01 - AREA 88: "The Bloody Screw" (MiG-27)
The box of course....
Not many parts to work with so we'll need a bit of scratch building.
The bodies came together quickly, but the non-existent cockpits will need a bit of work.
Careful glueing, but still a bit of putty/sanding needed.
I added (and then filled) a gap on the nosecone to try and turn the MiG-23s into MiG-27s... meh, close enough.
cockpits roughed in.
This will be "in-flight" so I need to box in the wheel wells.
Drilled out the air vents on the side and clamped the wheel panels while the glue was drying.
Air intakes glued in place... but I’m not sure that’s the approved way to store ordinance.
Needed some pilots, so I borrowed these two from my B-1 project.
Thankfully I have a silicone cloning chamber. Voila! Instant family!
A bit of paint and they’re ready for action.
First layer of paint. Decided to try some undershading. We’ll see if it works.
Seems ok. I’m trying to keep it subtle, but I’m not sure I was 100% successful.
Top coat. Same thing, going for subtle. Was a little less concerned because there’s another top coat to go.
Tape. Cut. Tape. Cut... bang head on table... tape... cut...
Well, I kinda screwed up the camouflage. I like it, but it’s not quite right. But there’s no going back now. Only forward!
The final product... or is it. I really hate the noses on those planes... and the cammo scheme.
I declare a do-over! I think I can do a better job this time...
This looks mighty familiar...
glueing the main fuselage together was a snap... had a lot of practice.
Ahh... the secret weapon has arrived.
Not much too look at... but I'm really only after two pieces
But first, I added a little bit of detail to the airbrakes.
Now I know what a plane made out of bubble gum looks like... ugh. But at least the nose piece is more or less the correct shape.
A semi-dry fit. A bit out of whack, but I think I can manage it...
Now THAT is starting to look like a MiG-27! We'll have to wait for the putty to dry though.
The canopy needs to be trimmed.
Starting to see it taking shape...
Glued the rest of the fins on. More or less finished the shaping. Now just the fine tuning.
After lots of sanding, I put down paint to check the progress. Still a bit more to do.
Time to start filling in the cockpit. Looks like more putty.
Also, flip them over and start covering the wheel wells. Trying to be as precise as possible.
Getting them just right will take some shaving, more putty and more sanding, but I want them to look right... so back to work!
Started some work on the cockpit details...
A few more details added to the cockpit.
Looking at it now, I think more than just the shape, it was the length of the nose that bugged me. The first attempt was just way too short!
Canopies dipped in Future... hard to see in the pic, but the middle one has two big scratches... what to do?
A bit more sanding to tie it all together, but cockpits done for all three planes.
Painted the cockpit... some kind of green. Kinda soviet-style if you squint... and are colour-blind.
Time to suit up....
Gentlemen, to your cockpits!
Canopies masked, but I’m not quite sure what to do about those gaps.
Ok, first off, some preshading... a bit heavy, but there’ll be multiple layers of paint.
Underside painted grey. I probably should've gone for a lighter shade, but oh, well...
Grey underside masked and a coat of desert yellow applied to the top side.
Now for the camouflage masking. Hopefully a little better this time.
Brown camouflage painted. Yep... looks better. It's darker than before so there's more contrast.
This wasn't really part of the original plan, but since I have lots of orange LEDs... why not?
Not a lot of space to work with, but I seem to have got it wired correctly. It’s plugged in with a USB cable, and nothing blew up. I call that a win.
Homemade decals on and dry fit on the base.
I wasn't happy with the clear decals, so I tried to print ones with a white backing... urm... no.
So back to plan... F? It took 3 blades and 6 tries, but I finally cut out a stencil I could live with. It's reinforced with itty bitty bits of tape.
Then I applied the stencil to the tail and painted on the yellow. The stencil was very fragile and the paint was making it fall apart, so I had to work quickly to get all 6 sides painted.
Not perfect, but I'm calling it done. The stencil wouldn't sit quite right, so there's a bit of a fade around the edges and some yellow paint seeped through in a couple of places, but it's the best I could do.
Wiring up the base was a bit tricky, I managed to snap one of the support posts. Luckily after a bit of digging I was able to get the broken bit out and re-glue the remainder in place.
Well... there she is.
Comments
17 May 2024, 21:29 -
Album info
Based on a scene from the Area 88 manga (V01C12 - "Wolves of the Air"), "Operation: Bloody Screw" depicts the start of the Wolfpack's (a band of rival mercenaries) most deadly aerial combat technique. Basically by surrounding their victim and smashing the windscreen with a concussive blast, they create a swirl of blood that blinds the pilot as the anti-G suit squeezes more and more blood out of the victim.
The scene will feature 3 modified Academy MiG-23s standing in for the Wolfpack's MiG-27 in their initial dive-bomb formation.
stMiG
