Jump to content

Amodels Mighty Tupolev Tu-128 Fiddler..


Recommended Posts

What a fantastic build, Andy.

I remember seeing one under construction, and i looked at the parts breakdown and thought to myself, "WTF??"

Would be kind of odd, driving a B-58, looking over your shoulder and hoping to NOT get intercepted by something BIGGER than you!!

Thanks for posting. I guess the TSR-2 is positively childs play compared to this.

david

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Andy, mate let me say this first :gobsmacked: :gobsmacked: :gobsmacked: If you were a 4 Star...ya just got that 5th!!!!. You seem to take the biggest, baddest, brawler in the pack; wrestle it to the ground and make it scream Julia Childs (three times), after which of course you show us the results; which are always fantastic... :clap2:;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks everyone, wow all that work seems worth it now reading these very generous comments.......The one thing that keeps me going with kits like this is passion for the subject no matter how bad the kit, if you love the real thing then you'll want to replicate that in model form.

Would be kind of odd, driving a B-58, looking over your shoulder and hoping to NOT get intercepted by something BIGGER than you!!
.....

Very true Dave, by comparison the fiddler was 89 ft 4 in length, the Hustler 96 ft 9 in, the B-58 could belt along at 1,319mph, the fiddler at 1,100mph, OK it's a bit slower and heavier but it does this on only two thirsty Lyulka AL7F's and weighed in at 88,185 lb against the B-58's 67,871 lb but add the 4 R4 Ash aam's into the mix and it would have been an interesting engagement, the Smerch 'Big Nose' radar fitted to the TU-128 was not known to be one of the most advanced systems around but with GCI help extremely accurate and reliable...

I think mine will remain in the box for now!

Van, I think many were sold and most now sit gathering dust in folks stashes...lol

Thanks for the 5th star Angels, I'll pin it on my apron tonight, with the work on this bu$%er I might just have earned it!! :winkgrin:

Thanks again all,

Melchett..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lost in admiration. I saw the real thing at Monino this summer - what a mighty beast! I appreciate your problems as I have some of their other stuff, an Su 15Tm, an La 250 and a Sukhoi T-49. They are going to keep me busy for a long time

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Id just like to add my congrats on such a fine model, and not a trace of anything showing through the Alclad, one could be forgiven for thinking A Model had produced a perfectly fitting kit. Particularly impressive is the head on B/W shot, looks real!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

David....

Which one were you looking at, Trumpy or Amodel?........either way a great model ,....( I'm still summoning up the courage to get stuck into my Amonster 3MS Bison, now that's some serious Alclad acreage!!).....really must do some more camo stuff after all these NMF aircraft!!!

Andy

Was thinking Trumpy but in 1/144 scale, think I would need a house extension and a new wife for the 1/72! :)

David

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is definitely one of your better efforts all right! The blend of Alclads works very well, not just a thoughtless patchwork. (or maybe it is and you just got lucky again!) :tease:

Lots of work in there, well done indeed.

Al (non-member of the Melchettes, but considering it!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Andy

I can only assume you are an extremely highly skilled modelling machine. I will send you a bottle of oil before you wear out.

once again, a magnificent job sah.

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What a monster... well done!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General sir, superb job as usual she looks a real stunner an equal to the 70 :worthy::worthy:

really must do some more camo stuff after all these NMF aircraft!!!

Andy

did you just say CAMO? are we talkin FORREST GREEN/DARK GREEN/TAN by any chance :evil_laugh::frantic:

is that the guards coming to release me at last....................

Andy :hobbyhorse:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very well made model indeed. Having built the trainer version a few years ago I know the trials and tribulations that this kit has. Still I will get around to the fighter version one day. Quick question, did you use the kit exhausts?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi everyone, and thanks a million!,

A Model had produced a perfectly fitting kit

Deon....Amodel and fitting in the same sentence...are you insane man!! :winkgrin: .

not just a thoughtless patchwork. (or maybe it is and you just got lucky again!
..

