Scargsy Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 My second entry is this - it models one of the two MiG-21s modifed for use as a testbed for the Tu-144 (Concordski) wing design. First time building a Modelsvit kit - I couldn't find any exact masking set for the kit, I'm hopeful that the Eduard mask kit for the Modelsvit MiG-21F is a close enough match to either use directly or if not an easy modification with some minor chopping and changing. Other than that I plan on just doing a straight OOB build, another attempt at NMF. Progress will begin once my Bomber/Ground Attack GB Catalina is finished and literally out of the way on the workbench! 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 Very nice choice, there were lots of one off prototypes and experimental designs based on the Mig-21 so its great to have one in the GB. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 Happy to see this one as well, the wings alone will make it stand out in a crowd. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 Nice to see something a bit different. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike N Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 I have one of these in the stash, will be interested to see how you find building this Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scargsy Posted February 27, 2022 Author Share Posted February 27, 2022 OK so time to make a start and my gosh - what a complicated arrangement for a 1/72 seat... Very little in the way of locator pins and the seat parts almost hit the wall several times as I considered getting something resin instead but I eventually got it into a semblance of a seat... Maybe all a bit askew but hopefully not too noticeable once everything is sealed up - still the foot controls, etc, to add. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike N Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 Yikes, that is overly complicated. Am sure it is fine, especially when painted :} 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Over complicated for sure but you seemed to have got it in the end. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 I think you did a great job in wrestling that into a decent looking seat, well done. 🇺🇦 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scargsy Posted March 9, 2022 Author Share Posted March 9, 2022 Update time. So the exhaust was built up - seemed again (like the cockpit/seat) an overly complex affair. The nose cone I filled with 'Liquid Gravity' but I had a bit of an issue - firstly it was a bit too wide (using the side 'tabs' to attach to the the fuselage halves) so I shaved some off - and then it was too thin! Also given the connection points are at the back and I've weighted it - it wouldn't nicely and securely fix. I notice it's twin build I'm doing alongside (with no weight in the nose) seems to have suffered a bit of 'nose droop' as the glue set. After a bit of head scratching I decided to use some plasticard 'spacers' to connect to the back of the wheel well. Since this isn't a completely vertical face I also added some additional 'bracing' pieces, as well as a small safety cross section in front of the cockpit instrument panel - this is to stop me accidentally dropping in the top cover piece later on as there'd be no way of fishing it back out easily! The cockpit was then added - one of my major gripes with this kit is the general lack of locator pins meaning everything is kind of wonky with my building - I ended up needing to chop a fair amount out of the cockpit side instrument panels as well as the sides of the front panel in order to get everything in - probably at least in some part due to me misaligning everything! The alignment issues/lack of helper locators also struck with the exhaust placement, I wasn't sure exactly where it should go but it seemed to fit best quite far back (when compared to the Zvezda kit I'm building alongside - only just inside the fuselage at the rear. The fuselage halves were then closed up (not too bad a fitment) but still needed a lot of cleanup along the seam (since otherwise it'll show up like a sore thumb with a NMF), also the holes for the fuel tank needed filling on the underside (no optional fuel tank in the kit, or for the variant AFAIK). Wings were then added and it started to look more like a plane (or a tiny space shuttle) than a pencil... The wing fitting wasn't terribly great either - I still need to fill those top wing joints and it seems (maybe a little late to fix now) that the wings are actually different shapes/width/profiles/sizes (especially towards the front). Anyhow enough for now - here's the shot (above) of it next to it's sister build. I haven't decided if I'll do it undercarriage up or not yet - possibly up as it will keep the smooth lines but maybe make hanging it difficult (nothing much to attach to at the front end). 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 There may be some fit issues with this kit but you are doing a great job on getting her together and will end up with a unique looking model at the end. 