Dazzled's Late Mig-FINISHED

[Dazzled]

At the other end of the time scale is build number 2.

The East German Air Force ceased operations shortly after the fall of the Iron Curtain. There were the usual sort of commemorations and celebrations including some unique markings for aircraft. I'm looking at representing one of these aeroplanes using this kit as a base.



I have a number of Mig-29s in the stash but I particularly wanted to give one of the Fujimi ones a try (I have 4, including a pair of display team machines). It does seem to have the requisite bits in the right places although the colour schemes suggested by Fujimi are imaginative to say the least. This isn't altogether surprising given that the kit was released a year before the DDR started operating the real aircraft

The markings aren't really an issue though as I'm going aftermarket with these.



This sheet from German company Hi-Decal Line has a marking option for the "final flight" Mig-29A, a machine in 4 colour European temperate camouflage with colourful flashes and the flight date marked on a yellow nose band.

And this, to quote Jim Morrison, is the end.

Well, the beginning of the end at least. The East German Air Force end to end.

[Dazzled]

Wot's in the Box

Fujimi's Mig-29 is one of the oldest kits of the type around but, despite some criticism about the shape of the front end, it's still a good kit. One thing it doesn't have, and I suspect this is a symptom of it's advanced age, are countermeasures dispensers forward of the fins. Happily for this build they're not needed. One good feature though is that the modeller can position the auxiliary intakes in the correct (for a parked aircraft) closed position. As far as I'm aware this is the only kit that offers this option.

First a look at the sprues.





A few bits are floating around loose in the box but it's all there. 4 sprues of medium hard light grey styrene and a separately bagged clear sprue make up the kit. The detail is fine and recessed, typical of Fujimi kits. Despite this being such a nice kit I couldn't resist adding a few bits .



The decals I've mentioned previously but to dress up the office in particular I've fished out a Pavla resin K-36 ejector seat from my Mig-bits stash. the Airwaves etched set is also a boon as the instrument panel in the kit isn't even close to prototype. Probably an example of some inspired guesswork from Fujimi who, it appears, designed this before getting a look inside a real one.

Oh well, nearly time to start. Roll on midnight

[Dazzled]

November 1st. Time to get the Fulcrum on the bench. I particularly don't want to hang around with this one as I have a feeling that the paint is going to take a while.

First up, originally , the cockpit parts. The etched set is designed for the Italeri kit but it seems to fit (so far ) with a little tweaking. I'm not sure that I'll use all of it but it's certainly more accurate than the one supplied by Fujimi.



Oddly enough the i/p decal supplied with the kit is almost identical to the M2 variant of the Mig-29, an aircraft that was introduced 15 years after Fujimi released this kit .

With glue drying I set about removing some parts from the sprue and cleaning them up. Fujimi have mould bars in the centres of the main u/c bay apertures. They mean a few minutes more work to remove but give a nice sharp edge to the bay openings.



All is not perfect though...



The intake seams are pretty bad. Maybe this is a Mig-29 thing as I recall having the same issue with the Italeri kit. Fortunately the integral intake doors will hide the internal join so filling and sanding these shouldn't be too onerous a task.

Finally, for now, a little paint. Tamiya XF-20 for the cockpit and XF-66 for the u/c bays and doors. This aircraft is just outside the "barf turquoise" era of Soviet aircraft.



Everything's aside to dry for the moment. I'll have another look tomorrow and decide whether I'm happy with the paint as one or two places look likely to want a second coat.

[AndrewR]

Good start!

[Old_Tonto]

Great choice Daz & I like your start & end theme.
Never seen the Fujimi kit built so this should be interesting.

[Dazzled]

It is getting interesting OT. I pressed on with this kit today, leaving the -15 to one side, as I felt that this one would pose the biggest construction challenges.

I wasn't that far out in my estimation.

I spent a bit of time creating a believable cockpit.



The Airwaves kit dressed it up nicely. Nicely enough for a closed canopy anyway . The Pavla seat is an excellent representation of a K36, it's just a shame that they're always painted in such boring colours .

There was, however, an unfortunate incident with some cyano and activator that resulted in a slightly melted coaming but I did manage to correct this with more cyano and a fresh sanding stick.

Then it was time to join the fuselage halves so....



....a bit of weight in the form of some leftover roofing lead crushed up with pliers and.....



....Zap-a-Gap and lots of clamps.

I can already see that this kit has some "interesting" seams so it looks like the filler and sanding sticks will be getting a workout .

Hopefully, I'll be able to update further in the next couple of days.

[TimJ]

Off to a good start. Hope there isn't too much filling and sanding.

[Dazzled]

Unfortunately Tim.....



This pretty typical of the seams all the way around. There's also an element of misalignment too, as if the top and bottom fuselage halves are slightly different sizes..

The intakes are going to require a little work to blend them in too.



Hopefully this won't take too long. At least the plastic is quite soft and easy to work.

Then it was on with the wings.....



Just don't look at the roots too closely



I was hoping to get the fins and tailplanes on today but the gap in the root will be easier to fill with those out of the way. There's likely to be a round 2 in the fuselage filler battle too so I'm set for a day or 2 of sand and fill.

Oh well, it is an old kit.

[TobyC]

The cockpit looks very tidy.

[Dazzled]

Thanks Toby.

Well, pain in the proverbial that this kit is turning out to be, I'm continuing to push on with it.

I've kept on sanding and filling, with the odd bit of scraping thrown in for good measure, and I've got to this point.



Unfortunately, all is not as rosy as it seems. The auxiliary intake doors are a questionable fit and pattern. I feel that they're a little too recessed into the upper fuselage. The tailplanes took quite a bit of fiddling to get on straight and the fins were awkward too; the port one required clamping to get it to sit flush to the fuselage.

Also, there's a reason why the model is pictured sitting on a sheet of plasticard. These...



......the integral intake covers. The problem is that they're too small; quite a lot too small.

So....



I knocked up a couple of new ones to a length that fits better.

And once they were made, I fitted them.



And that's all for tonight.

Tomorrow, I shall get the model ready for a coat of primer.

[TobyC]

Good work. Nice bit of fettling

[Blueberryruby]

you seem to be man handling this beast in to shape. i quite like it when a model fights back it means you can add a little bit more of you in to it!

[Dazzled]

you seem to be man handling this beast in to shape. i quite like it when a model fights back it means you can add a little bit more of you in to it!

Yep. Things like blood, skin, bits of fingernails, tears........

[Dazzled]

Another short round with the -29 today concentrated on the pilot hole.



The resin seat went in quite nicely but I had to move the control column forward and trim it's base to cram everything in. The etched set included circuit breaker panels and a gunsight. It would have been rude not to use them .

Then it was on with the canopy.



This, as it turned out, was an extremely good fit. At least I've found a good point about this kit. Perhaps enough to finish it .

Anyhow, as I fitted the canopy with Clearfix I'll have to wait a while until I can mask up for a primer coat so this has been put aside until tomorrow.

[Old_Tonto]

Looking good mate. Some nice fettling going on here.