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Maciej Bellos
Following!

WhiteGlint
Got some work done on the F-22.
Weapon bays have been treated with black wash to highlight the details.
I decided not to paint individual cables because I am not really precise with the brush.
Also, I didn't fill the sink holes in the weapon bays because right now I don't have the right tools to sand them properly.
Hopefully they won't be that visible after arming the bird with missiles.

The cockit is almost done too. The HUD is still missing.
There are some gaps between the intakes and the rest of the fuselage that need to be filled and sanded.
Glueing the underside of the nose to the rest of the fuselage and adding the intakes was a bit of a pain. Not sure, but I think Academy could have handled this a bit differently to make construction easier.

Cuajete
Nice start. Following.

WhiteGlint
Welcome Maciej and Cuajete!
Made little progress since last week.
Weapon and landing gear bays have been installed and the fuselage halves are glued together.
Now I can fill some gaps on the intakes and sand them down.

I will upload more pictures when there is more visible progress on the kit.

Robert Podkoński
Looks very good as it is - I would not mind the cables, wash is enough IMHO 🙂 Following with interest!

Roland Gunslinger
👀 Really nice project!

kengdad
The ejection pins are definitely a pain in the ass on this one, especially in the intakes. Have fun!

Jan Peters
Great job on the Mig, I hope minecwill turn out as good as yours

Daniel
Evil looking mig, looks great 👍

Murad ÖZER
Lovely Duo WhiteGlint. 😎

as for the dusting of tamiya flat it's usually too high, either the amount of flat clear vs the thinner or the air pressure! first indication will always happen around T or L shaped (right angle) places like the wing roots and/or intakes where air gets turbulent and the overspray bounces off the model and mixes back into the spray from the airbrush resulting in it drying midair and landing as a particle instead of wet. pressure control, trigger control and direction of spray would be important in those places. simply treat the model as a real airplane and go from front to back if you can, otherwise always at an angle where the overspray can be free to fly off instead of being masked by the fuselage. a-10 and f-4 type low winged designs are especially notorious when it comes to this behavior.

if you have some SYNTHETIC thinner laying around, try applying a layer neat and see if that dissolves the dusty particles back into the paint. tho do not handle the model for a while afterwards if you go that route but since on it's gears it should be relatively easy.

this approach is my default goto if and when i am down to the abomination that is tamiya flat clear, usually prefer vallejo flat clear (non PU one) barely thinned with it's own ab thinner and shot almost dripping wet.

WhiteGlint
Thanks Roland, Jan, Daniel and Murad! 🙂
And naturally thanks to everyone leaving a like. It's hard to keep track of all your names.

The second MiG is a Zvezda kit I did two or three years ago. I wanted to place them together as comparison, to, hopefully, see some progress in my model building skills. Though, it is not a fair comparison as they are two different kits. In comparison to the Eduard kit the Zvezda MiG is lacking a lot of detail.

@Murad: I never really considered aerodynamics while airbrushing. I'll try to keep that in mind on future projects. An 1:48 F-4 is on my list as well so I need to remember that.
With synthetic thinner, do you mean lacquer thinner?
Or could I try some polishing?
I think I will give the Vallejo acrylics varnish a try in the future, too. The application of a wet coat sounds easier than several thin layers.
Still, some further experimentation with Tamiya is necessary. It's only the second time I used it and there are still some bottles to be emptied.
Thank you for your helpful advice! 👍

Murad ÖZER
no i meant synthetic, as in the stuff you thin household oil paints (for painting walls, not artistic oils).

as paint bases go lacquer>synthetic>ipa, water, everything else.
meaning lacquer (aka cellulosic) will eat everything in it's path.
synthetics won't do anything to lacquers but will eat everything else yet not as hot/agressive as a lacquer when it comes to chemical properties, hence the reason i advised synthetic thinners.

now if you want you can use mr levelling thinner or similar SCALE MODELLING SUPPLY but i did not call it on purpose just to be on the safe side (for me 😄) because if something's got lost in translation or down to feasibility of purchase, a true lacquer / hardware store cellulose might cause paint cracking or worse marr the plastic itself visibly - it's impossible to know for sure without trying on a spare piece painted exactly the way you painted your model.

as for tamiya flat clear, when the planets align it really works well, but more often than not i find it unreliable. i can always add a retarder but that seems to negate the flat base. ultimately the climate i live in is hot and humid which imho is a big enough factor especially with the flat coats, even enamels are problematic here.

Torsten
Like your build, well done, looking forward to the nice steps 😎

Dash Rendar
Looking good so far! Interesting subject, looks kinda unique.

S M
Very well made mecha this far. How did you made the figure's eyes?

WhiteGlint
Thanks everyone! 🙂
@S M: The eyes are decals. There are 3 pairs in total, probably in case something goes wrong. Seeing it again on the photo, the alignment of his eyes is bugging me even more. 😄

S M
I see XD I thought that you managed to do it with washes and very tiny brush

JD
Looking pretty cool 👍

Ahmet Eren İspir
Never played the game but their kits look entertaining. Your model came out pretty well too

WhiteGlint
@S M: You're giving me too much credit, mate. I really suck at painting with the brush.
Or positively speaking: I can improve a lot. 😄
Thanks, JD!

Project finished.
I decided to do some light scratches with Tamiya Light Grey and Tamiya Dark Grey and do some heavy weathering on another project.
With these Sakura Wars mecha I think I will keep the weathering light in general. In the game the mecha are generally well maintained and I really don't want to beat them up that badly.

