ICM Mig-25RBT, Iraqi Air Force, late 80s...OOB 1/72nd scale

[Hook]

25 minutes ago, John Masters said:

I'll take them.  What are they for anyway?

Wing hardpoints for FAB-500M-62T thermal protected bombs. 

 

I'll get them in the mail to you!

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[John Masters]

10 hours ago, Hook said:

Wing hardpoints for FAB-500M-62T thermal protected bombs. 

Interesting that the plans ask me to add them for a recon aircraft and don't supply the bombs.  Would it be incorrect to add the munitions?  I think so...

[Hook]

3 hours ago, John Masters said:

Interesting that the plans ask me to add them for a recon aircraft and don't supply the bombs.  Would it be incorrect to add the munitions?  I think so...

Most if not all MiG-25R's were converted to RB standard with a bombing capability. 

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[John Masters]

4 hours ago, Hook said:

Most if not all MiG-25R's were converted to RB standard with a bombing capability. 

So if I have the bombs, should I add them?

[Hook]

1 hour ago, John Masters said:

So if I have the bombs, should I add them?

You certainly could! This ICM boxing added a bomb runner to the basic kit you're building.

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[Jabba]

Your model is certainly coming along very well.

 

A few years ago for another GB I built an Iraqi MiG-25RB using the Condor kit and a conversion set. I also had a bit of help from a certain Tom Cooper to make some bomb rails and the such like so that some bombs could be fitted. I will post the build thread here, if you do not require it I will remove it:-

 

[John Masters]

10 hours ago, Jabba said:

I will post the build thread here

Thanks Jabba.  I'll give a look.  

[John Masters]

On 10/2/2023 at 11:08 PM, Hook said:

FAB-500M-62T thermal protected bombs

This is what I have in a Air-to-Surface munitions box from ICM...I don't think they are what I want.  They look nothing like the FAB variant I have seen on Wiki.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FAB-500

 

 

So I might leave them off and just have the empty hard points.

 

--John

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hook]

5 hours ago, John Masters said:

I don't think they are what I want.  They look nothing like the FAB variant I have seen on Wiki.

Indeed, these were never carried on the MiG-25RB and variants. It would be like mounting a JDAM on a Thunderchief.

 

Edit: you'd want these.

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

Edited October 5, 2023 by Hook

[John Masters]

On 10/2/2023 at 11:08 PM, Hook said:

FAB-500M-62T

Is there an external cosmetic difference between these and the FAB-500M-62?  The Big Yellow Store has these in stock.

If they are alright, should I get 2 or 4?

[Hook]

1 hour ago, John Masters said:

Is there an external cosmetic difference between these and the FAB-500M-62?  The Big Yellow Store has these in stock.

If they are alright, should I get 2 or 4?

Externally these are identical. 

 

Early production MiG-25RB's could carry four FAB-500M-62T's on underfuselage  tandem double racks, later examples production MiG-25RBs could theoretically carry ten - six under the fuselage carried on tandem triple ejector bomb racks, and  two bombs in tandem under each wing. Most likely this was never used in practice, though.

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[John Masters]

2 minutes ago, Hook said:

Externally these are identical. 

So 4 would be enough? Two on each side, front and back?

[Hook]

1 minute ago, John Masters said:

So 4 would be enough? Two on each side, front and back?

That is a possible load, yes.

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[John Masters]

I realized yesterday that I could still be building, painting, etc...while I wait for the parcel from @Hook and the Big Yellow Store to arrive.

 

Forward canopy section is attached with some MicroClear.

 

 

Wheels are ready for their rubber...and some small bits on the landing gear doors.

 

 

According to the sources, the Mig-25 is all grey, except for a few places that are not.  My Soviet fighter paint set has this as an option...

 

 

What do you folks think?  I think the BYS box is arriving Monday and that has the FAB-500M-62T resin sets in it...😊

 

--John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hook]

18 hours ago, John Masters said:

My Soviet fighter paint set has this as an option

Does it have 71.339 as well? That looks like a closer match. 

