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Speaking of those good old “golden” times! ?

Here is a bit of RETRO. Lets do some serious mucking about and build a real MiG-21 and not this new trial kit . . . :D  :winkgrin:  :D

 

I am sure everyone (the older ones) have seen this KP rendering. It was the best in any scale (remember those joks, like the Coke bottle Heller or the Airfix kit and the one by Hasegawa (have them somewhere deep in the stash)) back when it was released. Over all good, cheap and thousands were built . . .

 

 

kp3BIfF.jpg

 

 

 

Most of my Fujimi kits were stolen from the garage storage. But this one is still here with me. Once again when released it was good, but when was that . . .  :hmmm: :hmmm:

 

 

Xjvb662.jpg

 

 

Best regards

Gabor

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Continuing with painting cockpit parts.

First a layer of the “strange” Russian blue cockpit colour on my Russian version of the MF. On the Hungarian examples a so called “Wallkyd Green” colour was used which was close to the Russian colour but definitely a green colour.

 

WUkQnfl.jpg

 

 

Here is a comparison of the Edu painted photoetch from the 48th scale kit put on the real metal parts from the canopy heating duct. I have not compared the 72ns offering but would imagine them to be similar. The point is Edu got the cockpit colour almost spot on! This could be a help to anyone wanting to use the prepainted photoetch parts. You will have to look for a paint which goes with the prepainted etched parts.

 

 

Gj67mBs.jpg

 

 

To show the difference between the original Russian cockpit blue colour and the one used by Hungarian AF from mid 70’s a Russian original piece of canopy heating duct was put on the canopy of a Hungarina MF. Actually exactly the same parts.

 

 

atAprI9.jpg

 

 

During the build in this extreme hot weather one of the cooling agents were Magnum ice creams. :D  :winkgrin:  :D   I have recycled the wooden ice cream sticks to act as a base for the cockpit parts. Small bits of double sided tape held them in place.

 

With a scale corrected base colour (bit lighter but it will go darker with all the details added, varnish . . .)  in place started painting the details. First a grey, then black, white, blue, red . . .

 

 

QvCIhD9.jpg

 

 

A bit of depth of field was added with highlights and shadows.

 

 

bGWeXe3.jpg

 

 

A little cleaning here and there is still needed. Here it is to show the scale of the thing on my thumb.

 

 

O7bXeQx.jpg

 

 

Now will need a layer of varnish to seal all the colours and go on with other colours as well as the decals to go onto it.

 

 

Best regards

Gabor

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Looks very good. Did'nt know that the greenj of your country was different. Learning all the time.

What greeen do you used? You can also use cocktail sticks... Very usefull.😀

 

Han

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While the cockpit instrument parts are drying here are some bits and pieces. Some detailing work.

 

 

 

zrBxHXR.jpg

 

 

 

The control column was detailed and a little bit modified. The Gorkiy made aircraft had a different grip. Not much of a difference but if it is there why not do it.

 

 

Q4e3SUG.jpg

 

 

The main airbrake in the kit is a definitive NO USE part (D45) for me. It is way too thick and lacks details. A set of new main airbrakes was made.

 

 

wxJjkqi.jpg

 

 

The small intakes at the back end were drilled out. Here again there is a difference between the Gorkiy and the Moscow produced aircraft on part D12. Not much of a difference but the Moscow aircraft had a more bullet shape (the pointing tip to the back) intake body.

There is a big intake on the underside, part D11. The forward lip of the intake is at an angle to vertical (from aircraft surface). The forward part was built up to give the right angle and the intake drilled. Years ago attention was drawn to this “problem” to Eduard in connection with the 48th scale kit but it seems that it was missed again with the 72nd kit. Oh well, no problem, it is easy to correct if you care to do it.

 

 

BSjVHzo.jpg 

 

 

More on the cockpit soon.

 

Best regards

Gabor

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Gabor,

 

Nice detatils you tell us. Din't  know there were such a small difference between the Moscow and Gorky plants. Maybe you can write a book about it...😂

Nice progress.

 

Han

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A bit of a side note. There is a small error on the 72 nd scale kit. The brake parachute housing has a lock on the right side. It is only on the right side and it locks the clamshell doors of the para brake housing after the parachute container is installed and connected.

