Beautiful work, Magnus. I've yet to master masks and stencils, so your work is inspiring.

Gary

Magnus,
That missile is incredible. I'm in complete awe of your abilities to work in such a small scale. Even with my 5x Optivisior I couldn't see the parts well enough to work with them.

Mal's masks really do work quite well. I loved using them on my Spitfire for the camo pattern.

Joel

Jelger! Sorry for forcing you down into the etch-swamp !

Ian! Thanks! I'll try to finish this one before Christmas!

Gary! Masks aren't difficult, at least not in more normal sizes! This got a bit fiddly...

Joel! This is just about my limit, if it gets any smaller there is no way I can do it!


I painted the white centers tonight...


...and as you can see it was slightly difficult to align them, the outlines didn't get perfectly even. At normal viewing distance this isn't very noticeable so I'll declare myself happy enough with the result. Mal! Did I pass the grade ?



Magnus

Magnus,
Now that's amazing.
Joel

After some more rather complicated fiddling, masking and centering...


The easy part, background white circles...


...is followed by a careful application of the three roundels inside the circles (look carefully at the fin)...


...and then some green paint (note amount of masking!)...


...and then removal of the surrounding masks in order to let the green dry for a day or two...


...and finally the red. Shouldn't be looked at in this magnification! Some touch-up is needed...



Magnus

Magnus,
Simply amazing application of the masks and painting with the appropriate colors.

I completely agree that viewing the markings in what looks like more then 2:1 magnification just doesn't give the viewer a sense what they look like in real life, while highlighting slight errors that wouldn't be normally seen.

Joel

Great Job Magnus! The area is so small to work on, but your efforts look great!



Jelger

Fabulous! Tiny masks and tiny PE are the real challenge of 1/144 - that is as good as it gets!
Still, ship modelers smile - there is another challenge ahead of you, and I know you are interested

Fabulous masking and painting, Magnus. My eyes hurt just imagining squinting.

Friends! Thanks!

I've been busy weathering this thing lately, maybe too busy... I ended up with a very dirty MiG that I haven't decided if I like or not yet. The original was also dirty and very weathered but in a completely different way. And the colours are off too... Anyway, here we go:





There is good hope for finishing this one before Christmas!



Magnus

It looks beautiful, Magnus! Can't believe you can make something so tiny so fine and detailed. Yours looks better than the original imho.
Looking at the original, some of the effects to mimic the paint look difficult to reproduce.

Gary

the red outlines of the cockpit glazing is a particularly nice touch.

Wow.....that Bulgarian one is beautiful. Excellent work, indeed.

Best wishes,

Ian

Wow, you have raised the bar again. I can only agree with the others, your Bulgarian MiG has turned out beautiful. A very nice matte and weathered finish.

I immediately noticed the red canopy framing, this i would like to do as well. How did you do this?



Jelger

Magnus,

Your skills are just amazing. How did You do the weathering: pigments?

The small red line of the canopy, as the other said already, looks great, too!

Cheers

Oliver

Gary! Thanks, I hope the Bulgarian airforce doesn't read your comments though ! I wasn't brave enough to try out any new techniques for replicating the look of the real thing: I think it would involve paint and sharper contrasts which in themselves are a lot more difficult than using pastels that give much more forgiving feathered and continuous effects...

Jonathan and Jelger! The red outlines around the canopy are Gunze transparent orange mixed with a light brown, thinned and painted freehand using a very small and pointy brush. Since there is a raised edge to follow it is a lot easier than you probably imagine!

Ian! Thanks!

Oliver! Most of the weathering is pigments, I have bought a few sets of artist's pastels that I rub against some sand paper and then apply using an old paintbrush. Those artist's pastels aren't expensive and the kind I happen to use ("Nouvel Carré") come in themed sets ("Earth tones", "Greys", "Greens" among others) that makes it easy to always find a suitable colour. It all started with an enamel wash though to bring out the panels a bit and add some depth to a rather small model!



Magnus

OK, I said "before Christmas" and here in Sweden Christmas is on the 24th. So one hour to go...









Looking at the photos, the missiles could get a bit more detail before bringing it to a show. But that's for then...

Speaking about the missiles, here's a review of those fascinating Aphids. Well worth a try if you have steady hands and a good eyesight!



Model has now, as usual, been added to the collection.

Merry Christmas!



Magnus

Magnus,
Impressive to say the least. Not only do you possess incredible eyesight, but your hands are steadier then mine by a long, long shot. Congratulations on making your Christmas deadline.
Joel

Thanks Joel! I might have steady hands (after all I'm not THAT old ) but I've also picked up some most useful tips from my friend Ulf who builds ships: he almost always braces his hands against the table or even uses foam blocks or scrap pieces of wood to lean them against when manipulating tiny parts! The brown sealant outlines around the canopies were painted with the MiG parked on the table and my hands against the table edge. Feels a bit robot-like but it works!



Magnus

Hallo Magnus,

Your finishing of the MiG is just awesome. Congratulation to a bird that is really most impressive!

Looking forward to Your Avia build. Aren´t these planes even smaller?

Oliver

Outstanding work, Magnus! Outstanding! Makes me want to give this scale a second chance

Oliver! You're right, the Avias are even smaller! I'll do a comparison photo especially for you in that thread in my next posting !

Christian! Give it a try! The Eduard MiGs are in many ways the ideal introduction to tiny-scale: great kits, affordable, easy to build and most of what is in the box will come out at scale appearance without the use of after-market. If you fell comfortable using photo etch, it is nice to get the gear doors as PE but it isn't strictly necessary!



Magnus