Scale aviation modeller international

hence my emphasis earlier on

checking and re-checking fit

before committing to cement.

The assembly just would not click

into place. As I had not glued the

intakes I spent some time adjusting

the fit, which improved things to

some extent. In the end I removed

the lip at the front and centre

of A14. The rear of the cockpit

assembly is supposed to click over

this lip, but removing it helped

improve the fit on my model.

Rather than adding the intakes

to the cockpit/bulkhead assembly,

I found it easier to fix the intakes

on the main fuselage, let them

dry, then add the completed

cockpit module. The absence of

the bulkhead makes it easier to

align the intakes correctly, and

also gives more available surface

to fix tape and clamps to.

After this I added part F14,

which is the central structural

bulkhead. It is important that this

is fitted the correct way round:

there is a locating lug on the top

and a pin on the underside, neither

of which is central to the part fore-

and-aft; the shorter pin should be

to the front with the longer one

aft. This part fits between two

raised lateral lines, so if you get

it the wrong way it will not fit.

Next to be fitted is the main

undercarriage. Each leg assembly

locates into three points in the well,

and some adjustment was needed

to ensure that the legs fitted and

the aircraft sits level when placed

on the legs. The instructions also

show two door jacks – E24 and E

• are to be added at this stage, but I
  left these out until after painting.
  Then come the fuselage side
  panels, F7 and F28. These were
  glued in stages, starting with
  the forward end, and each stage
  allowed to dry before proceeding.
  There is a further undercarriage
  mounting point inside each of
  these parts, and fortunately the
  undercarriage fitted into this
  without further adjustment –
  reward for the care taken earlier.
  It was then time to add the jet
  pipe/outlet/reheat assembly, which
  also incorporates the rear structural
  bulkhead, and the fuselage top
  panel, Part A9. By this stage it was
  starting to look like a Foxbat rather
  than a collection of sub-assemblies.
  Despite the earlier hiccup with
  mounting the cockpit module, the
  fit overall was very good. As an
  added bonus all the major joins
  are along panel lines, so there are
  very few major seams to deal with.
  I did need some filler where
  the fuselage top panel met
  the cockpit module – was this
  a consequence of my earlier
  problem with fit? Quite possibly.
  Next up were the tops of the
  intakes, Parts C1-3 and C1-6, and
  the para-brake housing. I found
  that a little filler was needed at
  some points around the intakes.
  After this it was time to add the rear

fuselage/fin panels. Some fettling

(“adjustment” for non-UK readers)

was necessary here, as the plastic

where they join was a different

thickness than the main assembly,

but once modified they fitted almost

perfectly, needing just a smear of

filler on the inner fin/fuselage joint.

Next came the wing assemblies.

There is scope to misalign these,

so I built a small jig using Lego

(other brands of building block

are available), which made

sure the wings set level.

I decided at this point on

a closed canopy, so I masked

and fitted it after removing the

lugs for mounting it open. The

fuselage was completed by adding

the nose section, and this was

again a very good fit, with just

a small amount of sanding was

needed to smooth the contours.

And with that, I had something

that very much resembled a

MiG-25 ready for painting.

PAINTING

Well, almost ready. As usual, before

painting I washed the model in

soapy water before rinsing it off

and letting it dry. I then masked

the intakes, jet pipes, and wheel

wells with small pieces of foam

or dampened kitchen roll as

appropriate. By contrast with the

model’s construction, the colour

scheme is fairly straightforward:

overall light grey with metallic

panels around the engines, black

anti-dazzle panel, and dark

grey aerial/sensor panels.

I don’t always pre-shade, but

this time I felt it appropriate,

given the large expanse of grey. I

Aligning the wings

“I FOUND THE UNUSUAL

CONSTRUCTION

BREAKDOWN AN

INTERESTING VARIATION

FROM THE USUAL

ONE OF TWO BASIC

FUSELAGE HALVES”

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM • MAY 2018 • 11

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