It's MiG-time big-time (sorry, I couldn't resist...)!

I'll do a twin Eduard MiG-build for the Small is Beautiful campaign. Model has been available for a few months and is a definite must-have!


Boxart. Not as smashing at it could be but still rather attractive!


Rear part of the box is actually more attractive, this one is a no-brainer when it comes to picking the first decal option... The other one will be the equally attractive Slovak one that can be seen in the avatar.


The plastic. It's exquisite!


Instructions. Of great literary value as usual when coming from Eduard !


Decal sheet and a set of masks for both models.

Plastic is still untouched, less than eight hours to go before it is allowed to start though!

Happy New Year to all!



Magnus

I wanted to get the big one but for several reasons I got something else... looking forward to see you WIP, Magnus! Happy 2012 everyone!

Finally New Year's day!


Interior under construction. The white card is a standard-sized business card... I am building both kits in parallell.



Magnus

I had a good painting session this morning! A bit of detail work with a paintbrush left to do, then it is time for assembly!

Beware of the Eduard interior paint mix. The result is a very dark paintmix that might be OK for the 1/48 kit! I added a few drops of white and light blue to get something that more suited my taste!

Gunze paint according to the Eduard mixing instructions: 60% H25 + 20% H26 + 20% H35. I added some white H11 and light blue H45. It maybe should have been a bit more greenish but it really doesn't matter on this size of model I think!



Magnus

It will not surprise me if I can start painting the camo before this week is over!


The combined spine/fin part fits magically well, and there is nothing to complain about when it comes to the rest of the model either!


Cockpit was detailed using "off-black" paint. With a bit of extra painting care spent on the bang seats this will be more than enough.

As usual, it pays off to build carefully. Especially in this small scale since (quoting friend Martin) "glue blobs are constant size so the relative size of them compared to the model grows when scale goes down".



Magnus

Nice build!

I have build the big brother in 1/48 in the same Slovak camouflage scheme, it's very attractive.

I'm curious to see the finished kit.

ronald

Even if the russian seats probably were excellent when it came to life saving capabilities, painting-wise they are quite boring! I went for a few different shades of beige and grey as per photos found on the Internet...


Canopy is on! One of my least favourite parts of a build, finished before breakfast this time!



Magnus

Canopy masks applied. Works like a charm! It was a bit tricky to mask snugly around the periscope using liquid mask but any mistakes can be touched up using a paintbrush easily later when the masks are removed.


A bit of interior colour to avoid see-through to the camouflage... That canopy really looks ill-fitting but very little of this is noticeable at normal eyesight and viewing distance. What I would like to have done differently is the fit of the spine to the fuselage, pressing it down a bit harder would have avoided the step between the canopy and the spine. I'll leave it as it is since I don't want to mess with putty and probably only make matters worse!


After a coat of Tamiya Fine White primer, masking is in progress for applying the orange fields of the Egyptian option!



Magnus

Let's go orange!


I masked the green dielectric panels so that I don't have to paint them over an orange background later. With a bit of luck I will be able to use the inverse of the masks for that!

Paint mix is Tamiya orange X-6 with about 10% of X-7 red added.

I haven't decided if I should try to mask and paint the black borders or if I should use the decal stripes supplied with the kit...



Magnus

An evening of masking using thin stripes of Jammydog tape...


I went for painted-on stripes. I've checked against the decals and the thinnest Jammydog-tape (0,5 mm) fits perfectly. I start by applying a strip of tape where the line should be, then I use that strip as a ruler and apply the "real" masking strip, then finally removing the first one. This way I end up with all the lines the same width. Or at least reasonably so...


Since the masking is a bit fragile, I've done this operation one panel at the time. Fin and lower wing panels still to do.



Magnus

I've overdosed on orange, I really look forward to doing some old-fashioned camo painting now !


My wife thinks it looks like one of those South American poison dart frogs... A bit of touch-ups to do on the quite fragile orange finish.



