Dragon

Thanks Max! The build is primed and masked, and it's ready for the paint shop! The wings went on without any issues. The top wing/fuselage seam wasn't that bad and easily dealt with with Mr. Surfacer. The bottom seam on the other hand had quite the gap, on both sides. The canopy fit wasn't as bad as I had feared, but there were some pretty good sized gaps the deal with. The fix isn't perfect, but it works. Next up is deciding which paint to use. It's either airbrushing Floquil Old Silver or a spray can of Tamiya AS-12 Bare Metal Silver. I'm leaning towards the spray can, but I'll do a test of both colors on the kit's MPF tail to see which I like best. Thanks for looking in. Mike

John - if you’re in the US, PM me. I may have an extra set of intakes. Mike

Great looking build and photography of it as well!

I’ve been watching your LSP build, and it piqued my interest in this aircraft. I’m planning to pick up one of these Airfix kits, so I’ll be watching this build closely. Mike

Wow, very nice!

The build is looking great! It'll be wrapped up in no time. Mike

An overdo update for the build. This build was bumped to the backburner as I worked on several other non-LSP builds. After a lot of dry-fitting, scraping, puttying, and sanding, I have the spine and tail on the fuselage. It's starting to look like a Fishbed. I had to add a piece of styrene sheet at the face of the spine as there was a gap between the canopy and the spine. The canopy fit is iffy, some gaps to deal with. I've painted Marek the MiG driver. My figure painting skills are atrocious, so he will not make an appearance in this WIP! The plan for the weekend is to get the wings on and figure out the best way to deal with the canopy. Thanks for looking in on my build. Mike

I received my sander last week. I've only used it a couple of times, but I agree it's a quality product with lots of applications.

Making short work of the build! Painting is the most enjoyable part of a build to me. Mike

Great looking build, well done! As long as you're happy with it, that's all that matters. I hope when I get to building mine, it turns out as nice. Mike

Great idea and amazing work everyone! I went looking through my WIP pics, and surprisingly, I only have one pic of a cockpit I've done. It's for the Tamiya F-4J, that still sits on the shelf of stalled projects.

Great looking build, well done! Mike

Great looking build! Well done!

Another fantastic build Chuck!

This is going to be good! Taking notes.

Pulling up a chair in the front row!

You made quick work of it and well done! Mike

Brad - you're courageous to take on this kit! And I thought my Revell MiG-21 build was a challenge. No doubt you'll whip it into shape. Mike

A good start to your build. Yeah, I used to spend an inordinate amount of time on cockpits then I realized once the build is placed in the display case no one will ever see it, so I've gone your route. Looking forward to the build. Mike

A quick update on the build. Over this last week, I've made good progress on the build. The fuselage halves have been joined. As you can see there are numerous areas needing attention of sanding and puttying, but with a vintage kit as this, it was expected. Attachment of the wings, stabilizers, spine, and tail are planned for this week. Eventually, I'll need to turn my attention to Marek the MiG driver. I haven't painted a pilot in what seems likes ages. Thanks for looking in on my build. Mike

Fantastic looking Raptor and great cockpit dry brushing! What is the base made of? Dimensions? Thanks, Mike

WOW!

Another fantastic build!

A heads upon the AM resin nose replacement. I've disappointedly discovered the resin nose profile (at least the one I have) doesn't match the profile of the forward fuselage. Joining the two results in an odd transitional profile. There is/was a pic of this issue on a LSP build, but I can't seem to find it now. I'm dealing with this issue currently on my 105F build. If I could have a do over, I'd use the kit nose. For my 105D build, the only resin I'll being using is on it are a seat and the ventral fin. Anything else not worth the hassle IMHO.

Weekend Progress: With the shelter-in-place order we're in, I've had extra time on my hands to spend at the bench, and I've made good progress on the build. I have some of the major assemblies completed. Overall, the fit, so far, isn't as bad as I was expecting for an antiquated kit. With a little scraping here and there and some dry fitting plus Mr Surfacer, the gaps were taken care of. The cockpit and pilot figure are quite basic compared to today's resin aftermarket, but they'll do their part in the build. The IP is clear plastic with decals for the IP gauges. I thought the decals were going to shatter just by looking at them! I've started painting the cockpit and pilot, and I hope to be wrapping them up this week. Pics forthcoming. Thanks for looking in on my build. Mike