Madmax

A truly inspirational build Tomasz!

Thanks Kagemusha, pleased that you enjoy the photographs. Hi Alain. Thanks for following along with all the re-shaping and detailing, I have enjoyed your encouragement - merci! Thanks Danny and Werner! Misha, I figured that the shape of models is important to you too - judging by the amazing work you did on the Mi-24. I think the Mi-24 is going to be next on my list... I was wondering if anyone would notice the chipped paint on the windscreen arch , thank you Michael!

What a lovely response! Thanks reconspit, it was the Luftwaffe scheme that had me sold from the beginning. Thank you Dan, I see the MiG bug has bitten you too! Grazie Luca, and thanks Robert! Nick, I knew you of all modellers would prefer more restraint with the panel lines. I'm afraid some stayed prominent because I think they get opened up a lot... Karl, If anyone intimately knows about modelling a MiG-29 - it is you. Your comment is the highest praise I could imagine - recht herzlichen dank! Glad you enjoyed the WIP mongoose, sure took a while. The Dude, I assume that's you in your profile pic? Looks like you know a thing or two about the Fulcrum, so thanks very much for the compliment. Now I'm going to wait for Eduard to put all their research to use, and make us a MiG-21 in 1:32 scale Sean

Thanks Brian, Troy, Werner, Ferry and Marcel! It has been a big project, but very satisfying. Here is the link to the RFI post: I appreciate the tip Marcel, and must agree that the oil streaks look odd. Since you are going to build the C at a stage, you may want to see how unexpectedly the airflow moves the fluids under the Fulcrum's belly. Cheers, Sean

The exhausts are a hybrid of the HAD etched parts and the kit's outer shells. The chaff/flare dispensers got some attention, particularly the fairings. Cockpits are the focal point of many models, and this one is no exception! The MiG-29 is an iconic fighter, with many unique design features. I have really enjoyed building this!

Trumpeter's MiG-29A is a great model to build, and I'm sure the C will be too. Unfortunately it suffers from some shape issues, and in this build I set out to correct them. It took a while. Here is the build thread should you be interested: This is MiG-29G 29+04 in NATO colours, serving with "Erprobungsgeschwader MiG 29". I was drawn to the subject by the wonderful conflict of ideals it represents. The aircraft is a symbol of how the re-unification must have been in a way, wearing a cloak of Norm 90 J grey, but peeking out from underneath, the original radome colours, the green wheel hubs, and the uniquely Soviet shapes of the antennae. Some things can't be changed overnight. Most of the work went into correcting the shape of the forward LERX, and the bulges above the engines as well as the spine. The nose cone was slightly modified, as were the top and sides of the intakes. A lot of effort went into capturing the feel of panels and fasteners, which appear to make up a lot of this fighter. Some of the kit detail is superb as is. Although the underside is well represented in the kit, the wheel wells, gear legs and weapons pylons benefitted from a bit of extra detail, as did the airbrake/dragchute housing.

Thanks dashotgun. Amazing what a powerful self-critique tool posting photographs on a forum can be. Looking at the last photo I posted, I realised that the panel lines were totally uniform and overstated. Some panels get removed often as I mentioned, but others don't, and shouldn't have the same treatment. I decided to use a grey wash some on of the panels to soften the overall look, and here you can compare the top of the photo to the bottom (left side) to see what I mean. Accentuated panel lines are a contentious issue as it is, and I think some variation helps. Apart from that , and some work on the radome to get rid of the black primer that came trough on my slightly heavy handed chipping scrub, the model is finally done. Here is a little foretaste of how she looks... Many thanks to all who have shared this little journey - it has been good fun! Detail photographs to follow on RFI tomorrow... Sean

Thanks Marcel, Brian and Alain! Alain, I really enjoyed the Scotch Brite technique you suggested. The point of all these techniques including salt, and Marmite, and whatever tickles ones fancy - is to achieve a certain randomness that nature provides, but the brain-guided hand can't. Modellers like Fancherello use the sponged on masking fluid followed by the Scotch Brite to really heighten the effect. I thought I would just highlight two further weathering aspects I have incorporated on the Fulcrum. The first is fluid leaks on the underside. I used to use thinned oil paint for this, but found that it dried matt and didn't give the impression of oil or other lubricants. This time round I used Tamiya clear enamels with a drop of black as required, and I am quite pleased with the gloss translucency it achieves. Then the issue of scratches. The MiG-29 is full of panels that appear to be regularly removed to access the systems underneath. The fasteners are loosened or secured with a large screwdriver, and many scratches adorn the panels (much to the crew chief's disgust). This is a real challenge, and I eventually decided to only add the odd scratch here and there so that it didn't look too contrived. They have to be even thinner than I managed in order to be really convincing. The next post may well be in "Ready for Inspection"... Cheers, Sean