Al, damn it, you rumbled me again!!....actually I do try and get the panel shades as accurate as I can.......I trace the plans profile out to scale then simply pencil in the panels in different shades before transferring them onto the model, something I've always done with metal finishes. Interestingly Soviet aircraft can have different shades of panel on different aircraft of the same type making reference photos essential..

John,

I will send you a bottle of oil before you wear out.

....couldn't make it a bottle of chablis by any chance, the oil don't taste so good and gives me rotten wind :toilet: , but thanks for the thought :cheers:

Where does this man find the time to do all this and still eat, sleep, go to work ... ?

Easy Sean.......Get a good woman, accountant and work for yourself...if possible all three rolled into one :wicked:

Andy, little steps at first...............got an RF-101C to do for the USAF sig..small but perfectly formed....gotta start some time..LOL

Jabba, thanks I was going to do the 'Pelican' version myself but haven't succumbed thus far!!...as for the exhausts, nah I binned them as that's all they are fit for, these are modified using the 1/72nd Airfix TSR 2 ones as they fit perfectly, (only because I have the CMK resin set for the kit, before anyone screams....HERESY!')... however they are only push fitted as I'm going to mod them further to look more accurate...as you can see the real thing is quite a complex item,

w_tu128_08-1.jpg

w_tu128_07-1.jpg

Thanks again all, :cheers:

Das General...

Edited by general melchett
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, fellas, glad you like it

A real piece of Cold War Art if I may say so smile.gif

You certainly may Iain... :winkgrin:

Kev, I'm toying with the idea of photographing all my Cold War stuff using Photshop C3 to try to capture the atmosphere of the period, grainy film, black and white, motion blur etc,....... don't know I'll see if I have any time...

Melchie.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheers Trevor, GTI or CSL, ..one with a four speed box and four wheels would be a result... :guitar:

Goon , a fellow Adderist!!...good man, '''if you're willing to join the Twenty Minuters then you're all right by me and welcome to marry my sister any day!!''....

Yep, not exactly a lightning or F15 is it? in fact it was as big as some of the bombers it was supposed to shoot down, and except for the B58 a lot faster !. The main reason for this was that it was designed from the outset as a long range patrol aircraft designed to loiter in the inhospitable northern flank of the USSR, over vast expanses of ice and snow....they flew in formations of three and relied heavily on ground intercept directions,..... what it lost in agility it more than made up for in power, speed and firepower...(interestingly the RA4 missiles were always fired in two's to maximise chance of a kill, once they had gone turn round and run like Hell!! :jump_fire: )...

Of course the MiG 31 Foxhound replaced it in the eighties, bringing with it much needed modern avionics and weaponry.....though the old Fiddler still had the edge on range and loiter ability...

Melchie...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep, not exactly a lightning or F15 is it? in fact it was as big as some of the bombers it was supposed to shoot down.

Indeed! I had a quick look when you first posted the build as I always like to see what 'unusual' subject you've chosen this time, and based on the shape and style, not to mention the four massive missiles I just assumed it was a gert bomber with Air-to-Surface missiles! When I came back for a proper look I saw someone refer to being intercepted by it and thought 'Hang on a second......' before going off to google. It's yet another of the classic russian cold war aircraft that have a certain Luftwaffe '46 / Thunderbirds syle to them. Most seem to be built to the same dimensions as contemporary NATO aircraft, but with 'feet' crossed off the drawings and a scribbled 'metres' by the side.

Gareth

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jabba, thanks I was going to do the 'Pelican' version myself but haven't succumbed thus far!!...as for the exhausts, nah I binned them as that's all they are fit for, these are modified using the 1/72nd Airfix TSR 2 ones as they fit perfectly, (only because I have the CMK resin set for the kit, before anyone screams....HERESY!')... however they are only push fitted as I'm going to mod them further to look more accurate...as you can see the real thing is quite a complex item,

w_tu128_08-1.jpg

w_tu128_07-1.jpg

Thanks again all, :cheers:

Das General...

If you are really stuck a company called Matterhorn Circle in Switzerland do a resin set for the Tu-128.

www.mc-one.ch

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...