MiG-23 MF/UB 'Flogger' - Double Build - Kovozávody Prostějov

1
May 1, 2024
That will be two boxes less in the closet. Wife approves.
2
May 1, 2024
Fret 1 is identical in both kits.
3
May 1, 2024
So is fret 2. The wings can be installed in any position, but has no swing mechanism. Only external fuel tanks are provided, no missiles.
4
May 1, 2024
The required parts for the twin seater version are all found on Fret 3. This is only available in the box for the twin seater of course,
5
May 1, 2024
The two part ejection seats are grossly simplified but are reasonable on the trainer version. No harnesses are provided, only decals. I could have bought a resin replacement for the seats, but my experience is that those will not fit into the cockpit tub and it actually doesn't really matter if the canopy is displayed in closed position, which I intend to do this time.
6
May 1, 2024
The seat on the single-seater is on the other hand completely ruined by a huge ejection pin marking in the very center of the seat, making it more or less unusable. The molded-on harness furthermore looks like ... well, like molten plastic. Fortunately I have a spare seat from a KP MiG-21 kit that is 100% identical to the ones provided for the twin seater, so I will use that one.
7
May 7, 2024
The single seater has a very strange indentation on its dashboard shroud. It looks like mold damage and most definitely needs to be repaired.
8
May 1, 2024
Nose section insides are primed and then sprayed Soviet turquoise green (Ammo Mig 223). As you can see, I also started adding the nose gear bay part as it will provide the base for the cockpit tub. I remember that this part needs to be placed with great care for the cockpit tub to fit perfectly.
9
May 1, 2024
The Eduard PE instrument panel that I intend to use (on the top right, the original plastic part is on the left) does not quite fit in under the dashboard shroud. I needed to gouge out the inside of the shroud to an inch of its life to make it possible to fit in the instrument panel - and it's still quite a tight squeeze.
10
May 1, 2024
The rear bulkhead of the front cockpit of the twin-seater needs to be cut off and replaced with a slightly different part with two openings (for the instructor in the back seat to be able to see forward). It's a simple job with the razor saw, but I cannot see why KP didn't just provide a full replacement cockpit tub.
11
May 1, 2024
New bulkhead cemented in place. The molded on detals on the side consoles will be sanded off to be replaced with PE, and some additional scratch built details will be added to the backside.
12
May 3, 2024
The build description asks you to cement the two cockpit tubs together, but by doing so, you will end up with teeth gnashing and agony. They should actually be rather far apart. I found that the instructor's cockpit tub for the twin seater needs a piece of sprue cemented underneath the cockpit floor to make everything stay in place.
13
May 2, 2024
Cockpit tubs painted, dirtied down and cemented into the right fuselage half, waiting for the ejection seat. Since I intend to have the canopies closed on both models (the MiG-23 looks more awesome with closed canopies), I will not spend much effort superdetailing things. Now time to do the same for the twin seater!
14
May 4, 2024
Both cockpits assembled and painted. The Eduard instrument panels are lovely but slightly oversized: I needed to tilt the front instrument panel of the twin seater to make it fit under the shroud, and the instructor's panel is much too tall. Never mind, dry fitting shows that this level of detail is more than adequate once the canopies are in place.
15
May 4, 2024
Fuselage halves cemented together - the mating surfaces are slightly rounded so the join lines will needs to be filled and polished a bit, but no major fit issues yet.
16
May 5, 2024
Let's start with the rear fuselage! I intend to display the models with the wings swept backwards to a 72 degree configuration - this was the way the aircraft were parked and also because the kit doesn't work with the wings in a forward position as the pneumatic bags for the wing roots are missing, which would leave a huge gap behind the wings. Here is the first pitfall of the build: the wing roots are much too thick to fit inside the wing gloves, and if this is not taken care of, the result is a unsightly gap.
17
May 5, 2024
Here is the cause of the problem: the metal shell of the real aircraft is much too thin to be possible to be represented in plastic in 1:72 scale. When scaled down, things no longer fit together. And yes, the eagle-eyed can already see my error - the wing being upside down. I didn't notice until I started cementing.
18
May 5, 2024
Fortunately the solution is really easy - you need to cut the inner tip of the wing that goes inside the wing glove into a wedge shape. In the photo below, the right wing is done, the left still needs to be fixed.
19
May 5, 2024
As you see, the wing now fits flawlessly into the glove! Great success!
20
May 5, 2024
Wings cemented in 72 degree parking position, and I also added a piece of styrene as reinforcement to make sure that the wings won't start drooping. Aaaand it was only after cementing them in place that I noticed that I had foolishly followed KP's instruction drawings and installed the wings upside down. It's not just that the panel lines are different, but the wings also have a distinct camber, the top side being slightly more convex than the bottom side. Once noticed, I wouldn 't be able to unsee it, so now I need to surgically remove the wings and install them the correct way around.

Comments

30 1 May, 07:00

Mid Franconian
I need to watch this!

1 May, 19:39

Cuajete
Me 2!

2 May, 19:40

J35J
I'm in!

2 May, 21:17

Łukasz Gliński
Me 4, might be my reference in the future 👍

3 May, 08:33

Robert Podkoński
High five!

3 May, 09:27

Nicolas
Joining.

4 May, 11:10

Marius
And I thought starting my third such kit from KP/RV Aircraft is self torture. The truth is, once you had finished one of them in the past, the frustration decreases with each new one.

Any idea how you will treat the taxiing lights?

5 May, 07:34

Thomas Kolb
Marius, I honestly don't think this kit is so terrible. There are some fit issues for sure, but I have built much worse kits. I constantly keep reminding myself that I only do this for relaxation and fun, and not for a competition or as a profession.

Are you referring to the swiveling landing lights underneath the intakes?

5 May, 07:50

Marius
Thomas, I share your opinion about the kit and hobby too actually. The kit is dreadful in a few areas, but overall more than decent. I finished two of these already and I must say, they really stand out my collection, despite the kit's reputation.

Yes, I was refering to those lights. If I remember it correctly, there are some transparent parts included in the kit, but the intakes are completely flat, where the lights should go. I made the mistake to install those lights in the closed position, instead of the more interesting setup, when they are deployed downwards. In any case, it's just a heads up, in case you might want to add some extra detailing.

5 May, 08:34

Thomas Kolb
Yes, I see your point regarding those lights, but I will probably just stick to my usual middle road - easy to accomplish and still produces a cool result. 🙂

5 May, 14:44

Martin von Schreckenstein
haha, love the topic and kit selection. you are definitely more meticulous than I was 🙂

7 May, 21:23

Thomas Kolb
Martin, I saw your MiG-23 project - it is way more ambitious than mine! I am not so meticulous, just very, very slow, only having an hour or two to spend here and there.

8 May, 07:53

Thomas Kolb
A bit of a setback here. I just realized that I had foolishly been following the assembly drawings and thus ended up with the wings upside down. Bottom side up and vice versa. It may not be something that is easily noticeable, but knowing myself, I would never be able to unsee it now. So I am backtracking my steps and need to change the way the wings are facing without ruining the fuselage. Mamma mia, what a noob mistake-a to make-a.

8 May, 10:39

Łukasz Gliński
Great you found it out before it was too late. I see we used to watch the same TV series 😄
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