1/48 Mig 21 - sort of WIP!

[Logster]

Hi everyone
Haven't done too much modelling of late but now am awaiting delivery of a new airbrush and compressor so ready to crack on and finish this kit. Some of you may remember my post about melting the nose of this one with putty - well in the photos you can kind of see it. going to carry on regardless though and hopefully spray a natural metal finish. Never done this before so i would really appreciate any advice on getting a good finish. So far it is primed with Tamiya primer which i think gives a good smooth base, and just needs the cockpit and the green on the fin masking off.

Also, this kit has resin rocket pods which i am going to fit. I have never used resin before - is there anything i should know about painting them or is it just the same as plastic?

Anyway, a few pics. They are not brilliant but give you an idea;







Any thoughts, advice or comments gratefully received.

matt

[Jamesv9820]

Matt,

I would have a think about the NMF with the nose the way it is - the finish will show every single imperfection on the airframe so have a think before you do it.

if you do choose to do NMF the best way to get a nice smooth and the best out of silver is the folowing

Prepare the whole airframe in AlcladII Gloss base or use thinned Tamiya X-1 (Black)
Make sure the surface is nice and smooth using finishing pads and a cotton cloth (old shirt cut into bits is great) - this will remove all lumps and bumps and any overspray
Spray the final coat with Gunze metallic or Alclad colours - these really work well

Regarding the resin, just give them a few light undercoats of Tamiya Thin Primer and they will be good to go! Make sure you wash the parts before you paint them to remove any release agents..

James

[Deacon]

Nice 'Mig' colour in the pit mate. Was that mixed or stright out of the pot?

Alan

[Logster]

Hi

Thanks for the advice James. I am a bit undecided - not sure whether to practice the metal finish or practice doing camo - whatever though your post is very useful - thanks. I will stick the results up here when the new airbrush arrives.

alan - the colour in the pit is straight from the pot - Citadel Turquoise Hawk. Found a reference to it on another forum when i googled Mig cockpit colours. Photo doesn't do it justice but it is a really good match for the Eduard PE (which by the way i had great fun doing - the straps alone had 12 bits but it looks really good)

matt

[Deacon]

I bought a pot of that the other day!

Must use it in the Mig 21's I'm doing for the Arab Air Power GB.

Alan

[Logster]

Hi everyone
thought it was about time to put some progress on here! I have the new airbrush and so thought i would go in at the deep end and try three new techniques1
1) Pre-shading (looks good but can't really see it on the photo
2) Free hand camo (hard! but looks ok on this type because of the general old feel to the plane)
3) 'mottling' some of the darker colours to get that faded look (I think it is ok but some areas just look a bit like I messed up the painting!)

Loved the new airbrush -and compressor - so much easier witha double action one. Although i did get a few splutters I think this is down to experimenting with the thinning of the paint and the pressure of the brush. i watched a really good tutorial on Flory models on this but he makes it look very easy!

Anyway here are some pics;




Despite this kit supposedly being brilliant (some of it is) I had quite a lot of trouble with the getting the seat in and the nose wheel bay sorted. Anyway probably user error!


have touched bits up since these pics and when I have done the decals i will post some more. Comments and advice always welcome

Matt

[Deacon]

Very nice mate, it's looking a cracker.

Well done.

Alan

[scotthldr]

Looking good Matt, and good to see that you've decided to crack on and finish it after the earlier mishap. The colours and pattern look good although the demarcation lines could be tightened up, but that will come with practice. What markings do you have planned for it?

[Craig]

That's looking very nice indeed! nice work!

[mattlaker]

Like it a lot!

[Logster]

Hi all
Thanks for the comment. Done some more work on this tidying it up and decalling. Didn't do a gloss coat as last time it filled in all the panel lines - however this was a mistake as decals silvered- particularly the stencils - and the flory models wash stuck fast to the matt coat - so it is a very dirty mig! I decided not to continue with the stencils but may do so at a later date.
Also does anyone have any advice about glue? i couldn't get the PE to stick with my super glue and the revell contact stuff ruined the paintwork - any advice gratefully received.
You may notice the nosewheel is wrong. BEcause i melted the nose the wheel bay wouldn't fit properly and everything was too low. Therefore i changed the angle of the wheel - not accurate but the model sits much better.

Anyway hope the photos are of interest.







Matt varnish coat to do and rest of undercarriage and then I am looking forward to moving on!
Matt

[Craig]

Getting there!

[Logster]

Hi All

For the sake of completeness I thought I would stick a couple of shots of what I would say is a finished Mig-21SMT. As I have said before I tried lots of new techniques out here because I had already messed it up a bit my melting the nose! Some worked some didn't but I have enjoyed it generally. And you certainly get a lot of kit for the spares box out of this one.





having just looked at this photo I have noticed that one of the little PE bits off the starboard wing is missing...I blame the kids....



hope they are of interest - now on to the next one!!

matt