MiG-3 Emhar, 1/72
Model by Pascal Divay
uploaded on January 20, 2007
go to Sovietwarplanes MiG-3 models gallery
go to VVS research MiG-3 page

This model was obtained from the Emhar kit (ex Red Star). This kit was probably the best choice at the time in which the model was built.

An article on this model was first published on the french review "Histoire et maquettisme" in December 1994.

Here is a brief description of necessary works:
 
  • shorten the fuselage 1 mm behind the spinner, and on the lower part of the rudder;
  • a plastic card of up to 0,5 mm thick was put under the piece 9 (cowling uppersurface) to make the nose a bit higher;
  • the exhausts were rebuilt and moved 1, 5 mm upwards; the protrusions over them have to be reduced;
  • some details and the bulb under the nose were rebuilt;
  • the fuselage behind the canopy was lowered and the upper sides flattened;
  • the thickness of plastic in the canopy area was reduced for realism and to make space for internal details;
  • the details of the nose have to be corrected according to the version; to make an early MiG-3, the long gun barrel cowlings have to be reduced, while the grilles on the fuselage sides are of this version only;
  • the internal details of cockpit have to be fully rebuilt.

This image shows a comparison between a partly modified (above) Emhar fuselage and an unmodified one (below).

  • the wing platform is quite good, but the landing gear bays are wrong, including their profile; they were completely rebuilt.
  • the ailerons were separed; note that the upper chord of the wing is greater than the lower one in correspondance of them.
  • the supercharger air intakes at the wingroots were rebuilt, as for position lights.
  • the rear edge of the wing was thinned, as for other control surfaces; 
  • the wing fillets are too small and low, they have to be rebuilt with plastic and filler.
  • the cooler cowling has to be thinned; an openable outlet flap has to be scribed; the front part has to be considerably thinned;
  • the horizontal tail surfaces have to be moved 1 mm formard; the elevators were divided and their chord increased; their division line should be curved, not straight;
  • the prop blades were separed and improved; the spinner was enlarged by a disk 1 mm thick at its base.
  • the canopy is thermoformed on the base of the one in the kit; before this, the step behind the sliding hood has to be deleted; the sliding hood was not glued, so it can be shown both closed and open;
  • the landing gear is rebuilt, using some parts of the original one.

The plane was completed with the markings of the plane flown by Capt. A. V. Shlopov of 6 IAP, 6 IAK (Fighter Air Corp), IA-PVO (Moscow Air Defense) on winter 1941/42. None photo of the original plane is available, so it was supposed that it was of early production, and many details, as the exhaust stack, the side grilles, the details on the cowling and the absence of flaps are made on this idea.

The photos below represent the model, both on neutral background and inserted in two different dioramas.