ya-gabor

Hi everybody, Sorry, I havent been on this page for many years. Just seen the questions. It has been so many decades since those M-B seats for the Pakistani MiG-19's were made. Have to have a look and see what I can do. Best regards Gabor

Unfortunately the Eduard INFO monthly internet "publication" has / had a lot of mistakes /misprints in this issue. "Forgeting" Zvezda as the plastic parts manufacture was just one of them. The Hrabe set has sadly some other problems, it has a book included dealing with the history of the Su-25 in Czechoslovak/Czech AF. But unfortunately the bookmaker did not really do his work and many Czech owners of the set have mentioned that the pages are not bound properly and simply fall out. They asked the boss what will he do about this problem. He replied on modelfoeum cz, that they notice

So here are the sprues for the planned and so many times delayed MiG-21 F-13 or Type 74. Well not actually all of them, since the sprue with the transparent parts is not shown, just as well as the weapons sprue. It is possible that the maker will simply include the general weapons sprue from earlier released 48 th scale versions. Here only the R-3S, UB-18 and small bombs would be applicable for the MiG-21 F-13. And even the UB-18 have a different nose section. As to the release of the kit there are absolutely no surprises, once again it is delayed by a year to late 2024. . .

I am sorry but this is simply not true! The 3D printed seat is about 1 mm wider than what the real seat is like! How do I know? Simple, I have the real “Curtain” type MiG-17 seat here in front of me at home! The width of the seat is one thing which can be definitely compared on different aftermarket makes, since the height of the real seat can be adjusted and it is not really clear which manufacturer is producing their seat in which setting. But the width of the seat is always the same, so comparison should be made based on this. The widest point is at the front, on th

It is not painted, this is stainless steel panel of the air brake. They did not polish it, it was like this as it is. Same stainless steel airbrake panels were used on earlier MiG-15 versions. The rounded panel covering the actuating hydraulic jack is painted simply because it was from ordinary cast metal which in most cases would rust away easily. So it had to be painted for corrosion protection and to go with the rest of the aircraft it was painted with Aluminium paint. The second photo shows clearly streaks of rust running down the stainless steel surface from the rounded panel.

I dont have a channel of my own, just did the video for fun. The only reason I responded was the fact that the subject is the AMMO kit, and I did a series of 4 videos (shared in the topic) to show the kit, the extras, all sorts of aftermarkets and in the last the books/publications I have on MiG-17's. Best regards Gabor

I have never done anything like this before! Why the heck??? Had the kit so give it a try! Just open the box and show what is inside so people can know what to expect inside the box. Gets some lights and just put a dial phone over the desk to record it all. : ) : ) I still don’t have a proper camera to do anything like this. Every now and then I do have a look at other such YouTube videos just to get an idea what will be in the box. Is it worth at all to invest into it? Yes, there are some with very subjective views, sometimes influenced by the actual site, or if it

In Progress forum had some comments about YouTube videos in the build of the AMMO MiG-17 kit. Since the videos were published here it is important to comment on it. There are plain simple kit bashings by some “commenters” be it on whatever forum: fakebook, YouTube or modelling forums or the complete opposite. If it makes them happy so be it, internet is such a media. Since I have published first a You Tube unboxing of the AMMO MiG-17 kit, I feel that some of the above comments are a critique of my short films. Everyone can have their own opinion both about a kit and ab

There are plain simple kit bashings by some “commenters” be it on whatever forum: fakebook, YouTube or modelling forums or the complete opposite. If it makes them happy so be it, internet is such a media. Since I have published first a You Tube unboxing of the AMMO MiG-17 kit, I feel that some of the above comments are a critique of my short films. Everyone can have their own opinion both about a kit and about a review. I for one did those few videos as a pure LOOK at what is inside the box! Some obvious mistakes were noted and mentioned but apart from that it was plain and simple

Hi Dai Phan, The idea is fantastic! Hope it works! I can only help with some of my own experiences when we did a “Big Wash” of a MiG-21F-13 aircraft here. First and most important is to speak with the Curator or the most important person / owner! We did our work on the Fishbed with full cooperation from the Technical Director of the airfield. BUT the follow up of the work was stopped by the highest owner who was very annoyed with “civilians” doing work at their own expense and time on his airfield! So get, preferably a written agreement from the most important per

Get well! Gabor

Yes, unfortunately it is visible! It should be kept under roof! And I would completely wash it down, not only the dirt and leaves but also the false paint on it. This could be a great exhibit!!!!!!!!!!!!! More over since it is an early "simple" MiG-17 with nonafterburning VK-1 engine. Back in ex Soviet states today there are hundreds of these all around! But on this side of the new Iron Curtain there are very few of them! Most of the exhibits in US museums (and the flying examples) are the later versions with afterburner engines or even the radar equipped ones. As a direct opposite on the

Hi Dai Phan, Nice work! Thanks for taking the time to have a closer look! A nice early plain MiG-17 with nonafterburning VK-1 engine, early style small airbrakes, narrow rear fuselage, "early" MiG-15 style ejection seat. But it already has the canopy with a periscope. Yes, it would be nice to give at least a proper wash to it. Shame for the camouflage scheme. Best regards Gabor

OK. So what colour is the cockpit of the MiG-17. Well basically it depends in which aircraft factory it was built. On the way out of the factory they had an almost standard colour. What happened after that is a completely different story. Here is a good example for this. The “Curtain” type ejection seat in the MiG-17’s was the more advanced version differing considerably from the original ejection seat used in MiG-15’s and early MiG-17’s. It was redesigned in many ways, but the most noticeable was the new big headrest with a face curtain, hence the new name. The reason was si

Hi Dai Phan, I had a quick look at the fit of the cockpit parts. Actually on the inner face of the fuselage parts there are grooves for positioning the cockpit inside the fuselage. The side walls fit perfectly into the grooves! I don’t see any problems here. This is why I made no mention of this in the first place. Yes, it could have been even more “certain” fit with a peg and hole arrangement but it works OK as it is and you don’t get any shrinkage marks on the outer side of the fuselage due to a hole and a ring around it ( as it is the case on so many kits) .

