Aigore Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 Mmmmm.....gorgeous! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted November 19, 2019 Share Posted November 19, 2019 Stunning detail in the cockpit! I really like the pink sealant and how it contrasts with the turquoise cockpit. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Major Walt Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 Superb! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted November 24, 2019 Author Share Posted November 24, 2019 Thanks, fellas. I too like the contrast between the pink and the turquoise. I'll probably add some for the front gear well too, which actually gets me to another front gear part: the mudguard. The kit mudguard looks very plain even though its shape is pretty accurate. I added the prominent strengthening strips for the sides, some rows of rivets and engraved details. Should do it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted November 24, 2019 Author Share Posted November 24, 2019 The wings and the fuselage were joined two days ago. Since I've been a hardcore 1/72 builder, I didn't have big enough clamps for a model this thick. Suitable were found from my son's toys: I ended up using screw clamps from a Hot Wheels car track. Their strength was just enough for this job. The fit was quite okay although I did several dry-fitting exercises to get them right. I also assembled the intakes. With the interior painted the fit was very snug. I didn't glue them with fuselage yet but just wanted them to dry in to the right shape while being dry-fitted with it. I can already see some fit issues but I'm hoping to solve them with a design knife and some sanding before glueing. The vertical tails were another story. I still have a major issue on the left side where the leading edge extension (which were heavily bent but were solved with hot water) just doesn't meet with the top fuselage. I sanded and carved out plastic here and there, added strips of plastic on other places and still the fit is poor. Luckily the problem isn't on the side fuselage - especially if you take care of it before hand with careful dry-fitting. Both the vertical tails and the stabilators have smaller inserts on the "less important" side. The problem is - just like with the wings - that these inserts sink too deep inside their respective recesses creating visible steps (along panel lines). On the stabilators it's actually vice versa but the vertical tails have small but annoying steps on the inner sides which I didn't notice while dry-fitting them. Given the exquisite engraved and raised details on the vertical fins I'm inclined to leave them be... It wasn't clearly visible when trying them on but it could be that clamping them worsened the situation. There's also something with the wings. I noticed some bending before glueing them but it didn't appear that serious. Now the left side has a Concorde-like droop near the tip while the right side seems to be rising up just a bit. Oh crap. They too clearly need some hot water! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted November 30, 2019 Author Share Posted November 30, 2019 The total lack of piano hinges on this kit bothers me. It's especially evident on the nose area, where they are very visible, but on the real aircraft they are found also on the rear fuselage sides. It's hard to represent them as they should be but even a simpler version clearly enhances the look. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted December 4, 2019 Author Share Posted December 4, 2019 I find the front cockpit instrument panel coaming a bit too simplistic - no HUD lense is even provided. I drilled a hole for the lense, shaved off the mold-in two dimensional piping and substituted it with wire, drilled some lightening holes and added some details from styrene and scrap PE metal. I still have some ideas for further detailing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Curt B Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Wow, you are doing GREAT work! I hope your son won’t miss his Hot Wheels track pieces. I remember mine and I wouldn’t have been happy if they were gone 😪 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Whiskey Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 So nice. Went on a business trip two weeks ago and discovered my very soon to be ex-wife threw away some of my kits, including this one. And I just got it like a month ago! Still following your build as it's great to see it coming together. Keep up the good work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted December 5, 2019 Author Share Posted December 5, 2019 22 hours ago, Curt B said: Wow, you are doing GREAT work! I hope your son won’t miss his Hot Wheels track pieces. I remember mine and I wouldn’t have been happy if they were gone 😪 Duly returned! 16 hours ago, Whiskey said: So nice. Went on a business trip two weeks ago and discovered my very soon to be ex-wife threw away some of my kits, including this one. And I just got it like a month ago! No wonder she's your soon to be ex-wife! That's mean! Hopefully you'll be able to get another one cause despite of the some slightly negative surprises, it's a nice kit. Thanks for your kind comments both and thanks for watching! The nicest thing in this kit has arguably been the cockpit. I've really loved making it. The seats are very nice too and although some resin seats with beautifully molded belts can offer a bit more details, I happily settled with these. The harnesses and the ejection handles come from the kit's PE sheet. The white text on the seat pan was my own addition and is just white paint applied with a tooth pick. No real Cyrillic letters there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aigore Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 Ok, that is wicked bangseats! It's a delight seeing you work this kit 😄 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Curt B Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 (edited) Beautiful work on the ejection seats! And I’m glad you were able to return the borrowed toys 😊 @Whiskey: No matter how nasty a divorce may be, hurting a poor, innocent airplane just isn’t right. Sorry to hear about your situation...and your models... Edited December 5, 2019 by Curt B Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted December 6, 2019 Author Share Posted December 6, 2019 10 hours ago, Aigore said: Ok, that is wicked bangseats! It's a delight seeing you work this kit 😄 This coming from a dedicated 1/48 builder probably tells I've done something right. 