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Trumpeter Mig-23 MLD


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Hi guys,

I am Iking and I am new in AC modelling.

I am attracted to some large scale planes like the Mig-23 MLD of Trumpeter which I bought as a present for myself.

May I ask your help what do I need to modify like glaring kit inaccuracies if there is any?

I have read about the splitter plates but I am wondering if there are still something that I am missing.

Help is much appreciated:)

Cheers!

Iking

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Zactomodels is the place to go for the intake corrections/information. He has a forum on this site and you can probably see for yourself what's entailed at correcting the intakes. It's a little involved but not too complicated. Edited by timc
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For any of the Trumpeter MiG-23s, there are a raft of products that you can purchase to upgrade the kit. The inaccuracies that most cite are the shape of the intakes and then the shape of the nose section.

Zactomodels (see their section in the sponsors section above) makes an intake and pylon correction for the kit. They also have a guide on how to correct the outer portion of the intake (which I've done in my MiG-23M project - it's quite simple) to match to their corrected splitter plate.

So far nobody has offered a nose correction.

Beyond the corrections there are a number of detail and upgrade offerings available from Aires and Quickboost which I highly recommend. Cockpit, wheel wells, exhaust, scoops, etc. etc. etc. are all available. I've had VERY good luck with all the sets I've used, and all are a MAJOR upgrade over kit components. The only downside to the Aires products is the added cost to your project, as they can add another $100+ to an already expensive kit.

I need to get my build thread updated. While I am building a MiG-23M, most of what I've done applies to the MLD - I'm just doing a late 70s "Cold Warrior" vs. an Afghan combantant (which I'll get around to, as I do have a MLD for down the road).

It's a nice build, and doesn't have the big list of corrections required that some Trumpeter kits have.

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I see, so regarding the Aires cockpit, no MLD is available or produced, can I use the ML for the MLD?

Yes Aires is quite expensive and will put a price on top of the kit's price :(

Im also planning to purchase Zacto's intakes for my flogger build.

Thanks!

Iking

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At the risk of being a stick in the mud, if you're new to the hobby (or aircraft) I would focus on building the kit pretty much stock, out-of-the-box. Even today's state-of-the-art kits require a good bit of skill and patience to build well. You may find resin cockpits and other accessories a bit much at this point.

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In contrast to the others there are no glaring innacuracies in the Mig-23.

There are some shape problems as quoted above but none are glaring issues but more problems to those who are into the aircraft.

There are a couple of builds on the net which will show you will get a good result out of box.

I've got Chris's stuff from Zactoman and hey are great products and he provides superb service but whether your up to hem in a first build is something only you can answer.

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I see, actually this is my 3rd large scale plane; I've built a 135 hind and 132 frogfoot both oob. I mostly build oob 172 planes several yrs ago before I shift to armor that is why I'm not experienced in upgrading aircrafts (esp sawing major portions) and I still consider myself a noobie:).

I will try to stick with resin cockpits and maybe the splitter plates. I'm just worried about the nose if it is that mis-shaped:p

What you guys think?:)

For the resin cockpit, can the ML cockpit be used for MLD?

Cheers!

Iking

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The ML cockpit is close enough to be appropriate for an MLD. There are definitely differences, extra switches to control the newer electronics, but the differences are VERY subtle, and frankly would be hard to see in 1/32, even to the most trained eye.

I would agree with what the others have said about not going too advanced on early projects. That said, I can confirm that the Aires sets for the 1/32 MiG-23 are some of the best fitting sets that Aires have produced and require little modification to the base kit. So if you're inclined to give it a shot, then this one might be a good one on which to give it a try.

And regarding the nose, it didn't bother me enough to want to fix it. It's mentioned more for being complete.

Edited by RedStar
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That sounds great, thanks for the insights and tips:) i might just go for the aires ML pit set and zacto plates for a noobie like me. I will still stay on the safer side for now and not bother with all the surgeries in modifying it:) will contact you guys if i need help.

hope to hear from you sometime soon:)

cheers!

iking

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This is very useful, I have one that I'm staring soon as well. I have xacto's intake, aires pit and wheel wells.

Are there any assembly pitfalls to watch out for?

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I just need to catch up on my build in the WIP section. The various aftermarket parts go on without issue. In fact, considering I've destroyed some projects with Aires products, I was gratified to find that the wheel wells were a snap fit! So no worries on that front. And very little trimming required for the cockpit.

The only thing that required any work was the burner can, as it requires the inside of the fuselage to be thinned down, but even that isn't that difficult.

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I have just started the MLD kit with Aires cockpit, exhaust and wheel bay plus Zacto slitter plates. Aires stuff fit perfectly in to the fuselage. I haven't fix them in place yet but from the dry fitting it seems that there are no problems. The detail is fascinating and I cannot really see any differences in the ML cockpit in that scale. Zacto stuff work superb and I think its worth buying the pylons and the missiles if you can afford them.

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