Hi Dai Phan, I had a quick look at the fit of the cockpit parts. Actually on the inner face of the fuselage parts there are grooves for positioning the cockpit inside the fuselage. The side walls fit perfectly into the grooves! I don’t see any problems here. This is why I made no mention of this in the first place. Yes, it could have been even more “certain” fit with a peg and hole arrangement but it works OK as it is and you don’t get any shrinkage marks on the outer side of the fuselage due to a hole and a ring around it ( as it is the case on so many kits) .

Concerning the size of the ejection seat in the AMMO kit and the 3D version. Actually I have measured the real MiG-17 seat that I have and compared it to the AMMO 3D seat and the original plastic parts in the kit. The real 1/1 scale seat in size is somewhere half way between the plastic and the 3D printed! It is exactly the same as for example the Eduard 48th scale MiG-21 kit RS-2US missiles which were made both from plastic (in the kit) and also as Brassin extra. The real missile is completely different in size when compared to both kit version and Brassin!!! The

Getting back to the question of Real Natural Metal finish with a clear varnish cote in comparison with the Varnish + Aluminium paste surface. It seems that this debate periodically resurfaces. Had a look in my archive and exactly 10 years ago here on ARC in another forum the same question was the topic of the day. At the time I made some comparison photos of placing big chunks of metal next to each other so they are under same light condition and show well the difference. The surface with clear varnish protection has a very distinct shine to it! In areas

Hi Dai Phan, I am just another modeller as any other on forums. Why should they listen to me? Apart from speaking to them (AMMO reps) at this years Moson show, I have absolutely no connection to them. So why would they listen to comments? I have sent to them my remarks through a friend. There are companies who know me very well and I have good personal relation with some of them, in most cases they do not listen either. They have their own experts with in company (or long term outside contributors) who help them in design and development. I don’t have any sleeples

Hi Dai Phan, AMMO did publish separately a small booklet on the MiG-17. It could have some answers to the cockpit colour question. It is possible that one of the aircraft somewhere, maybe in a museum did have such a light blue cockpit. I don’t know. Which is the right colour? Doing an internet search would in most cases bring up some recently taken photo of a cockpit, like those in museum which have been repainted or the ones which are flying in US and also had a complete repaint. So the authenticity of those colours is questionable. This is where the light blue shade of AMMO

Unfortunately no! I have spoken to Red Fox and they prepared the colour in accordance with request of AMMO. Since they (AMMO) have decided on a colour for the cockpit which is shown in the instructions. I have sent to them samples to show the real colour from the real MiG-17 ejection seats I have. But there was no response. : ( : ( If you look at the box top artwork it also shows a strange colour for the interior. It is known that different factories produced their aircraft with slightly different internal cockpit colours. But none of them was this light blue shade

Hi Dai Phan, Yes, you are absolutely right to share your experiences!!! I did the same in having a look inside the box on that video. There is a problem with fitting the cockpit side walls (Parts B20 & B38) but the instruction on page 6 draws the attention to this. One has to cut those surface wire/tube imitations to get a proper fit! If one builds the cockpit as it is, will not be able to close up fuselage sides properly, there will be a gap!!! So please make a note of this! On my example those 3D printed MARS pods had broken parts/ s

Hi Dai Phan, Few pages ago I did share here a link to a video I made of the extras included in the Limited edition. Did mention that the 3D printed parts look “strange” to me. I think it was a subcontractor who did it, designed, produced the 3D printed parts. Did raise a question about the authenticity of some parts (ladder, helmet) but also of quality and strange design ideas. Have a look at the depth of the lines on the tire running surface or the visible 3D print layers . . . The fit of parts is good in some places while in others there is very little to go by. I don

How bright a natural metal surface on a Soviet made aircraft when it is really natural metal? As a journalist and aviation photographer throughout decades I have followed several general overhauls of different aircraft and helicopters from the initial landing, all the way through the overhaul to the very end of painting and the given airframe departing back to its fighter unit. In initial stage of overhaul ALL paint was stripped chemically from the surfaces going back to bare metal! In the coming mouths this remained throughout system integration, testing and the first test flight

You are welcome to believe in whatever you want to. As I have said before you don’t have to believe in what I know. All I can do is to share my experiences and show to fellow modellers what I have seen in the past decades. First, the clear Varnish mixed with the Aluminium powder (actually it is a paste) creates a dull Aluminum colour paint which covers perfectly the surface under it! It will not be transparent! If it is transparent you are not doing your work correctly! : ) How do I know? Been in the aircraft factory paint shop when it was mixed and surface p