PLANAF Phantom Killer!

[haneto]

Hi,guys!

This in-progress thread is also posted on ARC forum but I still don't want to miss it here.

So this is what I'm busy with recently.

I visited a retired PLA Navy air force pilot,Mr.Zhushu Wang,who shot down a USAF F-4C from 366th TFW "The Gunfighters" over Lingshui,Hainan Island on June 26,1967.

The combat story inspired me so much that I decided to make his J-6(Chinese licensed built MiG-19S) to record that history.

You can check the visit via the link below(Sorry,simplified Chinese only):

http://www.sonicmodel.com/topicdisplay.asp...TopicID=3309598

As I've already built a Bilek 1/72 MiG-19PM several years ago,this time I chose the Trumpeter 1/48 one.

The kit fit good,but still suffers from some shape issues.

I took tons of photos of a retired J-6 near my home for hours to study the plane,and then the most obvious problems I found on Trumpeter kit are the bad shaped nose and wrong windshield.

I managed to solve the problems by replacing the HiPM kit nose,which is quite accurate,and sanding/polishing the original Trumpeter windshield.

Plus,I added Eduard PE set,Pavla Models resin gear bays and NeOmega resin ejection seat,which is really a gem.

As this Phantom Killer will be finished in NMF,I chose to replicate all the rivets,with the help of photos I took around the real thing.

So this time,I'm a true "rivet counter"!

Here we go now~~~

Ejection seat and cockpit.

The handle and leather cover above the seat are made by copper wire and Tamiya AB putty.

In order to fit the HiPM kit nose,some minor adjusting work is need for the original Trumpeter inner parts.

The separated fins are also self-made.

The gentle change between the bulged area and the front fin need to be sanded after putty applied and dried.

Small tricks to make pitot tube movable before fuselage glued.

The clear area on side view of windshield should curve below,so some sanding and polishing work need here.

The edge of flaps,etc. is too thick,just sand to thin.

The bulge on the nose is sanding from dried Tamiya AB putty.

Also,you may notice I use a piece of thick tape to protect the half-rounded area which is sanded at first.

The rivets on the windshield are all in wrong position.

I filled'em all by black super glue.

Also,the rips which combine the windshield and fuselage are also remade by Evergreen 0.14mm plastic card.

Edited September 24, 2010 by haneto

[haneto]

Main parts are finished and glued.

I spent about 30 hours rivetting!Include a week's night during my business trip in Shenyang.

Blade shaped antenna is made from plastic card because the original part is too thick.

I use Quickboost resin intakes but some wrong shaped issues are not corrected.

So I have to correct them myself,then add welding lines.

The black things you can see from the pics are all sanded black superglue to fill the wrong shaped rivets/panel lines.

Stabilizers are worked movable.

The resin gear bay need some sanding work to fit in.

[haneto]

The black things you can see from the pics are all sanded black superglue to fill the wrong shaped rivets/panel lines.

Stabilizers are worked movable.

The resin gear bay need some sanding work to fit in.

The oddest thing is that you can only find welding lines on real fuel tanks,but Trumpeter made them all recessed!

I have to fill'em all and add melt plastic lines,then sand to make the welding effect.

Side view of the real J-6 I took.

Notice the red line.

This is the original kit looking.

After my customized work.

[haneto]

Another interesting place on MiG-19S/J-6 is that actually the intake section is not round.

The top area is thickened to fill into the camera gun.

You can find that from these pics.

So again,Tamiya AB putty helps me.

I will continued with the landing gears and painting after my business trip to Tokyo next week.

Thanks for watching!

Cheers,

Yufei

[brianthemodeller]

I think that this will turn into the best Mig-19 I have ever seen - keep up the good work!

Brian

[robw_uk]

that is some detailed building.... I have a MiG 17 sitting for me to work on early next year (doing an Indonesian version)... will not have access to the information you do but will do my best...

[general melchett]

Wonderful work as usual Yufei, you're doing a great job on dealing with the in-built Trumpeter issues that all their kits seem to come with !You're lucky having the real thing nearby to work from, makes a huge difference. I have the 1/32nd FT-6 trainer version that someone gave me a few years back, not sure if that will have the same issues as yours but I'm guessing that it wil, looks great in the box!l. I've noticed that Trumpeter like to cover their models in rivets but sadly they don't seem to care too much where they put them..

Great work, keep going,

Andy

[haneto]

Thanks for the encouragements,folks!

You're really QUICK.

And I agree with you,Andy.

Trumpeter lacks the sense for modelling,though they have been improving much.

To be honest,there're much more wrong issues on the 1/32 version,which released firstly.

Besides the same problems you can find from my 1/48 built,1/32 also suffers from the thick wing edge/root,which makes the wings look like B-17's!

The 1/32 model kit master was actually built by one of the top modellers in China,Patrick Chung.

But unfortunately,Trumpeter's molding department just ruined the result.

I think you can still find very bad made resin engine parts from your 1/32 kit,which suppose to be be made from the overused silicon molds.

But no problems cannot be solved with your passion and love for the plane,so I'm sure 1/32 could be turn out a beauty with some careful research and correction work.

