forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
Modelers Lounge => The World of Scale Models => Topic started by: Brad Cancian on April 19, 2025, 07:22:05 AM
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Hi all - it's been about 9 months or so since I last spent some time at the bench, due to a number of factors including moving house, job, and life stuff in general taking up most of my time... so I have decided to try and get some mojo back with a relatively simple build.
I know very little about jets, but the Airfix 1/72 MiG-17F looked like a pretty straight forward build, plus I have always liked the looks of this stubby little fighter.
I plan on doing this one completely out of the box with no modifications, to avoid getting too bogged down in the details.
I had heard of some fit issues with this kit, especially up front around the nose panels, so dry fitting up front was going to be a must to see what could be done to ease any fit issues.
(https://i.imgur.com/MxFYmNO.jpeg)
The main culprit is the cockpit tub pushing the front of the fuselage out a bit so that the under-nose piece doesn't fit, but with some sanding around its edges, the fit issues look largely manageable. I will still have to add spacers to the nose ring piece as it is too narrow and doesn't fit as well.
With the fit tested, I decided to get the cockpit done. It is simple but detailed enough, even if the instrument panel is a flat piece with a decal.
(https://i.imgur.com/7V8uGiW.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/rB8F96H.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/3PrhboQ.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/PJOoxFN.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/NcH86Qx.jpeg)
Next, the instructions show you to add 20g of weight to the nose forward of the cockpit. I am no physicist but without a very heavy material there's no way 20g fits in there... so I have loaded up the forward fuselage around the cockpit with weight... I hope it will be enough....!
(https://i.imgur.com/qpmqnWQ.jpeg)
Next, the exhaust pipe and I should then be in a position to close up the fuselage and wings. Hopefully that will go smoothly.
Thanks for looking!
Brad C
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Good to see you back at the bench Brad. :)
Funny thing mojo - sometimes you have it in spades and other times you just move boxes about, do some DIY, a bit of gardening and sit in front of the telly without feeling any urge to do anything.
The Mig looks like a nice choice; a bit different, simple to build and some interesting schemes if you feel inclined. Looking forward to seeing progress
Paul
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Funny thing mojo - sometimes you have it in spades and other times you just move boxes about, do some DIY, a bit of gardening and sit in front of the telly without feeling any urge to do anything.
You described exactly where I'm at for a while now Paul.
Brad, it's hard to believe this is 1/72. So much detail!
Good to see you have your mojo back.
Great start!
Willem
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Yes the mojo thing is strange. My went for a long wander over the winter - SAD had something to do with it I am sure, but it was not the whole cause. Now I have lots of energy and enthusiasm and lots of other things which need doing and keep me from modelling. Grrrr.
Good to see that you have been able to pick up something quick and simplle - I hope that it acts as the necessary and much needed boost.
Stephen.
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Yes the mojo thing is strange. My went for a long wander over the winter - SAD had something to do with it I am sure, but it was not the whole cause. Now I have lots of energy and enthusiasm and lots of other things which need doing and keep me from modelling. Grrrr.
Good to see that you have been able to pick up something quick and simplle - I hope that it acts as the necessary and much needed boost.
Stephen.
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Thanks chaps, appreciate the encouragement! I am onto major assembly at the moment, i'll post some pics once that is done. The good news is that the mojo is at least starting to flow again, and there's some momentum building :)
Cheers again!
BC
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Good to see you back at the bench Brad. A fun little project, you've made a great start. I think that instrument panel looks fine in 1/72, the decal is good.
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Welcome back Brad, this is a really interesting build!
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Ok, so rant time... even with all of the care I took, the fit on the nose parts of this kit is still absolute trash. Lots of filler and honestly, it looks horrible. Trying to get a smooth surface inside the intake is also a complete nightmare. It is sad, because I want Airfix kits to be fun and easy builds, but sadly not.
I am also having trouble finding a decent filler that I can use to reshape the nose to something resembling round. I have been using a product called Perfect Putty, which is a water based product and great to apply, but trash as a filler. It sands far more quickly than the plastic around it, and seems to chip away from the surface in places. I can't use sprue goo or superglue due to the area in question that needs rework. What would people recommend I use?
My mojo is almost dead as a result of these dramas. Feel like I should just bin it and find something more fun to build.
Cheers
BC
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Arrrg as they say in the Beano (comic) :o
In some ways it'd be a shame to stop at this point, but I understand exactly what you mean and have often just stopped a project because I've ran out of interest or hit a problem that although it could be solved represents more effort or results in a sub-standard model that I wanted. Personally I'd stick aside and take pleasure from the bits you've done (and done well) and find something that you can get stuck into easily; you can always come back to this one at a later stage when you've more enthusiasm.
