Mig-21 P/f "fishbed" Nva

[Guest]

Howdy guys and gals,

Well, after a few days of "nothing" I started on another model night before last. My plan was to build it as usual....a "speed build", well due to a family matter, my neck and a birthday party, I was kept away from it until today. But, I finished it in about 3 hours.

Todays model is Academy models 1:48th scale Mig-21 P?F "Fishbed".

This Soviet Fighter is one of the most recognized aircraft in the world and in use by many nations. It is probably best known in its role during the Viet Nam conflict, being flown by the North Viet Namese Airforce (albeit with Non-Viet namese pilots according to some accounts). Viet nam was a civil war in the minds of most people, but in reality it was a war to prevent the spread of communism....a "secret" war between the Armed forces of the United States and The former Soviet Union.

The Mig-21 was in its day, the top of the line in soviet fighter technology, a true Cold War Veteran.

This model goes together really well, the fix is excellant and has options for the early Viet Namese and Chinese versions as well as Egyptian, Russian and Iraqi Air forces later version.

I built the early Viet namese version (the vertical stabilizer is abit different from the mordern version among other things.

Here she sits on the hood of my truck (which it froze to as i was reviewing the photos i had just shot since i used water on the truck to provide a refllective surface in 20 degree weather lol)

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Now you probably cant tell from these photos, but i used varying shades of Silver, Chrome and Aluminum tones on this model, the night photography is not really conducive to promoting these differences, but if ya look close you can see it in places. This was a really fun model to build and would suggest it for anyone who likes to build Cold War/modern aircraft models.

have a good day,

Greg aka GW

[Guest]

Looks nice and very atmospheric sitting on a cold wet airfield apron I like those images

can I ask about the markings

The Yellow and Red Star by the tail was that to confuse as its similar as US markings just a different colour

[Guest]

As far as I know that was just the insignia used by the Vietnamese on their aircraft at the time. It is interesting, though, that is uses the same shape as the US insignia. Many nations use or used that same shape in their insignias as well though. I doubt that they would want to create confusion, because that would also cause the potential shooting down of ones own aircraft by friendly fire

[jspitza]

Very cool, sir! I had it in mind to always want to build a mig.........I don't think my current patience load could handle the perfectly smooth aluminum skin! So, this was the foe of the f4? Pretty nasty look to it!

[Guest]

Howdy guys,

First thanks for the kind words. As for the markings, yes alot of other countries have used a design similiar to the US "Stars and Bars" aircraft insignia. Now as to whether the Communist North Viet-Namese used this insignia to fool US forces, I would seriously doubt it. The Mig-21 fishbed, the Mig-19 farmer and the Mig-15 are all well known. Although the Mig-15 does at first glance look alot like the F-86 Sabre which fought against the North Koreans during the Korean war, by the time of the viet nam conflict, the Sabre was being phased out of the US inventory.

However, during the Viet name conflict, the US was in the process of installing a device invented in the UK during wwII, the "RFID reader" (Radio frequency Identification Reader) which reads the transponders of aircraft alerting the pilot as to whether the approaching aircraft in question is "friend or foe".

Now not all US aircraft had these 'little black boxes" but as time progressed during the conflict more and more US aircraft were fitted with them.

Another thing that would probably prevent confusion was the paint scheme. By the time of viet nam conflict, the US was camoflauging most of their aircraft, the Mig-21 for the most part remained a bright silver which is highly visible at great distances. Just the "glint" of silver in the distance would sometimes be enough to alert US pilots of the presence of the aircraft even if the radar hadnt discovered the mig yet.

Another thing, the mig-21 was "top of the line" in eastern block military aircraft and was not used on every mission, the viet namese had access to limited numbers of these aircraft and they were usually "kept in reserve" and when they were flown, it was usually not a North Viet namese pilot flying the aircraft according to historical accounts, but instead a soviet pilot sent to North viet name as a "military advisor".

If you would like to read more on the RFID, do a search in google where i am sure you will find all sorts of information.

have a good day and thanks again for the kind words,

Greg

[Guest]

Howdy jeff,

Thanks for the kind words. Appaerntly we were posting at the same time lol.

Yes, this was the aircraft that the F-4 Phantom fought against....this and the other migs of the era. However, not only the F-4 fought against this aircraft, the US had several fighter/bombers which saw action against the Migs during this time. But the F-4 Phantom was known as the "Mig killer".

