Berkut Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Finally, after two years the kit is here. :) First i would like to give a big thanks to AMK team for doing an amazing job and being so open to constructive critique in order to get as detailed and accurate kit as possible. And a big thanks for sending me the kits early, thank you. The kit was widely discussed in this thread. Otherwise one can find test build of the kit on AMK's Facebook page. It is a very large model and comes in a big box containing over 20 sprues. Boxart picture is taken by Maksim Skryabin, a MiG-31BM pilot himself, and his pictures can be found here. Here is the top fuselage compared to 1/72 F-102 which isn't small plane either; So far, i don't have much to report about the build. I started off with the top fuselage where the wings are made out of three major sections, all fits very well; As a general note, while the kit has the option to have deployed slats, the real plane almost never actually uses slats. Even during landing and take off they are not moving. So unless one is building a specific in flight diorama, they are always up. Top fully assembled and started on the engine parts; :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Martin @ AMK Models Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Great start Berkut. Really looking forward to this one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
82Whitey51 Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Nice! I like how they did the wing box structure...positive alignment and correct dihedral. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Crazy Snap Captain Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Great start Berkut! Looking forward to this. I've pre-ordered mine and cannot wait to get to it. Thanks as well for all your input into ensuring this kit was as accurate as possible. Well done also to AMK on the consultative process!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Martin @ AMK Models Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Thank you Andrew. This thread is definitely all about the building though :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Berkut Posted November 20, 2015 Author Share Posted November 20, 2015 The work is continuing. :) I have no started on the intakes and bays. Many parts...; ...but the fit and engineering is remarkable. It might look intimidating but the engineering is done in such a way that it is impossible to go wrong. There are many good guiding tabs in logical places. Instead of painting all parts silver/aluminum by themself i did major assemblies and will paint those at once. So for example the intakes/bays were of 23 parts (all to be painted silver) i reduced the number of assemblies to 6; And a close up of one of the bays, see any evidence where the parts are glued together? ;) As i have to wait for paint to arrive (XF-16 Tamiya) in order to paint intakes/bays i will shift my focus to the engines over the weekend and some landing gear parts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IrishGreek Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Very Nice! And an autographed box too! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nazar Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Great start Berkut. Really looking forward to this one. :popcorn:/> Martin, I wrote to you in the mail, over the MiG-25. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kellyF15 Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 I MUST HAVE THIS KIT!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Berkut, How are the seams on the inside of the intake and exhaust assemblies? Will much sanding (if any) be needed to make the interior smooth and continuous? Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Martin @ AMK Models Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Martin, I wrote to you in the mail, over the MiG-25. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
B.Sin Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 The work is continuing. :)/> I have no started on the intakes and bays. Many parts...; ...but the fit and engineering is remarkable. It might look intimidating but the engineering is done in such a way that it is impossible to go wrong. There are many good guiding tabs in logical places. Instead of painting all parts silver/aluminum by themself i did major assemblies and will paint those at once. So for example the intakes/bays were of 23 parts (all to be painted silver) i reduced the number of assemblies to 6; And a close up of one of the bays, see any evidence where the parts are glued together? ;)/> As i have to wait for paint to arrive (XF-16 Tamiya) in order to paint intakes/bays i will shift my focus to the engines over the weekend and some landing gear parts. AMK is amazing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel111 Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Very interesting build, the kit itself looks remarkable. When is AMK releasing the 1/32 version Marcel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlexP Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 That is just beautiful out of the box detail, will definitely be following this build. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mario krijan Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Looks great!!! Cannot wait to get it in my hands :-) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Berkut Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 Berkut, How are the seams on the inside of the intake and exhaust assemblies? Will much sanding (if any) be needed to make the interior smooth and continuous?Steve Short story; Yes. Fit is very nice. Longer story; stay tuned. :) I have been doing some stuff on the engines and landing gear while waiting for the aluminum paint, should have an update tomorrow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Berkut Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 (edited) Alright, on the intakes. I had to adjust one raised edge very slightly in order for the intake assembly fit perfectly. The raised edge that needed adjustment is in the red circle; I would recommend first trying to fit without removing anything and see how it fits. Then adjust accordingly, i removed about 1-1.5mm i would guess. In the green circle is where the intake assembly will lean against anyway. If the edge is not adjusted i would get seam like this (sorry for the horrible picture); After adjustment, it looks like this; At which point the seam is very small and easy to fill with putty + acetone. There are also some mild sink marks at the front, decided to fill them since the intakes will be painted aluminum, but it is possible it isnt actually needed; The whole intake assembly fits very nicely and there will be no seams seen (even during dryfit) all the way to the smooth rounded section. On the rounded section however there is slightly raised plastic (not sure why, probably some engineering related solution) which will leave a seam; When the intake is assembled and one looks directly head on one doesn't actually see the seams at all. One has to be slightly higher or lower to be at an angle where one can see the seams. I suspect one will probably not notice them at all when everything is assembled and the fan and motor is in place etc. So i will probably not be doing anything about those seams. Otherwise i painted some exhaust parts green and engine assemblies in oily steel; Have given them black oil wash but more will follow + pigments. Hopefully i will get the paint needed for intakes/bays early next week at which point intakes, bays, engines can go in and the fuselage closed up. Edited November 22, 2015 by Berkut Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Awesome update, it answers all the questions I had about the intake assembly. Thank you! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kellyF15 Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Looks like a VERY sturdy kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fly-n-hi Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Cool WIP! Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Berkut Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 Alright, been a while since the last report but i have been doing quite a bit of work on the kit. :) First i weathered the landing gear bays and intakes with thin black wash; Then there was a lot of work (but fun) with the exhaust. First i weathered them with three shades; black, brown and white. That was followed by pigments in same colors. The end result; Finally the intakes/bays and engines could be fitted in. This went without any issues at all. The fit is tight but everything falls in place. Try a couple times to dry fit before gluing in to get a good idea where the seams are and where glue is needed. I recommend to fit the intakes starting with the bottom lip at the front and to have an angle so that the front is a bit lower than the bays and the tube section behind. The intakes themself were painted too, the ramp itself on top is grey so that will be painted later. I also did some detail painting in the bays but there isn't much to it, will take a picture later. Now that the intakes etc is in place that means the fuselage can be closed up. :) After that, the vertical stabs can go on. Meanwhile i have also prepared all the landing gear parts so those should be getting primer and paint in the coming days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Structurally and technically the intake/engine assembly is something I've never seen. Awesome engineering! Great work on your part too, Anton! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Berkut Posted December 8, 2015 Author Share Posted December 8, 2015 Fuselage closed up and the tails installed, tight fit but overall very good. Needs a clean up a few places but that is to follow tomorrow. A number of parts are just dry fitted in the picture. Two panellines are filled in on the wings because they don't exist on the real thing, caught that little bug slightly too late during the design. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Berkut Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 ...and the crowd goes wild. :P What does people of ARC think, should i drill the grid fins on R-77-1 out or not? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Seems you've already started so you can't stop anymore! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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