 

This is how it looks like on the doors. Once again only by accident (no, it is not) that I have one of each in original form.

 

 

M43jMFH.jpg

 

 

To show it I also went out to take a photo of the way it is on a real Fishbed also.

 

 

L3XYb3v.jpg

 

 

Eduard had a serious problem with this lock. When the original 48th scale MiG-21MF kit was released it was all in place as it should be. But then due to unknown reasons the press tools were changed on all later MiG-21’s versions so the locks disappeared from the following SMT, the bis, the PFM versions. Only on the reconnaissance R version had it in place only due to the fact that the same press forms of the fin were used as those for the original MF.

I don’t really understand the reasons for this but who am I to question the wisdom of a great manufacturer.

 

 

wNyWgw6.jpg

 

 

 

QbynuRt.jpg

 

 

OK and now we have the MiG-21MF in 72nd scale. Once again it is beyond comprehension what is going on at Eduard. Now they overdone it a bit, or exactly by 100%. Now we have the lock on both sides. OK, they simply pressed the mirror key when importing the surface features on fin CAD’s.

 

 

ZuePHOc.jpg

 

 

znt3ls9.jpg

 

 

Oh well. This is all just for the fun of it. Simply take a fine sand paper and remove the “extra” lock on the left side of the parabrake housing.

While they have included an extra lock on the left side, unfortunately they completely ignored the black bolted on instruction placards on the decal sheet. Here the MiG designers used these etched metal placards instead of traditional painted on stencils. In all there should be 4 of these on both sides of the fin.

 

As for the 48th scale version a bit of scratch if you are bothered by the missing lock.

 

Best regards

Gabor

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Here is the continuation of the cockpit painting and decaling.

 

Before varnish few bits and pieces were added like the throttle box. It was cut up, detailed and glued in place before a spot of paint was added. The throttle grip will be added later in construction.

The Undercarriage Up-Down lever housing was also made and glued in place in the top corner of the left side console.

 

 

BcIMjIK.jpg

 

 

 

With a layer of varnish in place it was time for the decals. Individual dials were cut from the decal sheet (where required) while in other places blocks of instruments were cut and used. Some other bits and pieces were used from the decal to represent the different placards inside the cockpit. The Cartograph decals were found to be in excellent register and laid down extremely thin on the layer of varnish. The good old Set and Sol were used with the decals.

 

 

3mGn0q8.jpg

 

 

mcc6KGo.jpg

 

 

fRCxyru.jpg

 

 

I have already mentioned that the cockpit is one place where I don’t see any reason for an aftermarket set. What you get in the kit is as good as it can be in 72nd scale. Just add paint and it is all there. For those who don’t like painting fine details the kit offers pre-painted photoetch parts. So it is all there.

 

 

6bGVOn7.jpg

 

 

I did buy the 48th scale resin cockpit set. Have to say the main reason for it was the ejection seat, but the tab did look good. It offers the chance of just “drop it in place” with no detailed sub assembly. But and this is a bit BUT it is almost impossible to get to the side walls to paint all the fine details that Brassin cockpit offers. With the 72nd kit the producer also offers a resin cockpit, but how will you paint it??? This is why I chose to use the standard plastic parts and have to say in the end they turned out to be alright.

   

 

 

Best regards

Gabor

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On 8/5/2018 at 5:12 AM, ya-gabor said:

Here is a comparison of the Edu painted photoetch from the 48th scale kit put on the real metal parts from the canopy heating duct. I have not compared the 72ns offering but would imagine them to be similar. The point is Edu got the cockpit colour almost spot on! This could be a help to anyone wanting to use the prepainted photoetch parts. You will have to look for a paint which goes with the prepainted etched parts.

 

 

Gj67mBs.jpg

 

Best regards

Gabor

 

There are a couple reviews and builds where they say 50/50 mix of Gunze Sangyo H25 Sky Blue and H46 Emerald Green is the perfect match for the eduard prepainted photoetch. That mix was tested by another fellow modeller to be a match.

 

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Still with the cockpit.

I have no idea what colour people are using for the Russian cockpit blue, but any ideas are welcome. Personally I used my own colour suitably altered for scale effect. Once I did have an Akan bottle but without any outside interference (opening it or using it) it simply went all jelly like and died.

