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My Mikro-Mir Kalinin K-7 has survived the current vagaries of the international postal services and has finally arrived into my eager hands....

 

Ordered on-line from the Ukraine from :- https://amarket-model.com/      the kit was packed inside a stout carboard box with the contents cocooned in

bubble wrap and although it took a while, it arrived undamaged - excellent service :thumbsup:

 

The impressive box art shows what the finished model should look like....

 

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The massive wing is made from hollow fibreglass-resin with a superb glass-like surface finish with a restrained fabric effect - it spans a staggering 74 cm (29inches)....

 

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Underside view - with an La-5FN for scale.....

 

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The rest of the kit is injection-moulded plastic with excelent engraved detail - these are the vertical rudders....

 

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The corrugated external finish is particularly well done - being very restrained and true to scale .....

 

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I won't show all the sprues here - you can see them on my website :- http://www.flankers-site.co.uk/model_kalinin_k-7.html

 

This sprue has the extremely delicate mouldings of the Scarffe rings and machine guns for the numerous gun turrets....

 

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At 26cm (10.5in) - the tailplane is bigger than a Spitfires wing....

 

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The tires have legible raised lettering........

 

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The cockpit glazing is thin and crystal clear....

 

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Self-adhesive masks are inluded - as is an etched brass fret and simple decal sheet.

 

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The instructions are printed on six A4 sheets - folded in half to make a twelve-page 'booklet'.......

 

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The centre page is the simple painting and decal placement guide.....

 

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This is an excellent new kit from Mikro-Mir and must have cost them a small fortune to create - an expense reflected in the retail price.

 

It is an interesting replica of a bonkers design - and I can't wait to get it started...

 

Ken

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I've made a start.......

 

Being a limited-run kit, all the parts need 'fettling' to fit... edges need trimming to square them up, some of the parts have flash in awkward places,

delicate parts need careful trimming and are prone to breakage ......etc

 

All par for the course for this type of kit.

 

The four seats have sides that are way too thick - and benefit from being thinned down......

(as moulded left, half trimmed middle, fully trimmed right)..

 

What's the collective consensus on seat belts??? - just lap straps - or full 4 - point over-the-shoulder type straps ?????

The instructions are lacking - and there are are very few colour notes in the instructions.....

 

 

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After trimming, the mounting struts are attached...

 

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The mounting parts are very delicate and easy to break when removing them from the thick sprue gates - but they are nicely moulded.

 

The seats are attached to a floor - which then fits into a groove in the cabin side panel.....

 

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But.... the floor is too thick (or the groove too narrow) to fit - so I had to widen the groove and tapered the floor edges until it fitted.

This would have been easier to do BEFORE I attached the seat - so Top Tip - make sure parts fit before assembling them !!!  :wall:

 

More later...

 

Ken

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