SPA Modeler

I have started another new project, hoping that it will take up more speed in 2016. I think everyone knows the pitfall of this Revell MiG-29UB in 1/32 scale are. There are plenty!

I bought this cheap on a discount for USD$35 sealed. I had read the reviews and I said "what the heck" just do it! this will be my third attempt in large scale kits. I need more practice and what better ways to do that than getting my feet wet (and eventually dive in) and hands-on experience dealing with such kits.



Decals look fantastic. I think I will go for the kit decals on West German Air Force. I am trying to diversity my choice of countries. So far in 1/32 scale I have Spain, Indonesia, Israel.



The sprue and plastic looks good at first. So far it has been a "honeymoon" with the kit. I am guessing its probably not that rosy once the construction starts.

If this turns out as well as your Starfighter it'll be worth watching.

Yay its got a shark mouth!!

Nice! I am gonna watch this.

thanks guys… I am already facing issues, some easily solved, some are real troublesome. will tell you in a bit.

I usually start with the cockpit but this I am i took the rear end, starting from tid bits items like the seats, missiles, rails, intakes… anything that I feel I don't need to do painting or sort. The fit at this stage is relatively good such as the missiles. However, the fitting on the centreline fuel tank is a bit poor. need some filling and sanding to do.



Here are the results of the filling and sanding on the centreline fuel tank and intake trunks. had to combine epoxy and regular Tamiya putty to get the job done.

Next in line is getting some of the interior stuff assembled and painted which is the cockpit tub and the engine. now both of these are not accurate. the tub is a simplification of the real cockpit (based on reference photos). while the engine exhaust nozzles are undersized real bad. only way to tackle both is to use some resin AM bits. but I don't have one, and will trod along with whatever I have.

Inside the burner cans… yes I saw the pin marks and I didn't shaved it off. I was feeling a bit lazy and thought well nobody is going to notice it when inside (what an excuse!!)



Here is the cockpit dashboard. everything has been "flatted" by Revell to make it simple. and from reference photos, the MiG-29 cockpit has may facets. the photo below shows the dashboard after adding decals and some decal solution.

This is the tub and the dashboard as it was done after some basic airbrushing and decaling. I painted the tub using Doogs' 'black basing" technique. The grey is Tamiya XF-53 Neutral Grey.



Next steps are the process of detailing the dashboard. Here it has already gotten a wash and a coat of clear gloss (Future). I am working on painting the black-colored elements.



…Then followed by a light dry brushing using Tamiya XF-19



… followed by colouring of blue and red, and yellow buttons, levers, etch. again… just to make the illusion of a busy dashboard. its nothing accurate.



… continue to sealing it with a flat coat Mr. Color 30. I did a couple of light passes to make it real flat.



then, finally picking the dials with gloss coat. Was disappointed with Testors. so after this image taken, I went with future and got all the dials 2x coats.



once all has dried, installing the dashboard onto the tub. turns out the manual and piece it self were useless. there were pins but I wasn't clear whether we are supposed to glue the dashboard in front of or behind the pins.



inserting it into the fuselage was the last bit of puzzle for now. Had to place it upside down and left the kit over night to get a good strong bond.

Very nice...no doubt, this will be another beautiful model!

Side note...Testors "clear parts glue" works great for simulating instrument lenses as well.

Looking great Monty! Watching!