ya-gabor Posted July 26, 2012 Author Share Posted July 26, 2012 (edited) Here is a bit more to add to the MiG-21 pitot story. A near head on view was taken specially to show the double brake in the pitot tube. Also of note is the base of the pitot which is attached to a base plate which is riveted onto the intake structure. It is fairly thick and very prominent. On the kit unfortunately it is shown as a plain panel line while in other areas of the kit overlapping panels of less thickness are properly represented. The pitot base itself is attached with four bolts which are situated in rectangular openings on the side of the base. After the bolts are fixed the rectangular opening is filled with a rubbery substance to make it more or less (in most cases the later) flat with the surface of the base. Also note that the boom of the pitot is not a constantly reducing diameter tube but it has a strange changing diameter, perfectly reproduced on the Master pitot tube, after all several original booms were measured in detail to capture its shape. Best regards Gabor Edited July 26, 2012 by ya-gabor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ya-gabor Posted August 9, 2012 Author Share Posted August 9, 2012 Had a look in my notes and according to the Russian manual for painshop work during construction and overhaul of the MiG-21 aircraft there is only one paint that can be used for painting the dielectric panels and the radom made from "glasstechtolite" material. As noted before it has a very particular green colour and its exact designation is: "ЭП-255". It is a two component paint which is mixed before use. The main component is the "ЭП-255" paint itself to which the "No. 1" coded hardener is added. The colour is not affected by the ratio of the mix, only your paint will dry either faster or slower but the colour hue is the same. Best regards Gabor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mareku Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Great modeling Fantastic atention to detales, Gabor Keep it up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ya-gabor Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 Great modeling Fantastic atention to detales, Gabor Keep it up. I am also working on a bis kit with Finnish markings. So some conversion parts for it are also in the pipeline. Best regards Gabor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ya-gabor Posted August 22, 2012 Author Share Posted August 22, 2012 Here is a photo of the MiG-21 canopy with all the different things that should have been included in any kit or accessory set. Hope this is of help to someone building their kit. Best regards Gabor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ya-gabor Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 A bit more about the colours used on Hungarian AF aircraft. At the time (early 2000's) when they were still working and repairing as well as repainting aircraft in the orverhaul factory I had several plates of aluminium painted with the actual camouflage colours to use as a reference while they were painting the actual aircraft. I had cut them up into small chips and compiled sets of them with the three colours (tan, dark green and underside light blue). I still have a few of these sets left for sale, so if you are interested drop me a PM. I also have the original Russian cockpit blue colour as well as the Russian “teflon†grey colour as used on MiG-21 bis and MiG-23 fightres in the early days. These are original colour chips of the paint as used at the time when the aircraft came out from the factory and are useful as a reference to know where you are starting from (which shade) with your painting. Each colour chip is roughly a 3 by 2 cm piece of the original painted surface as used on Hungarian AF aircraft including the MiG-21. There is a short description to go with it, to explain what it is and where and which a/c one can use it on. I have to add that the Hungarian overhaul factory did a lot of work for other WarPac countries so you will find the same colours on GDR, Czech, Polish, Bulgarian Mi-8/Mi-17's, Mi-24 D and V's. The second set is an approximately same size of metal, factory fresh with the Russian cockpit blue and the “Teflon†grey (as it was called in Hungary, but I have seen many names given to it, including for example: “grey â€Â) as used on the MiG-23 early versions up to the MiG-23MF and also on late MiG-21MF (like the “grey†21’s of the Czech AF as featured in the Eduard kit) or the MiG-21 bis aircraft both in Russian service and as delivered to WarPac countries. The later piece is given separately and not mounted since the back side of it has the tannish / yellow interior colour which one would find on most internal surfaces including the undercarriage bays and doors of MiG-21 S, SM, SMT, bis . . . Best regards Gabor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ya-gabor Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 Still with the colours of the Hungarian Air Force. So here is a bit of a study on how the new paint did weather on Hungarian AF aircraft. I have to say that it did not like sunshine too much. As you can see from the photos below the green went into a very distinct shade of blue. The examples shown here are Mi-8’s. The reason is simple the paint used on them was exactly the same as on the fighter, only here you have the advantage of showing comparisons on the same airframe. The best place for this is under the main fuel tanks on the sides of the fuselage. The area was painted the camo green before the tanks were added. Now the interesting point came when after years of service, weathering, lots of sun the tanks were taken off and you could see the original green underneath the tanks and just above it the weathered, faded and turned blue green colour. Also one additional area of interest is the cockpit section where after flights a cover is added to protect the cockpit, the instruments, the glazing . . . Here one can see a contrast between the green and the faded/blue green but also the fading of the tan area. The later becomes lighter in colour. This is a