Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted (edited)

Howdy!

 

I am in, as often :thumbsup:

The Asia GB was a proposal by me and a longstanding wish, so I try to contribute with something, well, asian :D :

 

A Kazakh AF Mig-27 M by LEM kits.

Do I need to introduce LEM kits? I think not, indeed. High grade resin kits of subjects neglected by other vendors. Mostly soviet, but also Luftwaffe and some japanese stuff.

The Kazakh AF used to paint its 27s in bright colours. Love it! :speak_cool:

 

Decals provided by Linden Hill: Kazakhstan - Snow Leopards of the Seven Rivers

This set provides beside a fistful of Flanker decals for 3 Mig-27s. Large Red Stars with crests and fancy coat of arms for the hull. Fancy, fancy :punk:


 

Just expect nothing for a while, than a bit of progress, followed by more of nothing. I guess I will miss the deadline, as always, and have a lot of fun, as always too :wicked:

 

Regards

- dutik

Edited by dutik
Posted (edited)

Teaser: Massimiliano Bianchis Mig-27M in Sri Lankanian markings here at Large Scale Planes.

 

Looks buildable. Russian instructions are no problem for me. Vacu canopy is. Might be call for assistance by my wife, who owns a Cricut cutter. So this might qualify for a "group build" in a "group build" :coolio: Decals are at hand. Photos of the real deal too - had my head inside the UC bays of a Mig-23 some years ago.

 

And Thierry Laurents conversion of the Mig-27M into a Mig-27 using HPHs Mig-23BN nose (and tons of other stuff). Great job :speak_cool:

 

Regards

- dutik

Edited by dutik
Posted

Also have a load of AM parts at hand:

 

mig23-0.jpg

 

This is obviously a Mig-23 project, the Czech flogger-B with Red devil markings, but some of these parts are useful for the Mig-27 too. I think about the cockpit (except dashboard) and seat, the air scoops and the pitot. Have reordered them (hey, it's Black Week right now), but they are at hand in case I want to start building tomorrow.

Not sure about the engine. I'd go for a Reskit engine, 3D printed, much chaeper and less fiddly than the Aires kit, but there are still issues with the not so detailed intakes. I tend at the moment to add some more splashs of colour to the aircraft by adding bright red FOD and exhaust covers. We shall see...

 

BTW, there is a minor issue. A nitpick. Peanuts. Nothing to write home about... :whistle:

 

I am not able to locate the Mig-27 kit in my warehouse :closedeyes: I know it is there, photographic evidence above, and I have touched it during this year, but I can't remember where it was... :tumble:

 

Regards

- dutik

Posted

More references: An extensive walkaroung of an airworthy Mig-27M at the MAKS 2015.

 

A whole set of cockpit photos right into the deepest corners is included. This answers the question about the TV screen at the right upper corner of the dashboard: There is none. The K variant had a TV camera system with a camera opening below the nose and a nice TV screen in the cockpit. The M was a slightly downgraded version without the TV camera system, but a better laser system and enhanced navigation suite. But they were still able to use TV guided ammunition (if I understand the technical history right), using the TV camera of the missle. So the question was if there was the well visible TV screen or not. Question settled: No TV screen. Don't know how they transmitted the TV footage to the pilot, but definitly not from the richt upper dashboard corner.

 

Interested in bit more Flogger gossip? :wicked:

Well, the K variant was the technological most advanced version of the 27 line. It was twice as combat effective as the 23BN (i. e. half the aircraft would do the same job) with only 2/3rd expected loss rate compared to the 23BN. But the sophisticated systems made it also very expensive, so the Soviets looked for mass production for a less expensive version with mostly comparable capabilities. The answer was the M variant, less TV system, but with much more capable laser target designator and a enhanced navigation suite. It met the task both capability- and costwise, but hat troubles of its own. The new equipment for the M was much heavier than the K stuff, so the aircraft became nose heavy. As a result the pilots demanded to fly without the cockpit armour to get a better balance of the aircraft. The cockpit armor - 9mm hardened steel on spacers - was able to withstand direct hits with 20mm ammunition, not to mention heavy machineguns and infantry weapons, a life preserver for a ground attack pilot. The removing of the armor illustrates, how much the equipment weight affected the aircraft. Later in production they introduced a lighter version of the laser system, which restored the handling capabilities to the level of the former versions, so the armor was bolted on again.

 

And then there are the good news: The well visible rivetting :D

The manufacturing quality of the M was low. The M was made at a factory that was building helicopters and had no knowledge of building jets... Add some shortages of parts, counterblanced by the use of non-specified materials and parts just at hand :wicked: The results were interesting. So straight rivet lines were not a top concern. The Ms featured very individual rivet patterns from one aircraft to another, and also along one airframe. So if you see some crude rivet patterns at my model - this is not a bug, this is a feature! Odd rivet lines are a must have :thumbsup:

 

Regards

- dutik

Posted

Following as my first Russian teacher was Kazakh, so an interesting subject for me; also resin - other than tiny details - is still very much "here be dragons" territory :lol: 

Posted

Gotcha!

 

Got the kit back. was where expected, but hidden below a twin Do-335, aka Do-635. Very clever move to stay under the radar! :D

 

Side-by-side comparision with the Trumpeter kit approved that the 27s fuselage is 4 mm too tall - or Trumpeters 23 is 4 mm to small :hmmm: :D

Cutting down the fuselage a la Thierry Laurent is doable, but, BUT, then I have to cut down the nose section too (Thierry used a new nose section from a 23BN conversion set). And here we have a number of curvatures, round shapes, varying cross sections and a nice sculpted shark nose. Where to cut without turning this into a complete mess? Desaster waiting to happen. I think I'll let it be just as is. It looks like a Mig-27M in all respects, so it is fine with me.

 

Regards

- dutik

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Recieved this these days:

 

mig27-4.jpg

 

Black Friday sale, so much cheaper than usual. Guess I running low now on reasons to procrastinate this build any longer... ;)

 

Regards

- dutik

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...