Previously I did post a comparison of the Eduard pre-painted photoetch set with the original cockpit metal part, but it was for the 48th scale kit. Now I made a comparison for the 72nd scale pre-painted etch fret. It is a more pale colour as one could expect for the smaller scale kit but over-all it is a good representation of the cockpit colour. So for those who want to use the photoetch they should look for a similar paint.

 

0DqZmBE.jpg

 

 

Concerning the actual cockpit parts.

The kits plastic parts are basically a mix of this and that. Here I am mainly speaking of the common D Sprue which has parts for both the Moscow and the Gorkiy produced versions. But there is also the question of the instrument panel.

 

Here is a note and a hint for the modellers:

If you want to go strictly by the book and build a real Gorkiy produced version of the MF then you will HAVE to use the pre-painted photoetch parts for the instrument panel and the right side wall. The plastic part (E1) in all the sets (all named “Gorkiy Interceptor version” Library, ProfiPACK, Royal . . .) and the side walls (D34 & D67) are strictly for the Moscow produced (Eduard named it “Ground attack”) version.

I am sure Eduard said it is a MINOR difference and “we will not make a mention of this in the instruction sheet”. But at the same time it was a big enough difference to validate a different pre-painted photoetch fret where the instrument panel and the side panels are correctly reproduced for the Gorkiy production version.  Noted with yellow circles the top part of the panels next to the HUD and also to the right side from the radar scope a lot of dials were changed or added like the power in percentage, G load and Angle of Attack indicators to mention some. Also the big 4 part warning panel of the true MF version to the right of the radar was broken up into separate panels and redistributed including 3 on the right hand side wall.

 

WwkIkZc.jpg

 

So for a TRUE Gorkiy kit build don’t use the plastic parts, you will HAVE to use the pre-painted photoetch.

 

It is only with the Moscow produced version that you have a real alternative choice (as in instruction sheet) between using the plastic parts or the pre-painted etch parts for the instrument panels and the side walls.

 

 

Just out of curiosity did a dry run build of the cockpit, mainly using kit plastic parts but also testing the altered control stick (still few things need to be added to it) which has a modified grip to correspond with the Gorkiy produced version.  This is a true one-off as I have no plan what so ever to build another one Gorkiy versions apart from the one already in production (to be painted in Russian colours).

All the other kits (which have just arrived :D  :D ) will be the Moscow versions and there is also a plan to do an early M version, but this is only an idea at the moment B).

 

 

7WmLTJK.jpg

 

 

N2McAlZ.jpg

 

 

ujaBUxP.jpg

 

 

 

 

Best regards

Gabor

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On Britmodeller there was a question about the Overtrees kits and if the "Moscow MF version" is available or not. It is true that it will be released in ProfiPACK version only in September or October but it is already available in the Royal box as well as Overtrees. 

 

The Moscow produced version is available as Overtrees (70142X) without any problem not only the Gorkiy version (70141X). I have just received my 2 spare “Moscow” airframes.  :D  :D  So there should be no obstacles in getting it.

 

OWU7KEO.jpg

 

 

Mind you in July they were available at a 20% discount which was a real bargain. The catch with Eduard store is the postage abroad, it was fairly expensive (it would have been around 500 Czech Crowns, price of two kits!!!!).

I have to correct this, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EXPENSIVE if it was not for the “free post day” offer at the end of July. So in the end we had to pay just the kits (with the discount) and no postage at all. This way it was really a bargain!  :yikes:

 

 

Best regards

Gabor

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Hi Gabor,

 

Very interesting modeling stuf. Ok, got both kits from Eduard and a lot of KP kits, so called "New Moulds" .

I was trying to mix the cockpit green color with Revell Aqua paint. It was a disaster....🤣

 

Keep up the good mood...

 

Han

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Hi Han,

 

Good luck with your work. I dont envy you for the KP kits (be it "New Moulds" or the original) they are far outdated by now. Good for playing around, using as a test subject for paints, techniques . . . But of course there are people who still like them. 

Isnt the "New Mould" version a simple re-box of the RV kit??? Once again I had the RV kit but most of it is fiction although the surface at a first glance looks convincing but it is fiction!

