MiG-15Bis Fagot-B Trumpeter 1/48

It is a Trumpeter MiG-15. I wanted to build a metal body fighter. Many kits are under making, but I bought a new cutting mat, and I will try making an untouched kit.

I thought the work environment was messy; it was the reason for various mistakes and the loss of critical parts. I changed the cutting mat to a larger one. Previously, I used a size A2 mat; after that, I changed to A4 and returned. There is no stain at all; I feel good. I changed a small mat, too, for when I want to make models in another room.

Assembling the cockpit and the nose parts is a surprisingly complicated combination, so I’m worried about it.

There are many points where parts matching is worse than the other trumpeter kits I built. There are also many Bali. The built-in 23 mm machine gun and the 37 mm machine gun at the nose were tight and full of parts. Since the muzzle is not open, I think it’s better to open them with a design knife.

The jet engine is being assembled. Because it is being reproduced with such exaggerated parts, I want to decorate the engine visible after completing it. It is the Kurimov VK-1 turbojet engine. Is it a copy of the Nene engine manufactured by Ross Louis? But it seems pretty tricky to buy the engine, disassemble it, and make the same turbojet engine.
(12-Jan-2017)

The cockpit instrument panel sandwiches a thin film between the plastic and clear parts, but it is a little challenging to do. A decal may be fine for me. MiG-15 is a narrow cockpit; maybe I can see the small area inside. I tried to use the seat of U.S. modern jet fighters. In the trumpeter’s instructions, the cockpit color was Blue Pearl, but I used Creos Mr. Color No.74, Air Superiority Blue. At first, I tried to use a metallic turquoise green No. XC07 (this was purchased before, but I did not use it for my modeling and just a stock), I mixed blue or green with it, but the mixed color was too vivid and had no use for the cockpit.

A nose of a plane, a cockpit, and a machine gun were built in, and it was glued together. It may fail, but I started from where I could. I made a lot of gaps and steps needed to smooth them as much as possible.

I installed a weight behind the seat and let it flow a lot of instantaneous adhesives; it leaked through the gaps of the nose to a machine gun. It is a bad situation. There are lots of gaps.

I assembled all MiG-15 parts roughly. I think about the jet engine, even if I display it, I do not have a platform to support the rear body, so I suppose it’s better to bond all of them.
(16-Jan-2017)

Finally, in shape now. There’s no indication in this manual; I think installing some weight on the back of the seat is better. I think the part of the kit itself is not so good; anyway, it seems I can complete it.

I’m working to fill gaps and clean the surface. It doesn’t become clear, not wholly satisfactory.

It’s strange. This headrest interferes with the canopy; it does not close. There is no choice but to adjust the headrest shape.

This time I decided to seal the canopy and bond it before starting to paint. It is painted after shaping the aircraft and the canopy smoothly with putty. There is a possibility that the mist will get into the cockpit if the airbrush is blown into the air intake.

I made a barrel of a machine gun with a brass pipe which was soiled with instantaneous adhesive. A pitot tube is built by joining brass pipes. There was a big gap in the side panel of the fuselage, so I buried it with putty. Overall, I regrettably did not build up cleanly.
(19-Jan-2017)

I understand that surface treatment is essential for silver paint, but it isn’t easy to finish it cleanly. I painted it after polishing with #1000 or more, but it has quite an unevenness.

The decal is hard and does not adhere. Is there a trumpeter’s decal being thin and soft and extremely hard? I used a decal-softening liquid, but not effective, and I had to use a more strong one.

The decals were broken. This is adding insult to injury. I will retouch with a brush as much as possible. As expected, it was released in 2002, so it looks okay, but the film is deteriorating. However, it is wonderful that the white part is not yellowish.
(23-Jan-2017)

It is a Chinese military fighter dispatched to North Korea in the Korean War. It is the marking of 1953. The whole body is made of a natural silver metal; aircraft number 2249 is displayed on the nose. On the cockpit side, the kill marks, the nationality mark of the North Korean army on the aircraft. There is no marking same as the box art on the decal sheet.

Fagot is a code name by NATO. The pilot was a Chinese army, but since it was fighting with the North Korean flag, we can say it was a North Korean fighter plane. By the way, this “bis” means type #2 or improved type.

There is some dirty area of the canopy, but it seems clear inside that the sealed and gluing were successful.

The total production of MiG-15 is said to be from 15,000 to 18,000. It was operated in the former communist region and a country closely related to the Soviet Union and used by many countries worldwide. So, the marking pattern is infinite.

The MiG-15 was good at turning, and the rising and acceleration power was outstanding, so the F-86’s pilot was wary of it. Is it simply that MiG-15 has three machine guns, and F-86 has six, so the latter is predominantly in firepower?

Clear parts of the nose are covered with radar or something. Although the triangular part is transparent, all around and inside are silver painted.

After inking and wiping it off, the area ran off the edge, I thought that it would not remain at all, but I see the effect when looking at the lower side like this.

Is it a pretty small jet fighter? I always tried taking photos with AA batteries to feel the size, but I forgot. After completion, the length and width are about 21 cm.

The decal was broken, and the left number was modified by hand drawing.

If you look inside closely, you can see the instrument panel inside. It is challenging to shoot because the canopy is like a lens.

I put inking in red-brown. Well, I wonder if black was better after all. Do you look like a creaky plane? But unexpectedly, the line of this kit is shallow carving and does not remain much paint. Should I have carved the whole lines lightly before painting?

If you do not put in weight, the rear will go down.

This paint is Super Stainless of the Creos Super Metallic series. Because it is a slight washing, it may change color a little.

Since surface treatment is not going well, I have to practice more. Next time, I want to make clean silver paintings without washing or minimum washing.
(25-Jan-2017)