September 14th update:
Checked the launch rails for fit, adding the launch rail attachments to the rockets. Fitting pigtails:

Hi Julian, great work on the rockets ! As well on your pilot !

Hi Bernd,
thank you, the rockets are fun to adjust

Julian,
Your rockets assemblies & rails really look quite good. Am looking forward to seeing them with some paint on.
Joel

Hi Joel,
to be honest I was rather curious too This is a sneak preview: they aren't varnished and weathered yet so they look rather yucky due to some decal liquid residue:

I like how that rocket looks, I'd be tempted to leave it as is other than a clear coat to even the sheen.


Some days my idea of weathering is hand painting lol.

Hairy sticks Matt? Yes, I just put a coat of Vallejo matt varnish on the rockets. Hate boasting but they look so sexy you could eat them..............

September 16th update:
All rocket projectiles painted, decalled and fitted with pigtails. The launch rails are painted, (I am seriously underwhelmed by the AK paint set. Watery, bad covering and a sticky semi gloss when dry. If this is the best MiG has to offer he can keep it ).

Fantastic. Now build 16 more. I need two sets.

edit - did you put the decals on without a coat of gloss? Apparently that's a new thing.

No need to add a gloss layer first using my favorite decal liquids: Mr. Mark softer and Mr. Mark setter,(if I remember the names correctly ).
Then a coat of Vallejo matt varnish and it ends up looking like this.


Two sets?

Ahh. We can't get Gunze in Canada. I ordered Mr. Mark Softer at the LHS's last shipment and they made me take a whole damn case of it. It's stronger than Micro sol.

and yes - two sets of 8 rockets for my two Typhoons.

Yes, it's "hot stuff" but once you get used to it the liquids work really well giving a painted on look. Mind you, you can also mess the decals up real big time if you aren't careful

Matt,
They made you take the whole case. That's nearly a lifetime's supply. What terrible customer service. I checked the Sprue Brothers site, and both Gunze Sangyo Set and Sol can be shipped outside of the United Stated.
Joel

Those rockets look the business, only one thing though, the fill band on the nose should be red, for HE, there should also be a light green band around the parallel part of it. SAP (Semi armour piercing) rockets had White and red bands and the AP rounds (armour piercing) had red, white, red. Each band was 0.5" wide and 0.5" apart

See my article Storm Bringers

Thanks Mal,
Interesting article,

Well, pipes, pressure tanks etc. fitted in the wheel wells. Wheels and undercarriage underway and ailerons and flaps coming together nicely. Looks like I will start the masking process this weekend. I'll post some snaps tomorrow. It's a big ugly bird

Even to Canada though? that's been the problem. The USPS cancelled it's cross border ground service and because they're "dangerous goods" they wont fly them up here. That's my understanding anyway.

And yes terrible - especially considering I worked there for years. And it's a decal solvent for gods sake - put it on the shelf and it will sell.

September 20th update:
While Matt and Joel are discussing going postal here I have added the assorted odds and ends to the wheel wells. Ailerons are fitted giving me a chance to do some measuring and adding guidelines for the D-day recognition marks, think I have an easy handle on this
Fitted the undercart in a dry run, a bit wobbly but it gives an idea of the stance of the beast. Also added "Manu" for a quick peek at how big this thing was in reality:











A brilliant pole by Lewis Hamilton who beat "Britney" by 0,007 secs. Can't even take a gulp of wine in that time.............

Haven't been able to log on for a couple of days, not the site problem, but my computer seemed to have remembered the wrong password and I had to reset it. Nice to see it on it's legs.
Those RPs are fantastic, I only need eight by the way!

Hi John,
the site had some sort of black-out which lasted about a day.
Building and painting the rockets was an enjoyable job and they should look good slung under the wings, (even if I didn't get the fill rings the right color ).
How was Duxford? I take it you made it in spite of the cold.

Hi Julian

This is shaping up beautifully!

All the best

Rowan

Thank you very much Rowan, yes, still going the way I planned.
Getting down to the nitty gritty now though,

September 21st update:
Masking, painting, not much of an update but a very important phase in the build :






What an unbelievably enjoyable Grand Prix. Way to go Lewis

The AK paint set I cannot recommend. It's garbage. I'll get some genuine Vallejo paint to finish the build as MiG's rubbish has been binned.

Matt,
I just re-checked the Sprue Brothers site, and all their paints, and paint products including glues say this: This item CANNOT be shipped by an Air Method or outside the USA. But Mr. Set and Mr. Sol don't have that disclaimer. They're the only two products listed that don't have it.
Joel

Julian,
All the cut-a-ways look absolutely fantastic. Great job on masking that beast. What was the issues with the Mig paints?
Joel