Greetings
from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This is a North Vietnamese Mig 17F that
underwent a major overhaul from the original Chinese Shenyang J-5. This
model depicts pilot Le Huan getting out of his airplane after scoring his fifth
kill. The kit was of high quality, as most Trumpeter kits are in this scale.
However there were many inaccuracies that needed correction and/or modification.
The kit also lacked details in certain areas that I felt were important to
include, based on the scale of the aircraft and the cost. I completely
scratch-built the gun bay with the guns, based on excellent reference photos
found on the internet. The flaps were cut-out and the details scratch
built. The interior of the speed breaks were scratch built as well with
Eduard details added. The hydraulic pistons on the original model inserted
in the wrong direction, so they had to be re-worked and re-positioned.
Eduard detailing was also used in the cockpit.
Click on
images below to see larger images
The
engine was not exposed completely because it was not an accurate
reproduction. It has a noticeable "hump" in the aft
portion where the afterburner is housed, and this was not present on the
model. The detailing though was interesting enough to allow a small
access hatch in order to visualize compressor details with scratch-built
wiring. The separation point between the fuselage in order to access
the engine was also too far aft on the model, and this had to be moved in
order to allow the access door to expose the appropriate area of the
engine. This is based on photos from the Walk-Around Series Mig 17
from Squadron--an excellent resource. I had to sand down the wing
fences, as they were too thick. The aileron and elevator contact
points also had to be re-worked in light of inaccuracies on the original
model. The drop tanks were moved closer to the landing gear
underneath the middle wing fence, based on photos in the Walk Around
reference. The hydraulic lines on the landing gear were added from lead
wire, and configured for the Mig 17F (the Shenyang had a different
configuration)
The rear canopy
was completely inaccurate. It took a leap of faith, but I masked over the
framing and sanded flush the framing I wanted to modify. I then polished
it with a Squadron sanding/polishing stick, and dipped it in Future. After
drying, I placed Tamiya epoxy in order to create the new frame, smoothed it
down, and used a small drill to put in the rivet detail. It came out
better than expected. I used syringe tips (21G) for the pitot tube ends.
As for painting,
after a base of Alclad gloss black primer, varied tones of Alclad aluminum
were sprayed on after masking where appropriate. I then took different
Tamiya green tones and made a blend (with added black, yellow, or white)
depending on where the paint was exposed, and carefully sprayed on different
intensities to simulate paint fading, using Tamiya lacquer thinner as the
diluent. Future followed, with decals next, followed by Future over the
decals. I spray-stenciled the numbers on the front of the airplane as
there were no decals to replicate this particular airplane. Mig
productions washes (dark and brown) were then used, followed by Mig productions
desert sand dust application to the decals in order to give them a faded look.
Chipping was applied carefully using a brand new narrow paint brush, using
Tamiya chrome silver diluted with Tamiya lacquer thinner. The figures were
Dragon Vietcong, with arms and legs reshaped and gaps filled with Epoxy putty,
and painted with Vallejo acrylics. The ground power unit was scratch
built.
Thanks for the
interest,
Tom
Valaoras
Click on
images below to see larger images
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