Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy

Ditto all, we luv ya brother Steve....

Wow, I hope not....great stuff.... Would also like to know answers to both! 😦

I had ordered some metal MiG-3 exhausts from Ukraine before the war broke out, knowing it would take about 5 weeks to make and then ship (they're made to order). Funny being caught between wondering if your stuff is gonna get here, and yet knowing the real concern should be for the human beings there who make and send the things in the first place. Little realization finally set in that if the stuff made it here, then at least the people on the other end probably, hopefully, are ok, and glad for something "normal" to pursue in life.

Also decided to take the plunge and scratchbuild the PBP-1 gunsight. Not fun in 1/48, and even less fun in 1/72. But it's done.

Almost there. A couple of cockpit items. First, the RPM/Maquette kit has a great armored seat back as a starting back, although too large and some details to change. 1) Reduce the height and width of the seat back by careful cutting and sanding. 2) Remove the seat cushion, which apparently is fictional. 3) Add the padded headrest from the HobbyBoss kit after sanding it slightly smaller. 4) Add harness from the Microdisign PE set. The actual seat back appears to have been 4BO olive, with the headrest in leather. Also note, the seat pan, once thought to hav

Wow, beautiful! Wish this kit had been available back when I tried to do a VF-43 Buckeye. Very nice!

Time for the mainwheel doors, one of the key components to make it a MiG-1 and not a MiG-3. Basic doors cut out, but then bent to a gentle curve; if they are completely flat, they will not be as authentic. Then cut apart and modify the PE door details from the Microdisign PE set, bent and cut to fit the new MiG-1 doors.

Ok folks, been busy with the end of the school year. Here's how I correct the flaps on the MiG-1 and my MiG-3's; the wing on top is uncorrected; the one below has the section of metal strip removed and the flaps enscribed. Also, I'm fairly certain that the wheel wells on a MiG-1 should be the same AII blue as the rest of the undersides. See the photo of the wreck, which we can see is actually a wrecked MiG-1. We can be certain of this by the shape of the wheel wells and the very short radiator intake. It seems to me that the wells are the same color as the rest

Very kind, thank you my friend!

Lovely indeed!

Same

Paint. AII blue below, AII green above. A couple of notes. First, the wooden structures (empennage, outer wing panels) ended up with a slightly darker shade of green than the metal structures. Whether this is because they were painted separately as subassemblies or if they simply faded in the sun at different rates, is debatable. I gave mine only a slight color difference, though maybe it should be more so. Second, while the empennage had its green with a sprayed demarcation, the wings and cowling had hard-masked line.

Now to mask the exhausts and give a good coat of primer to the airframe. With this many modifications, there absolutely WILL be flaws to fill/correct. After priming, major corrections still need to be made to the modified wheel well profiles....

Here's how I do my MiG-3 props and spinners (and by default this MiG-1 as well). First, prepare all 3 kit parts. Second, each blade is trimmed near its center hub. Holes are drilled in each prop blade and in the center hub for later assembly, including thin brass wire piece installed in each blade base. Third, once holes are drilled in the center hub, attach it to the spinner base. Fourth, both spinner parts are assembled with the prop blade hub mounted inside. Some bodywork is needed to blend the two parts together to appear

Now for blending the wing to the fuselage. The large ventral intake is about half the size of the one refined for the MiG-3. A note about the ventral intake is the aft section could be positioned open or closed (see photos in original post). I finally opted for open. Also, radio shelf and everything under the rear transparency should be painted the same AII green as the aft fuselage. Apparently the entire subassembly was painted uniformly before adding the transparency and before connecting it to the metal forward fuselage assembly. Also time to use

Now the wing lights. I don't just cut out the scribed curved lens line, I cut out the entire square light housing. Clear sprue filed flat on three sides to fit the slot, then a hole drilled on the inside/rear surface. The hole is filled with silver paint, which will hopefully look like a lens within the glass. Then the entire piece is filed and sanded flush with the wing. Later an oval-shaped masking will be applied to mask the outer light cover. It is still unpolished so far. The wingtip position lights are also cut out, then remade with clear CA glue, then filed/sanded flus

Thanks for the kind words my friend! I love being old enough to recall when flying was still something "special," not the cattle-car experience we are now subjected to. 747's, DC-8's, L-1011's, a BAC1-11, and plenty of DC-9's and 727's was how I grew up and I always treasure it. A fond young boy's memory I have on a North Central DC-9....probably aged 7 or so, right before they merged to become Republic. Mom and little brother were split from us and seated elsewhere; I sat with Dad on the two-seat side enjoying the wonders of aviation as usual with my jet-engineer father, as we w

Thanks folks, very much appreciated!

I posted this in the Critique Corner, but thought y'all would appreciate. Not yet up to the level of what I see in this forum, but it's my first real airliner attempt. Would value advice & expertise since it's very different from the usual military builds I do.

My first true attempt at an airliner. My family has a long history with North Central dating back to my grandfather's business trips on their DC-3's. I remember seeing my dad off on one of their Convair 580's. I myself still have vivid memories of flying on their DC-9's before they merged into Republic. Eastern Express kit, ATP decals. Model Master, MRP & Alclad paints. Never quite got the fit of the bottom of the wings completely to my liking, but otherwise a neat build to start into airliners with....

The cockpit flooring of the RPM/Maquette kit is outstanding and accurate in all its unique detail. The cockpit tube structure will be scratchbuilt, at least for the sidewalls. The mostly well-molded control boxes are cut from the RPM's slightly less impressive tube sidewalls (they are generally fine for closed cockpit builds). MiG-3 (and therefore MiG-1) cockpit colors are a point of contention, but are slowly beginning to be understood. Currently the best info is the flooring in A-14 grey (formerly thought to be olive), tube structure in dark gray or olive, seat back in 4BO ol

1/72 MiG-3's are seriously lacking in decent exhausts. While companies like Quickboost and Moskit have been a major blessing in this area to most VVS fighter types, the MiG-3 has been overlooked. The one exception is Rexx, which does produce very very nicely done metal MiG-3 exhausts. The downside is they are hard to find. On the good side, I purchased a half dozen sets from their makers in the Ukraine. The downside is it is about a 6 week wait from order until delivery in the USA, as they are made to order. The good side again is the company has been trustworthy every time for

Hey there John, The good news is there's tons of aftermarket out there...the bad news being that it costs. One of these years I'll actually resume my build of her with all the stuff I've got including some really nice looking resin acquired last summer. The possibilities really are endless. And an aftermarket wooden deck will hide the horrendously-planned seams in the plastic deck.

Thanks guys! The wing structure needed extensive rebuilding. -The leading edge slats must be filled in completely, as these did not appear until the late-model MiG-3's. Also fill the holes for the rocket rail mounts. -The wheel wells needed re-shaping to a smaller, rounder shape, completely lacking the inner doors. The shapes will be refined as the build progresses. -Taking a piece from the PE detail set, installing the panel with the vents to the underside after first grinding away the affected area. -The wingtip lights are carved aw

Now that the cowling has been shortened, there are many cowling details to be done. -"Cheek intake" must be improved. Instead of being symmetrical, the left intake is underhand scoop, while the right one is overhand. -Fairing at front of exhaust stacks must be made smaller, same as for an early MiG-3 (kit depicts a late -3). -Long late MiG-3 style gun fairings need to be shortened, and drilled out (same design as an early -3). -"Chin scoop" intake must be made much smaller -Photoetched 6-slot grill installed behind and below the exhaust stacks