Thanks Marcel, Squizzy and Ben! In the meantime I have managed to get some more paint down. All the greys are in place, but even at fifty shades, it needs a bit more. As with the MiG-23 build, I sponged on some masking fluid and then gave it a coat of very thin white/ochre mix. here you can see the subtle and variable way it breaks the plain surface. Glossing the model was done with Tamiya (acrylic) X-22 and levelling thinner - a first for me. It will take some time to master the art (I assume), and micromesh had to rescue my "satin" coat. The nice thing about the micromesh is that it starts the weathering process in a natural way, exposing high spots and ridges! The Luftwaffe decals are from AirDOC, and although quite old (2002), did the job just fine. Some silvering had to be treated with chemistry, and one or two of the decals are oversize by about 10-20%, but it is the only way to do this scheme as far as I know. I really enjoy the decals on the vertical stab! Decals are provided for every single panel on the Fulcrum, but here again I saw the potential for madness - and avoided it... After spraying a coat of micro flat (more like satin) on the relevant parts - here we are ready for final assembly. There really are a lot of parts, and in my mind clearly separates an aircraft build from armour. There are some metal leading edges on the MiG-29, and they often look black in photo's. Here I buffed a white aluminium leading edge with gun metal pigment to achieve the look. Almost there, Sean

I'm enjoying watching this build Chuck. The "can-do" nature of it is infectious!

A well deserved award Marcin - Bravo!

Thanks Ferry and Marcel! I get your hesitation about starting to build without all the bits you require Marcel, after all - one can't wage war without secure supply lines! Go Grumman. Every time I start building a model, I should remind myself that what I have bought is not in fact whatever it says on the box, but this instead: Here is a prime example - exhibit A. I could have sworn the little strengthener plate was flat before I primed the model (your honour). How on earth does that happen? Chemistry of course! Luckily I was able to sand it flat without removing all 0.13mm of styrene. Time to paint. I really wanted to try the mig AMMO acrylics, but given the chemistry lesson I'd just been handed, thought better of it. I will first practice and learn how to use pure acrylic out of the public eye. The actual colours in the AMMO range are notable for their huge range, and they look pretty accurate to me. I used them to base my mixing of Tamiya acrylics on. First up the "dielectric" grey bits were painted. Two coats of AMMO "heavy chipping fluid" later, and I then did what the Luftwaffe did - spray "Light Compass Grey" over the dielectric paint. Then with a bit of water and a paintbrush I did what 600 or so knots of Luft did to the Luftwaffe's paint... With that bit of fun out of the way, the bottom got a coat of the "Light Compass Grey". It is quite difficult to make out which colour goes where on the AirDoc instructions, so I have adapted mine based on various photographs as well as this colour scheme gleaned from wings palette. It appears that the colour scheme changed a bit over the years, and I am doing a very early version of Norm 90J. The upper surfaces first get "Compass Grey". notice the subtle difference in the shades of compass greys on the underside of the horizontal stabs. Finally the "Medium Grey" completed the upper surfaces. At this point I noticed that the chemistry worm was still turning, and have had to sand down the fairings on the chaff/flare dispensers. The very thin styrene seems to react poorly to either the styrene cement, the Aclad primer, or a combination of the two. Whatever I set the big piece aside to sulk and dry a bit, and tackled the last of the building tasks - the weapons pylons. I really enjoy the MiG-29's missile pylons. They look like they were designed by sci-fi movie prop designers, and named by the script writers from Star Wars. How's this, the R-73E missile goes on a P-72-1D launcher. Cool! Here they are straight from the kit. The smallest one is a P-62-1DB1, the big one is the P-72-1D and the long thin one is an APU 470. The APU is my favourite. Although I think the Trumpeter effort on the pylons is excellent, I wanted to add a little detail since I want them missile-less on the model, and they were designed to be missile-full. The first thing was to add rails, then hollow out the nose cones, and add a securing device of sorts. The APU 470 has what looks like vents below the rails, and weld seams all over the launcher body. after hours of fiddling this is what they look like. This kind of detail work will lead to madness or blindness, and I would rather suggest that you order Zactomodels' beautiful pylons and weapons.

I find myself giggling, like I did as a child, when looking at something too fantastic to comprehend. Absolutely wonderful!

Top notch build Chavdar, really enjoying your work!

Thanks crobinsonh and Marcel, as well as all the "like" clickers! Marcel, I see you are heading into Grumman territory next, which is cool, but I hope a famous MiG product will follow that. After looking in on the Durangokid's work, I decided to follow his lead and use the Alclad II primer thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner. I was experiencing lifting issues with the Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 (not the only person it seems), and wanted something tough. The Alclad had some surprises in store for me however. I suspect that I was initially spraying at too high a pressure, and got a lot of pebbling on the surface. This sands off very easily however, and the primer responds well to micromesh polishing. It sure is tough, and only vigorous sanding gets through to the plastic. The surface is a little tacky after polishing, so I washed it with soapy water and am now leaving it to dry thoroughly. Not wanting to watch paint dry, I popped into our local hobby store who's owner finally received his first shipment of MIG products. Slipping past my wife's office with a bag full of Spanish goodies, I set to work on the turkey feathers. They seem to get really chalky from the fuel residue, and I think that the fine pigments will do the trick in replicating this. I am still experimenting with the pigment fixer, and will eventually hopefully find the right amount of pigment vs fixer. The "outer" feathers show slightly different heating/residue patterns, affected by the pattern of the casting on the outside. Here is my rudimentary attempt to replicate it. My pigments still come off too easily when handled, so much of this is sadly lost. The afterburner rings are delicate bits of PE, and attach at the back of the jet pipe. Some reinforcing with a styrene ring was required. The engines are finally assembled, and although the HAD brass wasn't designed for this kit, it certainly works. What a fun project!