As for the paint job, I normally detest silver paint jobs for the fact that somewhere on the model there is always some little spot that will pick up a fingerprint lol. But this one really wasnt that bad. If you use an airbrush, there is really not enough paint on the plane to remain "wet", it really dries quickly.

And as for the "nasty look", the slightly off center head on view of this aircraft has always made it a favorite of mine...that nose "spike" distinguishes it from all other aircraft well, except a few of the lesser known soviet aircraft like the su-7 and others.

Anyway i appreciate the kind words,

have a good day,

Greg

[jspitza]

Are you the person who used off the shelf primer, Greg?

[Guest]

Howdy jeff,

Yeah, only the finest lol wal-marts best lol. The full size spray cans are only 88 cents a can here in arkansas and they have a nice flat color to them and are sandable, Heck i painted my old pick up truck for $12 using this stuff lol (seriously).

Even the walmart spray clear coat holds up well, but it does have a tendency to turn yellow in sunlight so i dont suggest it for a vehicle lol.

This model of the mig however had a cote of clear gloss laquer, then a coat of gloss black, then another coat of clear then the silver colors.

Did you have spevific questions about the 'cheap paint"?

Greg

[jspitza]

Thansk. Yes, sure do. I finally discovered the ultimate primer filler-very similar to the Mr.Thinner stuff. Duplicolor primer filler though my models still suck. Anyway, ther "normal" primer (the type before the primer sealer) totally gets all seems and gaps. BUT really kills the detail. Is this something that can be corrected by spraying on the regular primer then sanding lightly? Forget the MM primer for airbrush-I'm always thinning is wrong!

[Guest]

Howdy Jeff,

Lol, well you ran across a problem that I have dealt with for years. You find a primer that fills gaps and seams, but it also destroys the detail.

I have tried and tried to solve this problem before when using spray cans of primer, I like they way they fill the gaps, but like you said it fills in everything else too. I tried sanding but found that I did as much damage as the paint did....so I stopped that.

What I did discover though is that if you use cyno-acrylate esther (super-glue) as an adhesive for your models, you can eliminate alot of gaps while you are still in the building phase. Heres how.

Normally I will pre-paint various parts prior to assembly but it doesnt matter if you do this or not. During assembly lets say of two fuselage halves, I apply the super glue along one half and hold the two halves together until they bond.....this is when you will inevitably notice a gap somewhere along the seam line. What I do next is to spread a very fine line of superglue over the gap lengthwise and then using a fingernail file (very fine grit), while the glue line is still wet, I file gently across the seam and glue. This produces dust that the glue grabs ahold of and the filing action forces it into the gap or seam and the glue dries right away leaving you with a seamless bond. This works when assembling two halves of a wing too (along the leading edge which always seem to have a small gap).

Now for the area where a wing mates with the fuselage, I usually take a bottle of elmers school glue and apply a thin line along the length of that joint, then taking the side of my little finger (when it will fit) I slide my finger all the way down that seam, removing the excess white glue and forcing the glue into the joint. A paint brush end,not the brush end will do the same thing. This leaves you with a nice "seamless" appearance once the white glue dries. However, the white glue is not for use on a model to be painted silver lol, the white glue will show up even though its dry.

Now I am guilty of failing do the super glue/dust trick on alot of my "speed builds" but do occassionally go back after final assembly and before painting and touch up alot of the gaps in this manner.

Once you have completed all the "glue tricks", you are ready for painting. Unless you are doing a model in a "silver-toned" color, I usually dont worry about a primer,(Always prime silver paint with a HIGH GLOSS BLACK paint ). I am more apt to use a primer as a finished color on my models. If you notice alot of military aircraft are a "primer gray" or flat colors. If you are doing camo patterns I usually go from lightest to darkest but may vary depending on the complexity of the pattern. Camo patterns create their own "primer" so to speak, with one color covering another.

Ok so lets say you complete the model and the paint dries and you notice another gap that you have missed. My advice would be to keep a can of Testors Dull-cote and a can of testors Gloss cote handy (although I have come to like their clear gloss laquer lately). But anyway, you find a gap, do like stated above, and spread a thin line of super-glue along the length of the gap, and lightly file it again with the finest grit you can find in a fingernail file. Or, I have had good results using talcum powered sprinkled into the wet glueand filing lightly since this is the finished paint job you are filing on. Again, this fills the gap. Then I go to the spray can containing the color of the area where the gap was and shake it well, and then spray some into the cap or lid of the can. I then go back with a ultra fine brush and paint the "filled in" seam or gap. Once that is dry, I use the dull cote or gloss cotes over the entire model again, sealing the paint and repairing the marred finish caused by the sanding.

