Jump to content

MikroMir Miles Magister RAAF Finished.


ericg

Recommended Posts

Some more work.

 

There are a couple of areas of this model that need attention. The leather crash padding on the front of each cockpit is not very well moulded, with them having undercuts as part of the way the kit has been designed. There is an opportunity to make them a lot better, as they will stand out when the model is finished.

 

IMG_6054_HEIC-X5.jpg
 

I filled underneath each pad with superglue/talc mix. I also built up each one to make them a bit more prominent and then sanded them to shape.

 

IMG_6057_HEIC-X4.jpg

The wings have the rear seam line well forward of the trailing edge and needs lots of work to smooth down. The trailing edge of each flap is not present even before sanding, except for the fairly shallow engraving of the fuselage mounted flap (visible here).


IMG_6019_HEIC-X5.jpg

This area benefits from some careful work to bring out that detail, so once the seam was smoothed, i scribed new trailing edges for each flap, as well as running a razor saw through the edge of each aileron to better define that control surface. I have ran a pin wash into the new flap panel lines for better visibility.

 

IMG_6059_HEIC-X3.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some more work.


After just finishing my heavily modified S.E.5a, I am now full steam ahead on the Magister.

 

IMG_6106_HEIC-X4.jpg

 

I didn’t like the photo etch pitot tube as it is too flat for this scale. I bent some .5mm brass rod to shape and soldered them together and then used some aluminium strip for the bottom section. 

IMG_6137_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

I have made the pitot removable for transport. It is now far stronger and more realistic than the photo etch item.

 

IMG_6133_HEIC-X4.jpg


The engine is fairly nice, but as not much of it is visible, I didn’t spend too much time on it. It would certainly be a good candidate for superdetailing if the cowl was left opened.

 

IMG_6075_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

IMG_6078_HEIC-X5.jpg


I filled the panel lines in both sides of the cowl, as the aircraft I am making had a 4 piece one instead of five. Test fitting it shows the correct way in which the cowl sits proud of the fuselage but it could do with a bit of tweaking .


IMG_6113_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

IMG_6114_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

I thinned the rear edge of the cowl, so that the engine compartment can be seen from the rear.

 

IMG_6119_HEIC-X5.jpg


IMG_6131_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some more work.

 

The cockpit access doors are softly moulded and could do with some definition. I was tempted to cut these out and position them open but resisted.


IMG_6097_HEIC-X5.jpg
 

i scribed down each side of the doors to define them a little better.

 

IMG_6130_HEIC-X5.jpg

The cowl needed a bit of work to smooth it out and get the panel lines consistent. I sanded off the original fasteners to assist with this and then replaced them with some raised surface detail decals from Archer.

 

IMG_6147_HEIC-X4.jpg

 

Once the model was primed, I painted it with Tamiya AS-12 straight from the rattle can to represent the high speed silver finish. I then painted the cowl and wheel pant extension areas with SMS Jet Black which gave a smooth gloss black surface. I then used a thinned mix of Alclad High Shine Aluminium and applied it in multiple layers to give a fairly shiny metallic surface. I will give these areas multiple coats of gloss clear and polish between coats. 

A sleek little aeroplane. Pretty happy with progress so far.

 

IMG_6168_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

IMG_6169_HEIC-X5.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • ericg changed the title to MikroMir Miles Magister RAAF Painted.

Getting closer to the finish line.

 

I set out to use my mask cutter to fully paint all of the markings on this model but am having trouble with getting the smaller circle in the roundels correct. For some reason they are cutting out of round, so I went with the kit decals. The first of the smaller roundels broke up when I went to remove it from the backing sheet, but luckily the rest applied nicely although a fair bit of caution was used. They are very brittle but settle down great using Microsol/set. I made up a mask for the serial number and sprayed it with MRP tire rubber. I set the outer top edge of the mask so that it corresponded with the panel line running the length of the fuselage to make alignment easier on both sides.


IMG_6185_HEIC-X5.jpg


IMG_6186_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

IMG_6217_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

IMG_6214_HEIC-X4.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks guys.

 

The big job of doing the windshields was always waiting for me at the end of the build and was something I was going to have to face to get this one finished. The kit comes with a farily nice front windshield but the framing is a little off, as the real aircraft does not have a framed windscreen, just a piece of perspex draped over the roll bar. The rear windshield that is contained in the kit is wrong for the earlier version of the aircraft that I am depicting, so I needed to find a solution.

 

The great thing about modelling is that you can make it as complicated or as simple as you like, you are your own boss. By doing conversion work and scratchbuilding parts, you build up skills that can serve you well in future projects and I used a skill on this project that I had learnt on a previous one, being vac forming. I first did this when I built a new extended window for my O-2 build and was able to put the stuff I learnt to good use on this one.

  

I started with a small section of Ureol board.

 

IMG_6223_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

I carved the shape of the windscreen, close to that of the kit part.

 

IMG_6224_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

Vac forming is a three man job, so I called 2/3rds of my compliment of kids to come and give me a hand (actually it was a way to keep them quiet and occupied for 30 minutes!!) One to hold the vac nozzle into the vac form machine, one to hit the on/off switch of the vaccum and of course that freed me up to manipulte the work piece.

 

IMG_6229_HEIC-4K.jpg

 

Its kinda cool to see this process in action. Here is a section of PETG .3mm sheet freshly formed over the winshield part. All of the parts of the vac form and frame are low-tech home made stuff.

 

IMG_6231_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

The two nice windshields. Slightly out of focus compared to the master.

 

IMG_6240_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

The pile of rejects..... I couldnt remember the succesful temperature that I used on my O-2 build, so it too a few goes of progressivley less bubbling to lower the temp to a crystal clear level.

 

IMG_6241_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

The next part of the mod was to bulid the roll bar/windshield frame. I reckon this is a pretty cool design feature that was well worth the effort. The roll bar extends right down inside the cockpit. I formed this out of 1mm brass rod and soldered the forward supports into place. I preset the angle of the supports to make it easier to hold in place whislt I soldered them together and cut them to length later.

 

IMG_6233_HEIC-X4.jpg

 

IMG_6234_HEIC-X4.jpg

 

This was then inserted into some holes that I drilled into the fuselage and then the windscreen attached. This was pretty difficult to get right.

 

IMG_6236_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

As can be seen, the roll bar is quite visible insode the cockpit.

 

IMG_6255_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

I used some thin aluminum strip (the membrane inside Milo tins) to form the fairing joining the windshield to the fuselage. This was superglued into place and then burnished into place. I then painted them the AS-12 as per the fuselage. Interestingly, the rear windshield on the real aircraft is just a formed piece of plexiglass without any framing. The pic has come up a bit grainy but they both look nice and clear in person.

 

IMG_6260_HEIC-X5.jpg

 

 

 

 

Edited by ericg
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • ericg changed the title to MikroMir Miles Magister RAAF Vac formed windshields.

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...