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After watching the Clint Eastwood movie, I was inspired to build a model of the infamous Firefox. A bit of web searching and I realized none of the available kits were true representations, until I came across this thread: https://www.therpf.com/forums/threads/firefox-mig-31-movie-aircraft.239915/

The 7 years of research and trial & error printing, really paid off as this model is very impressive. 1/18th scale was a bit larger than I was looking for, but what the heck, you only live once! It's entirely 3D printed with the main parts being PLA while detail parts are resin and wing fences are laser cut metal. Being printed in PLA, this beast will require lots and lots of sanding to get smooth. There were options for landing gear and open weapons bays, but I opted for the basic kit. Each option is additional $$ and the basic kit is pricey enough.

 

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In 1/18th scale the model measures 42 inches/107 cm in length with a 29 inch/74 cm wingspan.

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The cockpit is well-detailed, though you won't see much once it's installed.

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The 3-part exhaust nozzles are a nice touch.

 

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Time to get back to the model. More later...

 

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I started on the front and rear portions of the fuselage first, just to get some practice working with this material. 3D PLA is generally pretty rough to begin with, but with lots of sanding, it can be made into a nice smooth surface. Fortunately the panel lines are pretty deep, so they show up well after primer. This is the forward fuselage after initial sanding.

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Still looking a little rough, but it's a good start. Here is it sanded after first fill primer coat.

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Looking much better after second primer coat.

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With this section done, I can now cut out the window sections. Next up is tackling the intakes...

 

 

 

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10 hours ago, X-Plane Fan said:

I'm not the designer of this model, just the builder of the supplied parts. The link posted in the opening post will take you to the designer.

Thanks for the info. Looks like he used Sketchup. 
 I’m amazed at how well you tackled those print lines. Not easy on an FDM print. Keep posting! I’m a fan of the aircraft 

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As deigned, the model has the intakes blocked off not far into the inlet, very similar to the actual movie miniature models. I wanted to add a bit more depth to mine. I started with the small, center inlet where the guns will be located. I few pieces of plastic card took care of this one.

 

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For the larger inlets, I asked a friend to create a 3D CAD I could print to extend the inlets. The upper inlets are extended about 2 inches while the lower inlets are a bit deeper.

 

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The end result was well worth the efforts. Now, I can assemble the main body sections.

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Main fuselage assembly was pretty straightforward.  Several coats of fill primer were needed to get a relatively smooth finish. While many panel lines were visible, many were were lost under the paint, requiring me to scribe ALL the lines back into the surface. A tedious, but necessary part of building larger 3D printed models. Next up will be the cockpit and front fuselage.

 

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Sanded model with one side scribed.

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Time o put the large part aside and focus on the cockpit. The model comes with a sitting figure of Gant, so let's get to it. The entire cockpit consists of 6 pieces of red resin, it doesn't sound like much, but the end result is impressive. 

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Hours of trimming, test fitting and cleanup made for a slow start. I found I couldn't have the instrument panel attached when sliding into the cockpit, so adjustments were made for that. With test pit complete, I made sure it would attached to the next section before painting. Also trimmed out the windows in the forward fuselage here.

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Using screen captures from the movie and one cockpit pic found online, the details were pretty straightforward.

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I started with the side consoles, before moving on to the main panel. Having access to an Alps printed really helped detail some of the finer items. All the switches, knobs and buttons are all hand painted.

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I used screen captures from the movie for the three CRT displays, it added some nice color and accuracy to the panel. All the instrument faces are individual decals that resemble the actual gauge.

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The seat was pretty easy since you don't see much of it with everything assembled. Painting the Gant figure was a little challenging, since he's in a black flight suit with black gloves, boots and helmet. Different shades of dark gray & black helped a bit. The model doesn't come with the clear face shield, but I found an old vac canopy with just the right curves to make one.

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One last test fit before install..

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Once installed, not much can be easily seen, but if you look closely, the details are impressive.

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Next up will be adding the control surfaces, then on to final assembly.

 

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Once the scribing was completed, I was able to install all the control surfaces. The canards were pretty easy, but the rest had some minor issues. The vertical stabs aren't labeled left & right, but there is a small difference between them, the angle of the aft-facing weapons. Once installed, the holes should be level, glad I found that. 

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The slots for the vertical stabs and ventral fins weren't fully modeled into the CAD and required some trimming and cutting to get in place.

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With those issues resolved, final assembly was pretty straightforward. Leading edges fit well as did the out wing panels, airbrakes, spoilers and nose. Fully assembled it's a menacing looking aircraft. On to final primer and paint... more soon....

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