SPECIAL NOTE: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GET TESTORS DULL COTE OR GLOSS COTE ON CLEAR PLASTIC PARTS, IT WILL DESTROY THEM. ( The testors clear high gloss laquer doesnt seem to marr the finish of clear plastic parts though).The only way i have found to repair a clear part that has become "fogged" by an overcoat is to take CLEAN, FRESH model paint thinner on a fine brush and paint the thinner on the part in question and wipe gently with a paper towel. What this does is to disolve the overcoating and the paper towel will remove it. But be careful not to apply too much thinner to a clear part, it will on occassion melt the plastic and the paper towel fibers will stick to it.

Now as for the detail, like i said, this is a problem i have encountered for years and the best way i have found to avoid the paint filling in the detail is to follow the can instructions and add 2-4 inches to the distance you are supposed to spray the paint from the part being painted. Most cans say 12-14 inches , 16 to 18 inches is better, you are basically "misting" the part with paint, so as that it cant puddle up along the detail edges...this also speeds drying time in my opinion although i have no proof of it, but i believe that by spraying froma greater distant, the paint dries somewhat in the air before adhering to the part.

Short of an airbrush, spray on paint will always give less than perfect results, its all a matter of what you are willing to sacrifice for the luxury of not having to thin paint and load your airbrush over and over with various colors. lol But there again, if i break out my airbrush, i try to paint as many parts on as many models that require that color as I can. I might only build one model, but the next model wont require me to break out the airbrush again...atleast not for that color. Another thing i have found is that having both internal and external mix airbrushes are a must. the double action internal mix airbrush is great and gives you complete control of the paint volume, but, the external mixed, single action airbrush allows you to buy extra individual paint jars with lids which allow you to change out only the jars of paint instead of having to clean the airbrush with each color change as on the double action internal mix airbrush.

I have probably 15-20 external airbrush paint jars most of which i keep filled with single colors straight from the factory bottles. there are a few mixed color jars with 'special tints" of various colors that I keep since i had to go to all the trouble to mix the paint. If the jars remain sealed, the thinner in the paint wont evaporate and only requires shaking to remix the pigments. But, if the paint has thickened and wont spray properly, you can always take some of that "thinner" that you keep for clear parts lol and add abit to the jar of thickend paint to thin it abit.

But seriously, a cheap inexspensive external mix airbrush with seperate paint jars is the way to go if you build many models or use the same colors over and over. It may require a little more space to store the jars, but if you are a modeller, you wont notice any lack of space cause you probably dont have any empty space anyway lol.

I hope this answered your questions or provided you with something you can use. I am sure others might comment on this topic,

Have a good day,

Greg

[jspitza]

holy cow, thanks! Well, lots of thoughts cross my mind when I read this response. I do have an awesome airbrush-iwata CS which works like a champ! I actually picked up some micro krystal and can't wait to try it out on canopies. Upon your suggestion, picked up the loktite gel and will probably give this a go when needed. I have several liquid cements-tennax and platiweld but don't use them correctly. I seem tp really shy away from using too much glue and thats where my problem is-I get big gaps because there's no glue stuffed in there! I have a few 1/48 models coming in and now that my Son is a few months old-I'm becoming the "mcdonalds" of building- needing to build sometimes as fast as possible. Well, not that fast maybe medium but need to perfect the fries!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to be leaving my IT career and raise my Son-stay at home Dad so in the eve, when my Wife comes home I'll jump right into the builds which she loves to see my do. BUT, now that the house is filling up will German war machines, mainly BF109's and Folke wolfs-more baby clothes are coming into the home with aeroplanes on the shirts! I'm starting to hang these planes on the ceiling. Hey, I'm going to start a thread so maybe under the topic of speed building!!!! Greg, you rock!!! Oh, I'll start posting my werks in the gallery along with my baby.

[Guest]

Just food for thought: We use the F-5E and F-5F as an agressor aircraft because it very closely models the MiG-21 in performance. That's why when Top Gun and Red Flag popped up in the late-Viet Nam era they started right out using F-5s. We used to use the A-4 because it was the closest resemblance to a MiG-17 (albeit a tad over in the thrust-to-weight category).

By the way, nice build Greg.