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MiG-29A in Luftwaffe Service


Madmax

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On 12/8/2018 at 9:01 PM, Dragon said:

WOW, impressive work Sean, just amazing!

 

If I'm seeing your pics correctly, it appears you were able to rescribe the Tamiya epoxy at the engine bulges. Did the epoxy chip like putty does? Anything special you had to do, besides the Dyno tape, to scribe it?  

 

Thanks

Mike

Hi Mike,

 

The Tamiya epoxy putty scribes very easily, no chipping and handles just like the styrene of the kit. I'm actually using flexi-tape as it is easier to get straight lines over tapered areas. The Dymo tape is too rigid. Thanks for the kind comment.

 

 

Hi Marcel, Ray, and Brian - pleased you are enjoying it!

 

Alain, the thought of tackling the other half is a bit daunting, so I am messing around with other stuff in the meantime. You will see shortly...

 

Thanks Gaz, and Ben - and Ben, well done with your incredible Viking!

 

Thank you crobinsonh, and Torben, very kind of you.

 

18 hours ago, Stormer said:

MadMax,

 

What reference book are you using? Those cockpit photos looks ultra Sharp!

 

Stormer, I am very lucky to have access to a friend's seemingly unending reference library (thanks Lionel). Apart from the AirDOC publication mentioned at the start, I have been referring to the TOPSHOTS "MiG-29" publication from Kagero, and the LOCK ON No19 "Mikoyan MIG 29 A/C FULCRUM" from VP (the world in scale).

 

Thanks Fvdm, I recognise the "en" from my Afrikaans friends!

 

 

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The tail feathers of modern jets get a lot of attention from modellers nowadays.

 

This is probably because they are so distinctive, and so darn difficult to reproduce in miniature. There are at least two resin options available for this kit (both of which look lovely), but at the time I ordered my extra bits from the UK, there was only the HAD photo-etch available. So, I decided what the hell...

 

The MiG-29's jet exhausts are super distinctive. The outer shells are interlocking plates with a slight bulge at the forward 3rd and tapering toward the back - the outer layer has strengthening plates riveted to its sides. The inner portion has a very distinctive taper from the engine to the narrowing at the variable nozzle, and then the splayed interlocking "turkey feathers" that look all tatty under the influence of gravity.

 

Tail%20feath-L.jpg

 

I glued the Klimov RD-33's together as an opening move, to see how to attach the exhausts that weren't meant for this kit. Trumpy always adds just enough detail to make it tempting to put at least one engine in a trolley and detail it to the hilt! :hmmm:

 

IMG_7828-XL.jpg

 

Photo etched parts have one distinctive problem, they are flat. Fortunately some of the parts of the exhaust would have been made from flat metal parts, so now it is just a case of working out what to do with all of this lovely brass. After tinkering for a while, I figured it would be best to preserve as much of the kit parts as possible as the shapes are fairly accurate, dimensions are good, and most importantly - they fit on the model. The resin tubes you see here are made to shape the exhaust around, but the dimensions don't tie in with the Trumpeter bits.

 

IMG_7829-XL.jpg

 

I did however have to shape the inner exhaust inside the resin tube, and I then glued flat sprue around it to hold the tube in shape. You will notice that I soldered the triangular tabs onto the inner plates, and the "other" shaped tabs to the outer plates. Little styrene triangles completed the outer plates. This is quite a production if I may say so.

 

IMG_7835-XL.jpg

 

The outer shell would be a flat affair if it were done with the brass only, so I sanded the detail off the kit exhaust, and carefully spaced and glued the etched outer portions to the plastic.

 

IMG_7833-XL.jpg

 

Compared to the kit part, I think it is worth the insanity of soldering (pronounced soddering I have recently discovered) and glueing so many tiny brass bits. The final mounting into the kit parts and the placement of the afterburner ring are still to be sorted out, but this all seems doable now. Phew!

 

IMG_7836-XL.jpg

 

IMG_7840-XL.jpg

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Madmax,
Epic commitment to scale!
Down here in Her Majesty's colony we still speak(mostly) the Queen's english, so none of that SODDER rubbish please. The L was never silent!!

Sincerely,
Kais aus Australien.
Hahhahahhahahahahah!

 

Edited by Kais
My German isn't as good as it should be.
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On 12/15/2018 at 12:08 AM, Madmax said:

Compared to the kit part, I think it is worth the insanity of soldering (pronounced soddering I have recently discovered)

 

That's just how it's pronounced in American English. In most other dialects, the L is not silent, and most of the English-speaking world outside of North America (not sure about Canadians) will pronounce the L.

 

Kev

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Thanks Gentlemen,

 

You have summed it up - lots of work, but certainly worth it!

 

On 12/17/2018 at 11:59 AM, Kais said:

Madmax,
Epic commitment to scale!
Down here in Her Majesty's colony we still speak(mostly) the Queen's english, so none of that SODDER rubbish please. The L was never silent!!

Sincerely,
Kais aus Australien.
Hahhahahhahahahahah!

 

 

Kais,

 

Sie sind sehr komisch! Danke für ihren Unterricht in Königlicher English. :D

 

On 12/17/2018 at 1:22 PM, LSP_Kevin said:

 

That's just how it's pronounced in American English. In most other dialects, the L is not silent, and most of the English-speaking world outside of North America (not sure about Canadians) will pronounce the L.

 

Kev


 

I think Kev is onto this one. It would appear that the other part of North America who once spoke the Queen's English (Canada), have also adopted the silent L,  making the act of tinning sound risqué. It was a video about soldering etched brass by a Canadian model train enthusiast that alerted me to this pronunciation in the first place. Lots to learn on this forum...:lol:

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Here are some of the salient features on the outside of the intakes. The boundary layer ducting on top of the intake is clearly offset to the inside, the upper edges are rounded and there is a distinctive angular bulge at the wing join.

 

Intake-XL.jpg

 

The kit intakes get many of the other features right, but the points I mentioned above will need to be enhanced. Here is my initial pencil note making from a photograph of the panel lines that will need to be added. These are actually minor improvements, and despite a lot of criticism of the intakes when the kit was released, I think they are quite good.

 

IMG_7845-XL.jpg

 

I added some styrene card to the bulge to give it a bit more depth. The kit has razor sharp corners at the upper edge, which will need to be rounded. 

 

IMG_7847-XL.jpg

 

After sanding this edge round, it still looked wrong when joined to the wing, and I eventually realised this was because the boundary layer ducting was the wrong shape, and centred instead of offset to the inside. I elected to cut the ducting off the LERX and rather add it to the intake so I could shape the whole lot as a unit.

 

IMG_7852-XL.jpg

 

Now you can compare the "improved" intake to the kit intake.

 

IMG_7854-XL.jpg

 

The lower engine cowls are also well represented by Trumpeter, and all I felt it necessary to do was add some omitted vents and vent pipes. This will help with weathering later down the line.

 

IMG_7850-XL.jpg

 

For those who do, I hope there are huge plastic filled boxes waiting for you in the stocking or under the tree!

 

Cheers,

 

Sean 

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