1/48 MiG-3- early work

[jkiker]

Hi all,

Here are a couple of pictures of my 1/48 scale Trumpeter MiG-3 in the early stages of work; these are about a week old so some more work has been done.  The first pictures shows the revised early exhaust fairing on one fuselage half, with the other half showing the kit configuration.  The second one shows an ICM cockpit tubing piece being fitted into place, with ribs and stringers on the inside of the fuselage behind it.  I will be using the Eduard photoetch set made for the ICM kit for a lot of cockpit parts, and I am making a new, wider instrument panel and a revised rear shelf.

And now for another question for the MiG-3 boffins.  I see in pictures of the 1/32 scale Trumpeter kit that when it is finished, it looks to me like the nose sits too high off the ground.  I think the 1/48 scale kit will be the same.  Do my eyes deceive me, compared to pictures of the real airplane?  I think the kit struts will need to be shortened at least 1/32 inch (1mm) in my kit.  Can anyone advise me if I am correct or incorrect?

Thanks in advance and cheers, Jim

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[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi Jim,
your model looks well made, thank you for posting the images.
Only a doubt about the position of exhaust pipes: are you sure that they fit after closing the hole of their (wrong) late style cowling? I know that the position of the exhaust pipes should be the same in both versions, but the late type has a void of about 10 cm after the pipes due to the moved back division line between the panels of cowling. If you close all the space on the front, won't it be necessary to move back the pipes?
Massimo

[marluc]

Hello Jim:

You?re making a very nice work in that cockpit,congratulations.The structural frame,is from the ICM kit?
Regarding your "nose too high" question,you could compare the landing gear legs against a scale plan,I made the same with the Eduard I-16 and got to shorten them.Thanks for sharing this images,best regards:

Martin

[jkiker]

Thank you, gentlemen,

Massimo, I was afraid that that picture of the exhaust shroud would not be clear enough; I will take another which will show the work better.  The kit's exhausts go in the same place.  The shroud I made has a thin metal piece (from a PE set) that was cut and bent into a "U" shape, then glued into place over the front exhaust but with the front end going into the fuselage.  A piece of plastic was then added into the front portion of the cutout.  However, the thin metal tranished and turned dark from handling in my fingers, so you cannot see the opening.  Another picture will bring it clear.

As for the landing gear, while I have most of the MiG-3 information from the site saved, a scale drawing printed out is something I lack.  I do think the main gear is too long for an airplane on the ground, but would like to have further confirmation if anyone can supply it.

And for Marluc, yes indeed.  Much of the cockpit "cage" structure comes from the ICM kit.  More to come!

Thanks and cheers, Jim

[jkiker]

Hi all,

It has taken longer but I now have some work in the cockpit and some additional fit improvements to share.? First up, Massimo asked for a better picture of my fix for the early MiG-3's exhaust fairing.? I think this is a better view.



The new interior bits are set into place here.? The ICM kit contributed the side and back tube assemblies.



And here is an exploded view.? The cockpit is not complete, but well along.? The instrument panel and rear shelf are scratchbuilt pieces; the Eduard PE set will lend the main instrument cluster (there is tape over this area, so that a white surface will be there after painting for the instrument faces) and most of the pull handles.? The trim wheels are from model rail road pieces in brass.? All of the fuselage inside structure, the additional boxes, and the support structure for the gunsight are scratchbuilt.



Finally, I noticed that the wings didn't line up well at the trailing edge, where the flaps and ailerons will mate.? I trimmed some off of the mounting pegs to slide the top wing forward about .010".? Note- the fit of every kit is a bit different.? I drew on some Sharpie on the edges to show before (left) and after (right).



By all means, I am interested to know what you think and if anything is not right.? The seat and some additional details remain.

Cheers, Jim

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi Jim, it looks a great work! 
Should I look for something... well, on the photos of the model it looks that the division line between wing ad aileron on upper and lower surface are aligned. On the real plane, the line on the uppersurface was slightly moved backwards in comparison to the undersurface.
Massimo

[jkiker]

HI Massimo,

You are quite correct and it is a good point.  My picture does not show the improved line quite as well, but rest assured that there is still the edge of the top wing that sits farther back than the bottom edge.  This is correct, since the aileron's top leading edge sits farther back than the bottom edge.  So they will still fit correctly; I have adjusted the fit only of the two edges that are glued together.

Thanks for asking, and I am glad you like it so far!

Cheers, Jim

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi Jim,
you are welcome. Thank you for posting the images of your good work.
Massimo