Regards putty I use the Tamiya fine for most small stuff which sands easily or Miliput which I find has more strength for larger sections. For stuff that is going to be very thin (coat tails or lapels on figures for example) I'll mix in some Duro putty which gives a bit more flexibility (Mix both putties separately as normal and then just combine)
Keep smiling it's all 'fun' ;)
Paul
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Thanks for the words of encouragement Paul! Perhaps a stiff drink and a sleep on things will see me back at the MiG. I haven't let a model defeat me yet... :)
Thanks also for the tips on the putties!
Cheers,
BC
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I'm so sorry to read of your troubles with this, Brad. I'm a Tamiya Basic user, if that's of any help - I can't explain it terribly well other than it works for me...probably not the best explanation when I've had only good luck with New Airfix!
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Thanks Zac - I think I have taken a deep breath now and am thinking of ways to recover this one. I think it's possible, but gee it wasn't what I was hoping for...! Ah well!
Cheers,
BC
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Sometimes those "quick" builds turn out to be anything other than quick....... If you're not having fun, move on. I've abandoned stuff that hasn't been going well or just saps the mojo.
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Good to see you back, Brad, but rotten that this wee kit has turned round and bitten you!
I was astonished when I saw your first pics, as I thought this kit was in some way related to the original Airfix Mig which I'd built in about 1960 - ultra basic - but the 17's detailed cockpit looked great by comparison. But what's the use of good detail, if the main components don't fit?
Funnily enough, at our club meeting on Thursday, one of the senior members did a talk on 'filling and sanding' and I, for one, was amazed at the range of fillers he demonstrated, from old fashioned talc and CA, through putties and gap fillers, through surfacers, goos and resins, to fillers activated by UV pens. I'm sure there is something out there for the job, maybe just stand back for a couple of days then have a fresh go at it.
Hope the mojo resurfaces (!) stronger than ever.
Sandy
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Hi Brad, don't let your mojo deflate. I started the Airfix Mig 15 kit a few years ago and decided at the ' putting the fuselage halves together' stage to ditch it and get the Hobbyboss version (Mig 15) which is a superb kit. The partially built Airfix kit found a new home, a work coleage's son wanted it so it got built in the end. I can only assume the Airfix Mig 17 is no better than the 15. When I was a small kid Airfix was ideal. All their kits went together because I wasn't bothered about gaps and miss alignments. As adults I think we have lost some of the fun in building these kits by focusing on the models shortcomings. On the rare occasions that my then low standards were not met I would set fire to it and throw it out my bedroom window (often done with well built kits too!). I'm not sure if Hobbyboss do the 17 but I can vouch for their Mig 15 and recommend you build their kit.
Alan.
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Thanks all for the ongoing words of encouragement and suggestions. After a couple of days break I got back to the bench and I think i've recovered the situation to a level where I am happy enough to move on.
As I mentioned, despite my test fitting before hand, I still had all sorts of trouble getting the chin panel and nose ring to fit properly. It took quite a bit of clamping to get the chin piece on, and some shimming for the nose ring, but even then the fit was still pretty bad... In the end, I needed a bit of filler and some 'sprue goo' to get things roughly back into line. Here is what it looked like once the cleaning up was done... this doesn't do justice to the amount of fiddling and filling needed to get to this point -
(https://i.imgur.com/OuhLBMN.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/8YDZtYb.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/q1BpKfl.jpeg)
After some rescribing, here's now it now looks under some more primer.
(https://i.imgur.com/Pu9Yk3r.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/hyhHqP9.jpeg)
There's still some cleaning up to do, so don't look too closely.... if I was super-obsessive i'd still do more reshaping, but it is good enough for me to move on.... "that'll do", I said... this is supposed to be a mojo build after all...!
She at least now looks like a MiG.
(https://i.imgur.com/wOPmlIe.jpeg)
Next, onto the fiddly bit like undercarriage, before I get to painting proper.
Cheers again for sticking with me!
BC
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Nice recovery Brad. It could be much worse, I recall the "adventures" I experienced with the Infinity Models Vampire kit a year or so ago, Kits like these are a good experience once you cross the finish line and look back at least. Looks like your MOJO is back in place!
Cheers,
Lance
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It's looking great!
Warren
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Excellent perseverance Brad - your fix looks very impressive. And the re-scribed lines are even more impressive.
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Well recovered indeed Brad, that looks great to me. Keep going!
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Nice recovery Brad. It could be much worse, I recall the "adventures" I experienced with the Infinity Models Vampire kit a year or so ago, Kits like these are a good experience once you cross the finish line and look back at least. Looks like your MOJO is back in place!
Cheers,
Lance
I agree with Lance, Terrific recovery! Nice to see you moving forward again!
RAGIII