-13 from what is in the kit.

I'd check sprue shots, but, given the above, I suspect the J7-A is basically the same kit.

this suggest you can

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/262939-trumpeter-148-mig-21-f13/

 

Finally, I don't know if you are aware, but there was a famous incident  where an Iraqi pilot defected to Israel with his MiG-21 F-13, with the help of Mossad,  which was then done in Israeli markings,  coded '007' ... after James Bond

 

Extensively tested by the Israeli's, as this was the era of the War of Attrition,  and then lent to the USAF as well.

 

story here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Diamond

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/37405/how-israel-got-this-mig-21-that-sean-connery-posed-next-to-was-like-a-real-life-bond-movie

 

there is an extensive decals sheet for this as well

https://modelingmadness.com/others/decals/wingman/wmkd48007.htm

 

instructions are here, 

https://www.scalemates.com/products/img/1/7/3/1030173-13-instructions.pdf

 

I mention this as it makes for an eye catching scheme with a fascination story....

 

Model  coming along well Mark