Scale Aviation Modeller International – September 2019

out, I opened the holes on the

wings for the AA-8 missiles

that I wanted to add later.

FUSEALGE

I also added some weight to the

nose to prevent a ‘tail sitter’.

Then it was time to pull the

fuselage together, and don’t

forget to add the new resin

forward wheel well. The cockpit

its perfectly in the tabs on

the fuselage. The engine its

perfectly in the back, and I also

added two fuselage bulkheads

for strength. The spine was

then added, and the fuselage

was pretty much done. It was

then time to move onto the

wings. The Brassin wheel

wells were used as were some

Quickboost landing lights.

After priming with Alclad Grey

Primer, I pre-shaded the parts

with Tamiya NATO Black and

painted the area with Polly-S

RLM 02. Detail painting was

carried out with Apple Barrel

paints. The it of the wheel

wells was perfect as I expected,

and the it of the bottom wing

to the fuselage was perfect.

I’d say add part C26 and C36

to the fuselage ‘before’ you

add the horizontal stabiliser

The upper wings and light

control surfaces were up next

and again the it was perfect.

Moving onto the landing gear

it was time to incorporate the

Brassin Wheels and the etched

parts on the struts. The unique

brake line is intimidating to

fold and bend, but a couple of

good photos in the Squadron/

Signal Walk Around on the

MiG-21 Part 1 were very helpful.

Besides having some good

references, it was extremely

helpful to have The Small

Shop ‘Bug’. Tools like the ‘Bug’

and the ‘Bending & Rolling

Deluxe Brass Assist’ make

working with etch much easier.

Building the wheels was easy

enough and they are deinitely

nicer than the kit ones.

PAINTING

With all this done it was time

to start painting the model.

The very irst thing I did to add

a coat of Alclad Grey Primer,

and by the time I was done

cleaning out my airbrush it is

dry enough to work with. I had

a very few spots that needed

some touch up but they were

very small and easily taken care

of with Perfect Plastic Putty.

I prefer to use Alclad as

my metal paint because it is

very forgiving and durable. I

then sprayed my entire model

with Alclad Duraluminum,

which I think it is a nicer shade

than just plain Aluminum. I

then went back and using the

Eduard instructions, masked

of some panels and sprayed

them Dark Aluminum. I tried

Mig Productions True Metal

paste over certain panels,

and I’ll deinitely use it again.

Once I was done with that,

I painted some of the other

colours on the model, namely

the green and black. A coat of

Alclad Aqua Gloss then prepped

the model for the decals and

also to protect the paint.

SEPTEMBER 2019 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

1/48

32