discussion Chris' 1/144th F-Toys MiG-21F-13

[Steve-the-Duck]

Right, this is pretty much going to be an OOB build
Almost

I'm going to do an open canopy, so there's a bit more cockpit detail to add (especially in light of a YouTube vid showing a load of bright yellow piping in the rear cockpit that isn't on any kit in any scale, so far as I've seen)
Markings will be for India, the first foreign user of the -21
So, not just a paint job then!

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Here we go

The F-Toys kits are pretty much snap-together, but I'm gluing and filling, just a little. This original colour scheme is for an East German tactical job, but I'm going for an Indian Air Force job, using Heroics and Ros multi-scale transfers. And fineliner pen for codes!


You can see the difference in scale between F-Toys and 'actual' 1/144. The other seats here are the Eduard ones (two parts to a 1/144 seat, and a six-part cockpit in this scale!? Sheesh), and a pair of Retrokit resin jobs. They're actually KM seats, rather than the SKs the Fs carried


So, adding my usual extra lumps and bumps around the tail. The fin pieces aren't on this kit, and the mounting points above the tail are a bit more 'subdued' than they should be. The shims in the cocpit fill in the slots for the canopy mounts
Fortunately, the cockpit bucket fits in with the fuselage halves already joined

And the cockpit bucket, with brass rod joy-stick added, and the real thing. The intention is to have the cockpit open, so a lot of little detail will be painted in

The kit nose wheel doors are way too small, so they're replaced with 10 thou strip. The ventral strake is enlarged, just to b e in proper proportion

The undercarriage has no actuator arms, so they're added out of brass rod and tube
Will I regret adding the pitot tube so soon?
Time will tell

All over silver next up

 

[flyjoe180]

Very detailed yet again Chris. You appear to have a real affinity for these MiGs.

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Very detailed yet again Chris. You appear to have a real affinity for these MiGs.

Affinity, or OCD? I can't really tell. I have a tendency to want to build multiple, different, variants and sub-variants of my subjects. Hence why I have six different A13 Cruiser tanks finished, and five different Macchi MC202 kits pending

Thirty-odd years ago, we were all set to do these in 1/72. Finished a Ye-2 and a Ye-4, slightly innaccurately unfortunately. They're still knocking around somewhere. Not long ago I sold all my 1/72 Soviet stuff (Uncle Vlad had nothing to do with it!), as they were always going to take up too much room
1/144? Not so much. All the mini-MiGs I've done so far take up about the same space as the Revell -21 F-13 I've got crying out to be done soon

Historically, I think my interest in -21s may have started with the old MiG-21/Cessna 02, with the unique Vietnam markings. Never did build the Cessna as the transparencies were missing. That Airfix F-13 is actually fairly accurate, though it does need work

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Now, as a quick work-in-progress side note, here are three more F-Toys F-13s currently being worked on

These will be:
the Ye-6/2 (which might be the inspiration for the Chinese J-7 GBs, though the reason here was to extend the wing-tips to fit a missile pylon),
the Ye-6T/3 six-surface test 'plane
the Czech F-13R dedicated recce variant - which will actually be the only one of these to be built as the kit and scheme! With the addition of the correct stores

Hmm. Do I have too many silver -21 types? Let's see if this one gets colourful...

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Greetings comrades from the Mikoyan factory!


EFKA (never heard of them before) have a 1/48 MiG-21 F13 in Czech service kit out, and the entire thing is shown online, parts, transfers, plans, and, best of all, close-up photos. Including one of all the yellow-pipe gubbins behind the cockpit. Bit of plastic rod, bit of bent brass wire, and there we go. And likewise to all the Ye-6s currently underway
Also, you can see some of the 'Liquid gravity' stuff I'm using for nose weight. Lots of teeny tiny ball-bearings, held in with a swath of PVA. Seems to work pretty well, but they also appear to have rusted straight away!

And on wityh the Tamiya Bare Metal Silver spray

Along with the Ye-6/2 doraboinyi and the Ye-6T/3 six surface prototype
And yes, I managed to break the nose boom on the F-13. I'm going to replace most of the thick placcy booms with wire across the collection, so n o loss there
Still, the F-Toys and Eduard booms are remarkably thin anyway.

Though they don 't have the four sensor blades moulded on!

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Okay, still progressing, but not finished by the end of the GB
So close!

Transfers are Mark 1 Indian AF, that went on reasonably okay, with a bit of rough edging
Last step is going to be the cockpit mod and the open canopy. That may take a while

So, The two Ye-6s were a right pain to put transfers on. I think I used up two Eduard and half an F-Toys set before I got them right. I need numbers, now I know that the Ye-6/2 was numbered 22 and the Ye-6/3T was 23. Fortunately, I had a red 22 in a MiG-27, otherwise I was going to need like six sets of Mark 1 Soviet numbers - which aren't that easy to get hold of now, apart from SuperHobby in Poland...

 

[flyjoe180]

Looks good in the Indian markings Chris

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Looks good in the Indian markings Chris

I chose them because they were the first foreign user of the F-13.
I've also seen the recent Eduard F-13 as a build in a magazine where it was finished in the green squiggle scheme, as appeared on later PFs, but I couldn't find a photo of one like that, only in this natural metal

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

While I'm about it, here's all the other MiGs I've done, or in progress starting in this GB

Left to right
Ye-2, Ye-2A, Ye-4, Ye-50, Ye-5v(only justv started), Ye-6/2, Ye-6/3T, F, F-13 (INdia), CzechF-13R, -21I A1
Back row
Chengdu F-7B (Iraqi), F-7M (Iranian), J-7GB (China August First Team), J-7GB (Beijing Olympics)

That makes fifteen in all! Fourteen-and-a-half with the Ye-5. Fourteen and two halves with the Ye-5 and the rebuilt Ye-2

Meanwhile. NOW I can do that 1/48 MiG-3. And the Revell 1/72 F-13 (now that I've decided to do it in the Israeli '007' scheme)

 

[Neil]

Wow, I've been away job hunting, but you have been very busy indeed.