 

Mr.Paint has a MRP-001 paint which is a good representation of the Russian Turquoise Blue cockpit colour. It is here:

 

http://mrpaint.sk/farby?product_id=51

 

I am working with MRP paints and like them a lot, both the Hungarian MF and the RussianMF under construction will be painted with Mr. Paint colours.

 

Second bet for the cockpit colour would be the Russian Akan colour but as I said the one I bought in Moscow has gone jelly like and completely useless now. I have not opened it, it just went "bad" on its own! Strange! Have no idea what happened with it.

 

Best regards

Gabor

 

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Gabor,I followed your build from the beginning and the thread is eye-opening.I've already bought my Eduard Library edition when the producer started the preorder ( the first of many,I think) and all you done 'till now will be useful for my future MF;indeed many details are useful even for my currently Zvezda Bis of which I'll post my very few progress later.

Han,if you want see how look MRP Russian Turquoise,you can see the color applied to my Mig.21Bis here.

 

Keep up the good work Gabor!

 

Gianni

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Gianni and Gabor

 

Both thanks. I not give up mixing Revell Aqua Paint.😁

 

I think the New KP are re-moulded RV and revisted witch are looking nice, but Eduard is, still, the better one.

 

Han

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As we speak “Work in progress” (or "In Progress Build")!   Word for word!  :winkgrin:  :D  :winkgrin:

Some heavy metals hard at it.

 

2yt6eqx.jpg

 

 

WUTB4GE.jpg

 

 

Ptu5gW1.jpg

 

 

And “Speedy” also:D  :D  :D

 

 

j9SfkQz.jpg

 

 

P.s. The only problem it has been going on for 3 months. What they are building for so long is a simple level crossing. I am sure for good money and I am not sure it is only local currency but more EU “gift”. 

 

Best regards

Gabor

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Now this is not so funny!

I am sure there is a perfect explanation for this (and you can explain everything no matter what) but  . . .

The yesterday perfectly laid down asphalt is broken up this morning!  :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall:

 

 

fBXSrl4.jpg

 

 

I am sure they can explain it, but with planning . . .

Of course when I am the building contractor, with this kind of “work execution” there is a chance to charge that much extra for the project, more work, more workhours, more use of machines, more fuel spent  . . .

 

Best regards

Gabor

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Back to some real work with the kit(s).  The decals on the instrument panels were sealed with a layer of clear varnish. They were left to dry for few days before flat was sprayed on. Now only one step left with the panels.

 

XeOsnvM.jpg

 

 

JZDPFgo.jpg 

 

 

The cockpit tub is in production but I also had a look at the ejection seat as provided in the kit. It resembles the KM-1M seat but has some “rough edges”, a bit too “square” and orderly. Will have to see how I can make it more lifelike. But for the moment here it is “out of box”. Parts just glued together to see what it is like.

 

 

xvU8a04.jpg

 

 

fq1SYBV.jpg

 

 

 

Tried to put the seat in place and found that it is a real tight fit. The thing is that having measured the real seat, the Edu seat is about right, although it is visible that parts are a bit oversimplified and exaggerated in places to comply with requirements of injection moulding. But the same goes for the cockpit tub walls and panel parts, so I believe it is in fact not the seat that is too big but the cockpit. In real life there is a gap on both sides of the seat, even if not a great one, but it exists. Will have to make some adjustments here. More on this later.

 

 

Best regards

Gabor

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Just a short up-date on the build. Promise not to show anymore of the instrument panels and side consoles. But there was just one last step. Had to add the glazing on instrument dial faces. Gloss varnish was used in several layers to show it and to make it stand out from the matt panel surface.

 

 UQlwSe2.jpg

 

 

 

I don’t know how much of it will be visible but it is there, so I can lean back and say it is finished.

 

 SzS3Wss.jpg

 

 

Well OK, not finished completely since still need to add the instrument panel lights from scratch, gear down lever, friction control lever as well as of course the throttle and some push levers which protrude from the instrument panel face. Did I say that the MiG-21 MF has a very cluttered instrument panel.  :winkgrin:  :winkgrin:

 

 

 

Best regards

Gabor

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