My 2 cents,

Yufei

[general melchett]

Thanks, well that's encouraging Yufei, It's one of my main projects for next year, (hope to open up a lot more panels and add extra plumbing work so if you have any good detail photo's I'd be most grateful. )...

As you say Trumpeter are making an effort to improve things and having just built their TU 22 M3 I can confirm this, though there are still errors to deal with.

I see what you mean about the resin parts...they are very poor, but usable.

But unfortunately,Trumpeter's molding department just ruined the result.

That's typical and not just confined to Trumpeter!!

I like all the extra detail that you've added...a man after my own heart.

I'm a true "rivet counter"! wacko.gif

...me too

Andy....

[Calum]

Nice work there. Keep us posted on the progress

[jynski]

I'll be bookmarking this build also. Your J-10 was superb and inspired me on the one that I'm going to build in the very near future. I was able to finally get the DreamModel and Edelweiss stuff for it also. Mig-19 is one of my favorite Migs.

[Matt Roberts]

Whose resin scoops are you using? I think Quickboost has them, but honestly I am still waiting to find the decals and underwing sidewinder rails for a Pakistani F-6, or at least the decals to do a Six Day War Egyptian F-6 before buying them.

[haneto]

Thanks for the feedbbacks,folks!

DreamModel goods can be found on Hobbyeasy based in Hongkong or Modelimex based in Czech.The price is a bit higher than in China mainland,but considering the shipping cost,it's still quite reasonable I think.

The MiG resin air scoops are from Quickboost,but just as I mentioned in the text above,the shapes are not correct.Or in other words,they are just hole-drilled Trumpeter original plastic parts resin copies.

I believe Sidewinder pylons can be easily modified from many NATO plane kits.

I will keep you updated.

Cheers,

Yufei

[chaoslord]

as always, your attention to detail is stunning and inspiring Yufei! another great build is in the making here. well done my friend

[haneto]

Some updates since my return from Tokyo yesterday.

Since there's no tire trace on the original plastic parts,I have to rescribe them all.

I used cut masking tape for guide,dig some small holes for the rescribing giude.

Landing gears finished.

Some copper/soldering tin lines are used for wiring.

Small antennas are scratch-built.

So next will be painting,finally,my favourite part. :banana:

Thanks for watching!

Yufei

[Tigerausfb]

This is really lovely work Yufei. As all I am seeing is a Yupoo.com page, is there any chance you could restore the older photos please...or have 'we' consumed the bandwidth for today?

Thanks _ Andy

[Graham T]

Brilliant work so far, keep it coming!

[timbo33]

Blimey!! That is some serious work Yufei, well done on what you've accomplished so far.

This is an interesting subject as we don't often see models from 'the other side' on this forum - I watched an interesting TV program on National Geographic 'Dogfights' which featured similar engagements between F-4s and MiG 17s and 19s.

I look forward to your progress.

[haneto]

Sorry,folks,and also thanks a lot for your support!

It seems the bandwidth has the limit and I reached it too soon as a free user.

I'll try uploading them to Photobucket later on.

Cheers,

Yufei

[haneto]

New progress these days.

Mr.Color #1200 surfacer first.

Then sand the surface with #2000 sand paper for a smoother surface.

The result,not very obvious from the pic though.

All parts surfacered.

Gloss black for metal primer.

First colour,metal black for the huge 30mm guns(or cannons?).

Close shot.

The main colour is mixed by Mr.Color SM06 Chrome silver:#8 Silver=4:1

Sprayed.

The metal effect is too much,yes I know.

What I wanna gain is the extreme neat metal effects any way.

Then spray SM04 super iron for the anti-gun flare area.

Notice:all MiGs are painted in silver,not in NMF.

So this area is also painted,but not due to different metal material.

Also here and here.

After drying,decaling!

The decal was frontpennt studio's products.

Just top notch!

Then spray semi-gloss coating to protect the decals before washing.

Some high-shining areas shall be protected by masking tape slices.

All metal parts coated with semi gloss.

I mixed Tamiya enamel colours for washing.

black:white:brown=4:2:2

During washing.

Washing finished.

Then appy the colour for landing gears/gear bays/airbrake bays,etc.

#337 Blueish gery

[Mike]

Some very painstaking and impressive work there

[haneto]

Accident!!

Decal destroyed by the masking tape....SH*T!

Use masking tape to clear the left decal.

Do it once again.

To obtain the Soviet style matt dull aluminum effect,matt coating sprayed.

And all parts washed.

So the plane is finished.

I will find some time to take photos of it.

Thanks for watching!

Cheers,

Yufei

[haneto]

So some final touch up here.

Scratch-build the borading ladder with 0.5mm brass rods.

Release it from the 2-sided tape with a new sharp razor blade.

And finally painted,weathered with the engine nozzle covers.

Poor pic quality,sorry.I'll take formal ones recently.

Count down for the final photos online.

Cheers,

Yufei

[Flying Penguin]

That looks great :-D

Where did you get the decals from? I've not heard of these guys before and PLAAF/PLANAF subjects are hard to come by in decal form...

Cheers

Jamie

[general melchett]

Looking great Yufei...that boarding ladder is a work of art!!!..awesome. looking forward to seeing finished photo's