😀 Yesterday when I was trying to find a suitable lense for the HUD from my spares box I bumped into a 1/72 K-36. How tiny it was! 😶 10 hours ago, Curt B said: Beautiful work on the ejection seats! And I’m glad you were able to return the borrowed toys 😊 Seems he didn't even notice. 🙂 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted December 9, 2019 Author Share Posted December 9, 2019 (edited) Despite of the IRST usually (meaning almost always) being retracted when on the ground, I decided to depict it in lowered position - which is entirely possible and makes the model a bit livelier. The kit IRST itself was a bit bland without any surface detail. It also needed a lot of sanding since the halves were quite irregular in shape. I engraved some panel lines and used just slightly pinkish white for the lense interior and mixed silver and brown for the ring. The shiny steel rings are from foil tape. Perhaps a bit too shiny at the moment. The interior of the canopies has got green insulation material. On a model one could use for instance some wrinkled foil for the job, but I just scraped some wrinkles and dents into the first layer of paint when wet so it would not look too smooth. The rear cabin also needed black curtains which come from a Champagne bottle. The white placards are also a scratched item. The green colour looks way too light in these photos. It's really much darker. Edited March 24, 2021 by janman Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted March 22, 2020 Author Share Posted March 22, 2020 The winter (which actually never came) went by without updates. I've been (extremely) slowly working with this thing though. The missiles were painted, but I'm not happy with the end result so still more work there. The intake sides have rivet lines which on some aircraft seem quite subtle while some other have a more pronounced pattern. I chose to add those rivets on mine. The even grid pattern is complemented by bigger ones zigzagging it. A bit like here, from an operational a/c: http://scalemodels.ru/modules/forum/img_1217189_1453173863_20.jpg.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ichitoe Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Excellent work! Saving this WIP for when I get to building my 31. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Berkut Posted March 27, 2020 Share Posted March 27, 2020 (edited) Excellent work so far Jan! Wish i had added those rivets on the intakes too, but oh well, on a different build... (have 3 more kits) Personally, while the cockpit is excellent, my personal favorite is the whole intake/engine and landing gear assembly. Just like the real thing, and engineered really well in the kit! PS; My build is progressing well and is in the finishing parts, but i am sure you will finish (no pun intended?) before me, despite the 5 year headstart.😅 Edited March 27, 2020 by Berkut Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aigore Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Hot darn, you make those seams disappear! Wish I got mine together as good...I way too inpatient 😛 (yes I'm sneak building the dog at a mates place :P) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Great job Jan! The IRST look quite better now and the bang seat,wow! Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted May 6, 2021 Author Share Posted May 6, 2021 Not dead yet. After finding some further reference material, the project is gathering pace again. I was concerned about certain panel lines on this kit and a couple of missing bumbs. I also realized there were more piano hinges missing, now on the top fuselage. Although a lot of fastener details are included with the kit, a lot is missing. In reality for instance the spine panels are full of them and these were duly added. They are rather visible in many photos. And so are the piano hinges. It seems the kit designers have checked their references, but the execution has been left halfway. This was corrected. I still have to correct the areas marked with yellow. There should be a small inspection hatch in the intersection of four panels. Hobby Boss has got this right - and even Trumpeter in 1/72 scale! Then there are the bumbs that HB almost got right. AMK has nothing so these were scratch built. A good starting point can actually be found from the kit parts: you're supposed to use either C4&C5 or C16&C21 on the intakes, but the leftovers have a good profile for the outermost sloping bumbs, albeit after some cutting & shaping. They appear a bit pronounced, especially in this light, but I'll try to get them look smoother. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted May 6, 2021 Author Share Posted May 6, 2021 The ventral fuselage is missing some details as well. I added some fasteners, drilled out some exhaust and added lines of rivets into the most visible areas. Due to soot and all kinds of streaks they become quite visible. I also engraved some details on the "keel" in the middle. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 Niiiiice! (even if in the wrong scale.... ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ruud Posted May 12, 2021 Share Posted May 12, 2021 Great work Jan! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nr1forme Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 Great to see that you’re back and at it again with this one. Looking forward to seeing your progress! 👌🏻😎 /Emil Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sebastijan Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 I sooooo knew I have to give you this kit! This is marvelous! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.