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This is my attempt at a MiG-1.  I first attempted one in the mid 90's based on incomplete data which only resulted in one of the later prototypes and not a true production -1. 

There were 100 MiG-1's produced (contrary to the Squadron In Action book) before being replaced by the improved MiG-3.  The early MiG-3's were refined and improved upon the MiG-1 but shared some similar features. 

 

Here are some of the best photos I've found of MiG-1's, either from Massimo Tessitori's site, or from a Russian MiG discussion board. 

Easiest way to differentiate a MiG-1 from an early production MiG-3 is the landing gear doors, the MiG-1 having much more basic doors versus the far more refined design of the -3.  Also an obvious sign is the MUCH smaller ventral radiator.  Harder to see is fewer cowling details on the -1, a smaller "chin" intake, a slightly shorter nose, plus a seven-slot grill (instead of 6) just aft and lower than the exhaust stacks. 

 

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This one shows a MiG-1 in front of a lineup of MiG-3's, showing they would have been intermingled within the same regiments.

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Edited by Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy
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I approach my MiG-1 in the same way as I do my MiG-3's: HobbyBoss for the base airframe, with many details and parts added from the RPM/Maquette kit, plus much scratchbuilding. 

 

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HobbyBoss MiG-3: Parts to Keep

     -Fuselage

     -Wings

     -Lower cowling

     -Landing gear legs

     -Prop & spinner

 

RPM/Maquette MiG-3: Parts to Keep

     -Cockpit floor

     -Cockpit sidewall control boxes

     -Seat pan

     -Seat back

     -(normally I use the RPM wheels for MiG-3s as an improvement over the simple HB doughnuts, but not in this case)

 

Additional Parts

     -Rexx metal exhausts

     -Modell-Hobby PE Instrument panel

     -Microdisign PE set (cowling vents, ventral vents, seat belts)

 

Edited by Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy
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Work begins with the HobbyBoss fuselage.  Outline is good but the entire interior must be removed, from cowling all the way to the back of the cockpit.  I start by drilling then grinding. 

It's amazing how much plastic there is to be removed, especially when you do more than one MiG.

 

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The radio shelf and rear decking is to be completely scratchbuilt; looks far better than salvaging any of it molded into the kit fuselage.  The sidewalls are also puttied and sanded smooth as they will be slightly visible in the cockpit structure.

 

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MiG-3 cockpit colors are slowly becoming better understood.  The one surviving MiG-3 wreck preserved in Finland (in pieces) has the interiors of the cockpit fuselage panels painted in the same light blue as the undersides, a practice apparently confirmed by some MiG-3 veterans.  Was a surprise to me, but there it is.

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Finally, the cowling must be shortened a tad for a MiG-1.

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Now that the cowling has been shortened, there are many cowling details to be done.

     -"Cheek intake" must be improved.  Instead of being symmetrical, the left intake is underhand scoop, while the right one is overhand.

     -Fairing at front of exhaust stacks must be made smaller, same as for an early MiG-3 (kit depicts a late -3).

     -Long late MiG-3 style gun fairings need to be shortened, and drilled out (same design as an early -3).

     -"Chin scoop" intake must be made much smaller

     -Photoetched 6-slot grill installed behind and below the exhaust stacks.  A seventh slot will be added later (didn't realize this until after it had been installed)

 

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Thanks guys! :cheers:

 

The wing structure needed extensive rebuilding. 

     -The leading edge slats must be filled in completely, as these did not appear until the late-model MiG-3's. Also fill the holes for the rocket rail mounts.    

     -The wheel wells needed re-shaping to a smaller, rounder shape, completely lacking the inner doors.  The shapes will be refined as the build progresses.

     -Taking a piece from the PE detail set, installing the panel with the vents to the underside after first grinding away the affected area.

     -The wingtip lights are carved away, to be rebuilt with gap-filling CA glue. 

     -The landing light is carved away completely, and rebuilt using a chunk of clear sprue, with a hole drilled into the inside surface and filled with silver paint to replicate the light lens.

     -The wing root intakes are sanded back a bit, making a more squared upper profile.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

1/72 MiG-3's are seriously lacking in decent exhausts.  While companies like Quickboost and Moskit have been a major blessing in this area to most VVS fighter types, the MiG-3 has been overlooked. 

The one exception is Rexx, which does produce very very nicely done metal MiG-3 exhausts.  The downside is they are hard to find. 

On the good side, I purchased a half dozen sets from their makers in the Ukraine.  The downside is it is about a 6 week wait from order until delivery in the USA, as they are made to order.  The good side again is the company has been trustworthy every time for me.  So if you are patient, you will get your MiG-3 exhausts (note, I have no idea how the current crisis & tragedy will affect this, and to be honest my want for exhausts is absolutely nothing compared to the needs of the people there)..

 

They do have to be installed from the inside, before the cowling is enclosed in construction.  This is why I hollowed out the cowling's interior around the exhaust slots.  Then a block of plastic will be needed to mount the exhausts to.  Before priming the pipes will be carefully masked.

 

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Edited by Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy
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The cockpit flooring of the RPM/Maquette kit is outstanding and accurate in all its unique detail.  The cockpit tube structure will be scratchbuilt, at least for the sidewalls.  The mostly well-molded control boxes are cut from the RPM's slightly less impressive tube sidewalls (they are generally fine for closed cockpit builds). 