 

Let me know when the envelope arrives!, it ought to have reached you by now.

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[John Masters]

1 hour ago, Hook said:

Does it have 71.339 as well? That looks like a closer match. 

 

Let me know when the envelope arrives!, it ought to have reached you by now.

 

It doesn't have it.  So I have ordered it from the LHS.  Should be here Tuesday or Wednesday.  I think your envelope will arrive around the same time.  Mail from the UK tends to take time these days.

[Hook]

2 hours ago, John Masters said:

Mail from the UK tends to take time these days.

It's a good thing I live in the Netherlands then.   

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

Edited October 22, 2023 by Hook

[John Masters]

2 hours ago, Hook said:

It's a good thing I live in the Netherlands then. 

Hahaha!  Of course...I am sure it is here already.  They can sometimes be slow with putting things in the post box.

[Hook]

53 minutes ago, John Masters said:

Hahaha!  Of course...I am sure it is here already.  They can sometimes be slow with putting things in the post box.

It's a bit hit and miss - recently I sent three envelopes to the UK simultanuously, only to have them arrive at their respective destinations over the course of three weeks.

 

Incidentally, you can see for yourself how Vallejo Air 71.339 looks in my latest update - I sprayed the main airframes with it. 

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

Edited October 22, 2023 by Hook

[John Masters]

Yay!  Back at it!  I have been lax in my administrations as of late...the Vallejo 71339 is on and it was a tough job as it was just a shade darker than the primer.  Anyway, now I can go around with a hairy brush and add the dark grey, aluminum, steel and titanium gold bits, and of course the black anti-glare strip on the nose.  This also means it is time to assemble the landing gear and install them.  In retrospect, I should have done that according to plans but I did not.  Usually it is easy enough to do this at the end, but these seem like they might be tricky.  I'll see.

 

 

--John

[Hook]

Shaping up nicely! Are you happy with the shade of the Vallejo 339?

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[John Masters]

4 hours ago, Hook said:

Shaping up nicely! Are you happy with the shade of the Vallejo 339?

Thanks.  Yes I am.  It's less blue than the one I was thinking of before.  Just a tad darker than primer.

[Jabba]

Nice work on the paint. As you are getting close to fitting the decals a word of warning. Do not follow the kit instructions when applying the wing triangles.  The wing insignia of the Iraqi aircraft, do not point straight forward but are canted about 30 degrees outwards. This comes from the "Iraqi Fighters" book by Tom Cooper. It applies to both upper and lower insignia. I hope that this is of some help to those who are about to soon apply decals. I have posted this in the chat area, but was not sure if you had noted and would not like to see a  good model spoiled.

[John Masters]

9 hours ago, Jabba said:

Nice work on the paint. As you are getting close to fitting the decals a word of warning. Do not follow the kit instructions when applying the wing triangles.  The wing insignia of the Iraqi aircraft, do not point straight forward but are canted about 30 degrees outwards. This comes from the "Iraqi Fighters" book by Tom Cooper. It applies to both upper and lower insignia. I hope that this is of some help to those who are about to soon apply decals. I have posted this in the chat area, but was not sure if you had noted and would not like to see a  good model spoiled.

Thanks Jabba.  I have seen this done correctly on other models but it had slipped my mind.

[John Masters]

I'm off to the mainland next week for a couple of days.  I'd like to have this almost finished before I go.  

 

The landing gear is on.  I should have attached it all earlier, as proscribed in the instructions.  They went in, but it was tricky.  It would have been easier the other way.

 

 

Then I began the process of hand painting the aluminum, titanium gold and dark grey areas as well as the anti-glare section on the nose. There was plenty of touch-up painting needed.  And, to top it off, there was no complete painting profile with the kit, just from the sides really, so I had to find other examples online.  Any corrections would be welcome at this point.  

 

 

 

 

 

Next up...more paint touch ups if necessary, paint the tires...decals, weathering ( I have seen that these looked pretty grubby, especially around the engines...)...really not much left.  The stencils will be a full session.

 

--John