truly analytical approach since the control group is present (the area under the tanks with no exposure at all as well as the area covered up but exposed to weathering during flights) as well as the one exposed to the full blow of what weather can master. As to the light blue on the underside, well here you will not find much change, just the dirt from the flight and a little fading. One more comparison, here the two helicopters have both seen service but the important difference between them is that one was painted with the new paint formula and went all blue with time while the other one was painted with the original paint and it is worth looking at how that paint weathered. Here is also the original and official Hungarian Air Force colours as applied to a Mi-8 after overhaul. It has seen virtually zero flight hours and it is freshly out from the paint shop of the Danubian Aircraft Company. This is the same colour as used on the airframes above! One last note to the enthusiastic weathering experts. Please have a look at the photos, there are no signs on the original helicopter of anything that is so popular today but has nothing to do with reality, pre shading or post shading. There is weathering and the colours change as well as you will see stains of different sorts, but nothing of the sort of panel lines†illustrated†on so many models. I would say that is more artistic (which could look nice if not overdone) but has nothing to do with the real aircraft that we would like to represent in scale. Always look at your references, but if possible the real aircraft!!!!! PLEASE Best regards Gabor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ya-gabor Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 Good day to all, It has been some time since the last post, but have to say that little changed in this project. I know some will say that this is going into too much detail but I believe this kind of detail adds a lot to the final kit and is an authentic representation of the real aircraft. I am not sure if I would do it in 72nd scale but here in 48th it is perfectly possible. Hope that the accompanying photos from my archive will help to explain what I have tried to explain in words. There were some question on the fuel tank and some of its details. There are two vents visible on the left side of the big dorsal fuel tanks both on the MF and the bis aircraft and they perform the same task. There is one fairly big hole just above the gun loading service panel. This is part of the fuel system pressurization systems, it is a vent for excess air. Part of the system is the small intake (D51) on top of the No. 7 fuel tank (H1 in the MF kit) and this vent is intended for passing excess air into the outer atmosphere. The No.7 fuel tank has an aluminium construction with some internal ribs for support, the vent is a tube curving upward to the system valves which are under the small intake on top of the tank. The tube of the vent is welded to the outer skin of the tank as it goes into it. The weld line is fairly thick and very visible on the 5cm diameter hole. In some cases the hole has a rim with an indentation in the tank surface and the weld line is “inside†it. On my kit after drilling the hole and “softening†its edges a thin stretched sprue was used with plenty of liquid cement to represent the weld line. The fuel system has a fuel dump vent at the front end of the fin base. It is slightly smaller with its 4.5cm diameter but in this case there is a tube coming out from the fuselage. Here all the internal equipment is covered with a removable inverted U shaped panel which has an opening on it. The fuel dump line fits into this hole. The manufacture of this particular tube was not 100% precise and you will find that on some a/c it is a bit longer and so sticks out from the fuselage skin surface by a few centimeters while on others it is completely flat with the surface although in most cases it sticks out at least a bit. There is a black rubber seal around the opening to protect from vented fuel finding its way back under the service panel. On the bis fighters this vent has a different location from the one on the MF. It is further up and so the tube coming out from the a/c has a cut to follow the curvature of the spine. A drilled hole in the plastic and suitable diameter needle cut to size is a perfect representation of this small detail. Best regards Gabor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
POMPEO Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 this is amazing... great topiv Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mario krijan Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Nice story Gabor! Thanks for pointing such small detail stories! OT: Will Kecskemet air show 2013 be held? :-) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ya-gabor Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 OT: Will Kecskemet air show 2013 be held? :-) This is a good question. Our Minister said that there will be one, but there are a lot of open questions concerning it. As far as I know the staff who organized the previous ones with success were not "invited" to organize the show this time. So its a brand new team. Lets just hope that they don't go back to the very primitive and annoying mistakes of the first shows back in early 90's. Best regards Gabor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 I've got this thread pinned as a mandatory reference for when I start my MiG. Outstanding job, the additional info on paint weathering and related anecdotes make this even more useful. Thanks for taking the time to post all this. John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jgrease Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 Gabor- any changes? Updates? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sharkmouth Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 Gabor- any changes? Updates? I sure hope there will be some updates although I know Gabor is busy with some other models. Regards, Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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