Magnus

Looking great Magnus, super work in this scale. I doubt whether I would be able to find these little suckers between my big fingers !

Cheers, D

Damian! Then I would seriously suggest that you stay with the plastic and keep away from the poison dart frogs !

I've got big fingers myself but being myopic means that I can work really up close (the limiting factor is when my nose gets in the way ) and a pair of good quality tweezers help as well!



Magnus

Some more painting done!


The Slovakian machine got a base coat of grey, to be complemented with black and white later. The Egyptian one got a coat of sand yellow. Or whatever I should call it, it is rather close to the colour on the boxart!

I tried cutting tape masks as a preparation for painting black and white, it didn't work out very well. I am toying with the idea of using Maskol to mask off the grey, paint the white, cover with some more maskol and then do the black. What worries me is the chemical compatibility between the maskol and the underlying paint... I'll think about it until tomorrow!



Magnus

Beautiful job so far, Magnus! I am also about to start this little MiGs - and as I got 2 boxes, I'll build 4 of them - two in the markings you chose, one from CSSR and one from Yugoslavia.

Sebastijan! Thanks! And you won't be disappointed with the kits, they are wonderful. I won't use any etch but it would certainly come in handy for the gear doors.


I have brush-painted the camo on the Egyptian aircraft using Vallejo acrylics. I am not sure that it was such an excellent idea after all but what I do know is that I will not use Maskol for this kind of job: I tried it on my old paint victim and it attacked the underlying paint.


The finish is slightly uneven but I will try polishing it tomorrow and then bleach and fill in the colours with the airbrush.

I still haven't decided how to do the Slovakian machine. Brush painting white doesn't feel like a viable option... I'll see if I can get hold of a bottle of Fasmask, that might be less aggressive than the Maskol.



Magnus

Coming along very nicely!
For the Slovakian machine, why not airbrush the white areas first, then do the rest the good old fashioned way?
Or if you'd prefer airbrushing everything, have you considered white-tac for masking?

Eetu! Nice to hear from you, it has been a while ! I have bought a packet of tack today for the Slovakian machine, thanks for your advice! I was out looking for Fasmask or the stuff that watercolour painters use but I couldn't find it in the neighbourhood so I went for tack instead. I have never been a fan of it but I'll give it a chance again, it was a long time since last time!


I managed to get the brush-painted finish reasonably even using polishing cloths, then I over-painted it using the airbrush. I would say the result is about "acceptable" and I will refrain from trying to brush-paint in the future. I am no good at it and I much prefer the airbrush!


Not too many decals on this one but the ones supplied are, like everything else about this kit, excellent!



Magnus

Yep, it's indeed been a while since I posted pretty much anything. Been quite busy, started my English studies and all. I haven't practically touched a thing on my workbench since early September 2011.

Your build's looking good. Definitely better after the airbrush touch-up.

Eetu! Good luck with your studies, try to get an hour now and then at the modelling table, it helps a lot ! Regarding the touch-ups: I should never have tried the paintbrush ...


A quite uninteresting update today. It is more of a tradition really, I realise that I have one of those photos in every one of my build blogs! Priming in industrial scale!

When it comes to masking: Fasmask is as bad as Maskol, it strips and discolours the underlying paint . I'll probably have to try the sticky stuff !



Magnus

I always get a kick out of these "Can't see the forest for the trees" pictures.
Inspiring build (as usual) Magnus!

Kenneth! Thanks for the kind words! And I promise to continue with my forest photos...


I have managed to paint the drop tanks, or at least the top surfaces of them. I have also painted the metallic nose ring and the area around the exhaust with Games Workshop's "chainmail" - there will be some "mithril silver" when this coat has set thoroughly.


Another view, with a slightly blurred nose. I'm sorry!



Magnus

Looking very good.

José César

José! Thanks!


I resorted to the brush in this case as well... Masking liquid attacked the paintwork and tack was far to stubborn to shape into tight curves



Magnus