Alain Gadbois

Very clean and precise work! And very interesting presentation idea. It's good to remember the actual conditions around the production of the Volksjager...

Well done! Nice you noticed that detail. Egypt?

Hi all! Here's the top of the front fuselage. I will replace the panel with a new one that will be longer and will also feature the correct concave area where the oval is scribed at the front of the part. The inner detail in the kit still fits correctly if you move it back a bit . So if you have a resin replacement, it will fit also. I don't plan to do all the structural detail on the inside though. André, while looking in the box, I remembered I have the black box set!!! So here it is in place and it fits well when enough resin is removed from the bottom. The only thing is the back part is too vertical. I don't know if it is bent or what, so check yours to be sure. See how it sticks out ... Bye for now! Alain

Checked the length according to MiG official dimensions and it seems the F-13 kit is a bit short by 3.5mm. Here are 2 photos of the F-13 at the Smithsonian in Washington DC to show what I meant by canopy shape. The kit fuselage:

I checked a bit more about your question about the UB and the new fuselage. A sprue common to all MiGs versions has the rear fuselage parts and front wheel well parts. So there will be no problem with using a UB kit as a base.

The cockpit area will not change ( the original kit parts will fit perfectly in the new fuselage halves) appart for some slight modifications on the edges of the opening to correct the fuselage shape. The kit's clear parts will fit the resin parts also.

I didn't check the F-13 kit's dimensions but I know there's a problem in the cockpit area. The canopy should be angled downward and it's shape is bad. It's missing the bubble shape it should have, obvious when looking at photos. Alain

Thank you! Yes I will add your name to the list! Alain

Thanks, and I cut many of the styrene bits for the second half at the same time as the first. In what way are you curious of the F-13?

Wow great work! Looks like a model for a movie. I going to be following your build for sure! Alain

Thanks Juraj! I think the more difficult part will be to recribe the whole front fuselage. The rest of the kit is nice, the front fuselage sections are really the disappointing parts in it. Alain

I did not figure a price yet, as it will depend on all the parts needed in the set. I just found out a new nose cone is needed and there could be more of the kit parts replaced to fit the conversion. I will try to keep the price reasonable. I think the new fuselage fits the UB kit. The UB has the small F intake so I wonder if there could be an issue with the front wheel well and gear lenth? I have the F kit and I can compare the respective parts to see if there is any problem. Alain

Hi all! I had problems aligning the front of both fuselage sections to glue on the other half of the ring I made yesterday. The modifications on one half only made precise fitting impossible so I decided to modify the second half instead of working on the intake. This went quickly and it is almost done. I am looking into the MF fairing to see was is wrong with it. At first look, it seems like it is the fuselage shape that is too tall, and this reduces the height of the fairing by an equivalent amount. More details to come... Alain

Of course, André! It will be my pleasure! What's your favorite version? Nice work on that Spit! There was no other solution for it at that time. Alain

A surprising one: The Mirage III C. Was designed with a rocket engine in the lower fuselage. I didn't know much about if it was used much in service but actually was significant in allowing the Mirage to intercept and put a stop to U-2 spy flights over France in the mid sixties.