🇺🇦 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scargsy Posted March 21, 2022 Author Share Posted March 21, 2022 So a few tiny detail greeblies to fit, I discovered I hadn't needed to fill the holes in the bottom for the drop tank pylon as it comes with it, so I drilled them back out with the pin vice and fitted the pylon. After dipping the canopy parts in Pledge I added the canopy mask - unfortunately I couldn't get one designed for the kit and the Eduard one for the Modelsvit MiG-21F-13 wasn't a great fit but a but at least it got me somewhere close without having to do everything from scratch (the front window fitted fine and the main canopy parts needed cutting and shutting, just leaving the small front side windows to make. When fitting the canopy I discovered it didn't quite fit, the seat was just too high, so I needed to snip the headrest off, file it down a touch and reattach to get some clearance. Then onto primer - I used Mr Surfacer 1500 black thinned 1:1 No drama with the primer, this stuff does go on well and is quite forgiving. I was planning on maybe doing some or all of it then in a gloss black before the silver but since time was pressing I decided to just crack on, so after leaving that overnight to cure I decided to try using some AK Xtreme Metal. I had a couple of shades (dark aluminium, aluminium and flat aluminium), I was attempting to see if I could mix and blend them though my airbrushing skills need some improvement. There is a slight 'graininess' to the cover I got, but I believe this is due to not using a gloss black underneath. After leaving it to dry I did try polishing it, that didn't seem to work well for me, I had a few scratches though I'd accidentally made in it (seems quite soft) I did a bit of touchup with AK 'True Metal' paste stuff (it comes in oil paint type tubes, is wax based and can buff up, never used it before) - I figured since you can wipe it on/buff it I could hopefully get it to fill the scratches. It's a bit of a pain to use as it seems it can dry a little too fast when initially brushing it on, but it did enough for my needs. I also tried their dark aluminium on the exhaust - though it seemed not very dark compared to the fuselage. Once I'd let that dry off overnight again I added the decals, which seemed a little brittle though I managed to get away with only snapping a small point of one of the Soviet stars... I was concerned about trying to not make the thing look too 'toy like' with multiple clears over the silver finish, so decided I'd skip adding a clear coat before decals, I figured that it should be glossy enough. I wasn't sure how well the metallic paint would react to decal solution so didn't use any 'fix' soloution and once in place gently just brushed some small amounts of Micro-sol onto the decals. The final stages were a coat of Mr Topcoat Gloss (this seems pretty unreactive and decal safe in my experience) and once that had dried I gave it a clay wash / wipe with some Flory Models 'dark', to highlight the panel lines and hopefully give a small amount of weathering. I should have maybe sealed that in with another clear coat, but I'm unusure how the clay wash would react if I went on heavily and I was kind of happy with the visual appearance. There are two small clear parts to fit on the underside - however in the end I decided to make some lenses in place using Micro Krystal Klear - though at the time of photographing the larger one towards the front undercarriage door hasn't completely dried clear yet. Photographed against a backdrop of freshly deposited Saharan sand on my garden furniture cover (thanks to the recent weather here in Surrey) - I think it makes some interesting naturalistic looking coastline like features. Anyhow another GB kit finished, onto the next! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 (edited) Well done sir, those last few shots make it look like shes flying over a river system at high altitude. The paint looks good to me if that helps ? Edited March 21, 2022 by Corsairfoxfouruncle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scargsy Posted March 21, 2022 Author Share Posted March 21, 2022 1 hour ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Well done sir, those last few shots make it look like shes flying over a river system at high altitude. The paint looks good to me if that helps ? Thanks, yep if only I could hide that stand 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike N Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 I like the look of that, well done! Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 That is looking really smart. You have done a great job of the metallic finish and the decals stand out really well on it. 🇺🇦 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Looks great, especially in natural light against that desert sand backdrop! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hook Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Very nice! I'm sure references on this one aren't all that many, is there enough out there to know if the cockpit was turquoise or the earlier steel grey? Cheers, Andre 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scargsy Posted March 23, 2022 Author Share Posted March 23, 2022 On 22/03/2022 at 11:55, Hook said: Very nice! I'm sure references on this one aren't all that many, is there enough out there to know if the cockpit was turquoise or the earlier steel grey? Cheers, Andre There are a few pics online I found - the actual aircraft 144-2 is on display at Monino Museum in Moscow, there's a few pics online it seems to have been left outside next to a Tu-144, can't quite see what colour the cockpit is though! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 Very interesting. Those flared leading edges...very 1950s. Nice work on the NMF too, as others have noted. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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