This is the second
build of this kit that I have done and it really is a lot of fun to put
together. I added Eduard's Zoom set for the MiG-3 to detail the cockpit,
but other than that small addition the detail provided is very complete - in
fact, just some seat belts might have been all I needed, but the Zoom set has a
lot of little things that do dress up and make the cockpit more busy.
And busy the MiG
front office was - looking at historical photos makes one wonder if the pilot
was just an afterthought. It makes an I-16 look roomy. The plane was
designed for high-altitude combat and excelled in that arena, but the Germans
flew lower than the MiG's design called for and as a result the plane wasn't a
match for the Bf-109's it came up against. Many of them were destroyed
while still on the ground. It was also fitted with rocket rails for ground
attack - a role it was not suited for at all. Some exterior changes were
made in the later production models to accommodate a more powerful engine but
since by late '42 the designs of the new IL2 Sturmoviks were calling for the
same engine the MiG-3 was shelved. Other, more promising
"one-offs" were made by the design team but Stalin decreed that the
IL2 was "as important to the Red Army as bread and air" these designs
were never implemented.
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I added some brass
wire cables to the trim wheel on the starboard sidewall, and another to the
oxygen bottle on the port side - these fade back behind the seat back when that
is in place. The interior was painted with a mix of Model Master Fulcrum
Gray-Green and Fulcrum Light Blue, the tubular framing was painted Polly S
Russian Topside Dark Gray. Unfortunately, the gun charging handles,
details added to the gunsight and instrument panel, and rudder pedals all pretty
much vanish unless you use a bright light and dental mirror after the windscreen
is in place. The windscreen is molded as part of a panel so it has a
clever seamless fit, but all the fine detail under it is hidden. All of
the canopy parts fit flawlessly and after gluing the windscreen and rear canopy
in place with thinned white glue I fitted the hood with Uhu Tack putty using
thin rolls of it between the canopy parts.
The cowling panels
on the side and top of the engine compartment and propeller were primed with
Tamiya Gloss Black out of a spray can and then painted with Alclad II White
Aluminum for the engine panels and Aluminum for the propeller. The back of
the prop was then sprayed flat black as was the practice in real life to reduce
glare. The Alclad went on beautifully and was lightly buffed on the high
points with Q-tips.
The underside of the
plane was painted with my trusty Badger 360 using Tamiya Light Blue XF-23, and
the topside sprayed with spray can Tamiya Pure White after masking the blue
painted areas with Tamiya tape. The metal cowl panels were first masked
along the edge where they met the painted panels with Bare-Metal Foil strips so
I could get it to conform to the contours and pressed down into the panel lines.
Then Tamiya tape covered the rest. This way, when the masking was removed
the bare metal areas looked just like individual panels after the wash since
there was no overspray even inside the panel lines. The Trumpeter star
decals went down over a coat of Alclad Clear Gloss - the numbers came from an
Eduard I-16 kit. Then a second coat of clear gloss and the wash was
applied.
Because it was a
winter plane it was going to be dirty. The interior was washed with a
combination of oils and ProModeller Wash (Dark Dirt) and then dry-brushed with
the original colors to pop out the highlights. I grind pastel chalk sticks
for the pigments I use on my models and here I slopped around various red-browns
and gray-browns then blew the excess off to simulate the dirt and mud from the
pilot and crew's boots. It also dulled the semi-matte finish of the
cockpit paints and oils. Lastly, a silver pencil was used to
"chip" the paint in some places and highlight panels and boxes.
The exterior got
some heavy treatment of the same washes - especially around the parts of the
plane that were metal, and the tail where a lot of dirt, snow, and mud would
have been thrown around on landings and take-offs. After the washes were
finished they were sealed in with Alclad Flat Coat which provided a dead flat
finish.
"Chipped"
areas on the metal wing roots were made with some neutral gray paint and silver
pencil. Then the pastel chalks came out and simulated the exhaust trails,
gun smoke, and plenty of dirt where appropriate. Drops of the ProModeller
Wash were wiped across the wings, front to back, to add a little dirt streaking
here and there. This, plus some of the same on the smooth wooden rear
fuselage section broke up the stark white in those places. Under the plane
extra wear and weathering was applied around the wheel wells, struts, and
blackened streaks from the rockets were swiped using pastel chalk.
After touching up the canopy and adding the EZ-Line antenna the kit was done and
ready for the show. In fact it still had the "new-model smell"
since I finished it approx. 8 hours before the show started.
I took it to the
2011 Oregon Historical Modelers Society IPMS show at the Evergreen Air and Space
Museum in McMinnville, Oregon in September where the model won the Best WW2
Soviet Aircraft Subject award.
Scotty Diamond
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