 

MiG-3 (and therefore MiG-1) cockpit colors are a point of contention, but are slowly beginning to be understood.  Currently the best info is the flooring in A-14 grey (formerly thought to be olive), tube structure in dark gray or olive, seat back in 4BO olive.  Early MiG-3 (and therefore MiG-1) instrument panels seem to have been light gray or similar light color, with later -3's having black IP's. 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Now the wing lights.  I don't just cut out the scribed curved lens line, I cut out the entire square light housing.  Clear sprue filed flat on three sides to fit the slot, then a hole drilled on the inside/rear surface.  The hole is filled with silver paint, which will hopefully look like a lens within the glass.  Then the entire piece is filed and sanded flush with the wing.  Later an oval-shaped masking will be applied to mask the outer light cover.  It is still unpolished so far.

 

The wingtip position lights are also cut out, then remade with clear CA glue, then filed/sanded flush.  They will be masked with liquid mask then painted at the end.  They too are still not polished smooth yet.

 

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Edited by Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy
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Now for blending the wing to the fuselage.

 

The large ventral intake is about half the size of the one refined for the MiG-3. 

A note about the ventral intake is the aft section could be positioned open or closed (see photos in original post).  I finally opted for open.

 

Also, radio shelf and everything under the rear transparency should be painted the same AII green as the aft fuselage.  Apparently the entire subassembly was painted uniformly before adding the transparency and before connecting it to the metal forward fuselage assembly.

 

Also time to use a Dremel roto-drill to try to carve a seventh slot in the brass vents below and aft of the exhaust stacks.  Didn't go as neatly as I had hoped, but....

 

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Here's how I do my MiG-3 props and spinners (and by default this MiG-1 as well).

 

First, prepare all 3 kit parts.

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Second, each blade is trimmed near its center hub.  Holes are drilled in each prop blade and in the center hub for later assembly, including thin brass wire piece installed in each blade base.

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Third, once holes are drilled in the center hub, attach it to the spinner base.

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Fourth, both spinner parts are assembled with the prop blade hub mounted inside.  Some bodywork is needed to blend the two parts together to appear as one.

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Finally, spinner and prop blades are primed and ready. 

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Now to mask the exhausts and give a good coat of primer to the airframe.  With this many modifications, there absolutely WILL be flaws to fill/correct.

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After priming, major corrections still need to be made to the modified wheel well profiles....

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Paint.  AII blue below, AII green above.

 

A couple of notes. 

First, the wooden structures (empennage, outer wing panels) ended up with a slightly darker shade of green than the metal structures.  Whether this is because they were painted separately as subassemblies or if they simply faded in the sun at different rates, is debatable.  I gave mine only a slight color difference, though maybe it should be more so. 

 

Second, while the empennage had its green with a sprayed demarcation, the wings and cowling had hard-masked line. 

 

btHzQne.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ok folks, been busy with the end of the school year.

 

Here's how I correct the flaps on the MiG-1 and my MiG-3's; the wing on top is uncorrected; the one below has the section of metal strip removed and the flaps enscribed.

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Also, I'm fairly certain that the wheel wells on a MiG-1 should be the same AII blue as the rest of the undersides.  See the photo of the wreck, which we can see is actually a wrecked MiG-1.  We can be certain of this by the shape of the wheel wells and the very short radiator intake.  It seems to me that the wells are the same color as the rest of the undersides. 

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Time for the mainwheel doors, one of the key components to make it a MiG-1 and not a MiG-3. 

Basic doors cut out, but then bent to a gentle curve; if they are completely flat, they will not be as authentic.

Then cut apart and modify the PE door details from the Microdisign PE set, bent and cut to fit the new MiG-1 doors.

 

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Almost there. 

A couple of cockpit items.  First, the RPM/Maquette kit has a great armored seat back as a starting back, although too large and some details to change.

1) Reduce the height and width of the seat back by careful cutting and sanding.

2) Remove the seat cushion, which apparently is fictional.

3) Add the padded headrest from the HobbyBoss kit after sanding it slightly smaller. 

4) Add harness from the Microdisign PE set. 

The actual seat back appears to have been 4BO olive, with the headrest in leather.

Also note, the seat pan, once thought to have been natural aluminum, now appears to have been A14 gray.

 

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Final update before the completed MiG-1.  Due to technical problems, I have to post the text first, then the photos.  Hope this is fixed soon....

 

1) The tires need to be replaced.  Normally I use the RPM/Maquette tires to replace the ridiculous "donuts" of the HobbyBoss, but in this case they need to be smaller, and without the diamond tread pattern.  I found something close enough in my spares; not sure what they came from, probably a few decades ago, but I used the PE wheel hubs from the Microdisign brass set to cover the middles, and, close enough.

 

2) The wings DO need stars on their upper surfaces.  It was when war broke out that this changed to the now-familiar practice of no stars on the wingtops, but photos clearly show the prewar MiGs had them. I promise the red star decals are true red; can't figure out why they show up as pink in the photos....

 

3) And finally the prop blades were painted and installed into the hub.  You may/may not recall earlier that I cut the blades off separately, and blended the hub pieces to become as one.

Alclad airframe aluminum on the blades.  Flat black should ONLY be used on the rear surface, as it was an antiglare for the pilot.

Edited by Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy
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