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MiG 17

history

The Soviet MiG-17 (NATO code-name "Fresco") was designed to replace the MiG-15 of the Korean War. Similar in appearance to the MiG-15, the MiG-17 had more sharply swept wings, a longer fuselage, an afterburner, and better speed and handling characteristics. However, it has never been considered as a modern fighter.

The MiG-17 served in the air arms of at least 20 nations throughout the world―including nations friendly to the United States. The MIG-17 was also flown against U.S. aircraft in Southeast Asia. The North Vietnamese Air Force (VPAF) began flying the MIG-17 in February 1964, after its pilots had received training in communist China. The VPAF also flew Chinese-built MiG-17s (called J-5s).

Early in 1967 the USAF and the US Navy began testing real MIG-17s which were provided by the Israeli Government. Tests showed that the MIG-17's afterburner gave it better performance compared to US aircraft with similar turn rates. However, tests found the MIG-17 had numerous shortcomings. The engine was limited to five minutes at full power and three minutes in afterburner. High speeds caused many problems. Above 400 knots at low and medium altitudes, the MIG-17 began to roll uncontrollably, making it almost impossible to keep the gun sight on a target.

The MIG-17's maximum speed was limited to 500 knots because of its controllability problems. The MIG-17's armament of one heavy 37-mm cannon and two smaller 23-mm cannons were found to be quite effective, and they were accurate and reliable. U.S fighters had to avoid crossing the MIG's gun line inside of 5000 feet. But, tests also showed that the MIG-17 had a poor gun sight and slow firing cannons. When combined with the control problems the MIG-17 was a poor gun platform in a high speed turning knife fight.

Even with all the MIG-17's shortcomings, the stubby little fighter created havoc with U.S. fighters, mainly because of the sharp North Vietnamese ground controllers that guided the MIG-17 to favourable attack positions.

construction

Construction of the kit is fairly straightforward, but care is needed to fit parts as well as they can be. The parts fit for this kit is not so good. The cockpit went together rather well, but there are no decals for the instrument panels. The front instrument panel has raised detail, but with careful painting you can achieve a realistic looking instrument panel. The side panels have minimal detail and not a lot of painting info. The ejection seat is pretty decent but lacks seat belts. I added some PE seat belts.

I built and installed the engine because I was curious as to what it looked like and because I wanted to make sure the exhaust nozzle was positioned correctly. Attaching the aft fuselage to front half proved troublesome―some good sized gaps that required filling and sanding.

I added as much weight as possible in the front part of the model, squeezing lead weights flat so they would fit in confined spaces. This is necessary because the majority of the model is behind the line of the main landing gear, this makes the model a big-time tail sitter. With all the weights I added it still was not enough. I added some more weights to the nose gear wheel well and the model barely stands on all three wheels.

The wings proved to be a problem. There were large gaps after they were attached to the fuselage. I filled these gaps with CA glue. There was much sanding, re-filling, re-sanding with finer and finer grits. Then a lot of polishing to get the surface as smooth as possible. The upper nose panel and the intake ring were also a poor fit, this also required filling, sanding and polishing.

painting and finishing

My MIG-17 depicts a North Vietnamese MIG-17F with a bare metal finish. Once the model was built I primed it with a coat of Model Masters Gloss Black and let it dry and cure for 48 hours. I hand painted the exhaust nozzle with Model Masters Burnt Metal. To achieve a shiny bare metal finish I airbrushed the rest of the model with Alclad II Polished Aluminium. I followed the recommended airbrushing method, 12 to 15 PSI air pressure and kept the airbrush close to the model surface while painting. The result was a very nice shiny bare metal finish.

The kit provides decals for 3 different aircraft, I used the decals for the North Vietnamese Air Force. There are only a few decals and they applied easily, conforming well to the surface detail with a touch of Solvaset to each decal. The paint and decal guide shows the North Vietnamese national insignia going under the wing fences. However, the wing fences are moulded onto the upper surface of the wings so you can't place the decal under the fence. I should have cut the insignia decals to form fit them around the fences. However, I got lazy and placed them at the end of the wings.

conclusion

To sum up, this kit was a bit difficult to build because of all the filling and sanding. It is reasonably well detailed out of the box, has some fit problems, but the finished model is a good looking model; it looks like a MIG-17.