I think I made a mistake with the joints of its feet. I think I mixed up the left and right one which limits the movement and the possible poses to display this piece without it falling over, or the need to fix it to a diorama.

The golden stickers are okay but it looks like they don't like it very much to recieve some coats of varnish. Some of them got wrinkles and I am not sure if they will keep sticking to the mecha. So maybe I will use some more of the golden paint in future projects. There are still five more of these guys to build. 🙂

Thank you very much, Ahmet. The kits are quite fun to build.
The game was fun, too. Most of the time it is character interaction and some fighting. So kind of like Mass Effect, lol.
But I think I would have preferred some turn-based strategy combat like the old games of the series had not that hack'n'slash. It was still entertaining.

Roland Gunslinger
Very nice! Looks great 👍

James C
That's pretty cool 👍

Dash Rendar
Pretty damn amazing! Looking awesome.

WhiteGlint
Thank you Dash, James and Roland. Much appreciated. 🙂

Roland Gunslinger
Ahh, there it is ... Very nice👍

James C
Nice work, and another subject that's on my ever growing "to-do" list 😉👍

WhiteGlint
Thanks Roland and James.
Currently thinking about buying another Zero to join the Group Build. 😉

Robert Podkoński
Congrats! Looks really good.

Andrea Morris
Great finish, now for the Wyvern, yes?

Robert Podkoński
Wyvern, please!

WhiteGlint
Thank you very much for your kind words, mates! 🙂

The Wyvern is definitely on my list, already waiting in my stash to be freed from its cage.
Not sure when I will unshakle the beast, though. It's a pretty large aircraft compared to the other 1:48 scale planes I built.

There are many kits I am eager to build and I have far too many kits in my stash, it is really hard to decide what to build next.
Space to display them is also becoming an issue. It already is, to be honest. 🤔

Robert Podkoński
We all know these pains WhiteGlint, I suppose...🙂 ...and usually there are also few started projects to be finished...

Matthew A
Nice photo

WhiteGlint
Thanks!
It's a screenshot I took from DCS World, which I play every now and then.

Konrad Limmer
Very nice 👍! Awesome paint job👍!

Saeed Ezadi
Great paintjob!

Slavo Hazucha
Felon through the finish line 👍 - great job on the Minecraft camo - super-crisp masking!

WhiteGlint
Thanks Konrad, Saeed and Slavo, your comments are much appreciated.
And thanks to everyone else who left a like. 🙂

I'll try some digital camo again in the future, but next time I have to make it easier and more accurate. I had to cut a lot of masking tape.

David Taylor
Beautifully done,modern Russian jets are so easy on the eye.

WhiteGlint
Done some glueing, putty and sanding. Already sprayed the white paint used for the intakes and landing gear bays. Considering some A2A Missiles.

Łukasz Gliński
First time I see it being built. Will follow, even though I'm not a fan of whifs

Cuajete
Following.

Maciej Bellos
Following!!!! Have it too!

WhiteGlint
Welcome aboard, mates 🙂
Except for the black anti-glare in front of the cockpit the colours are done.
After that is applied and some necessary corrections are made I will apply the gloss coat.

I prepared some plasticard where I will test my decals first, before applying them to the aircraft. Can't wait to put them on the Flatpack, hopefully they are okay.

So far the kit was quite nice. It does not have many parts but its details are good in my opinion. The cockpit is somewhat simple, though.

Maciej Bellos
Nice to hear the kit is ok. I had some thoughts to build it together with the T-50, but made a pass on it. I'll see later on. I intend a what if with it.

WhiteGlint
Disaster struck as I applied the gloss coat. Looks like the colour and/or gloss coat somehow reacted to my vinyl gloves I use all the time when spraying paint.
First time I used die Tamiya TS-13 spray can.
Was quite happy with the paint job.... Need to let it dry and see if I can fix this somehow.

At least the coat is smooth and even, which is nice. 😄 👍

Łukasz Gliński
Too bad, luckily it's on the underside.

Maciej Bellos
Bummer... Still, you and we learnt something. Vinil gloves and Tamiyasomething should form close encounters😉

WhiteGlint
Yeah, bummer indeed. As Łukasz said, luckily it's on the underside.
I'll let the jet sit for a few days. In situations like this one it is best to put the model away for some time and consider one's options.

Everytime I tried to fix something like this immediately I made it worse. I will probably sand the biggest area carefully and apply some more grey, after that another gloss coat.
Should I use the Tamiya coat again I will not touch it until it has dried for an hour or more...

Maybe I'll start another project in the meantime.

Cuajete
Very nice. Congrats!

James C
I quite like that camo scheme 👍

Konrad Limmer
Awesome idea and work so far! Like it mate👍!

Roland Gunslinger
Yes, thats awesome! I think you walked the same path that thousands of engineers go around the world 😄

Maciej Bellos
Looks deadly! Great and successfull work. Looking forward for the decals.

Clifford Keesler
Looks wicked.

Slavo Hazucha
Great combo - funny thing is this actually looks very much like some of the post-Flanker - pre-Felon Russian paper-Stealth-fighters! 👍

WhiteGlint
Thanks Konrad, Roland, Maciej, Clifford and Slavo. Much appreciated. 🙂

@Maciej: I am not sure about additional decals, as in my mind the project is sort of completed.
My goal was to fuse these two aircraft to create some hopefully cool looking fighter and to get some experience with cutting and Milliput.
But maybe you are right, why stop there? 👍
This bird should receive some decals, ordnance (shouldn't leave those pylons empty) and some light weathering.

Sarunas D
That's an interesting idea. I'd like to do a kitbash myself, inspired by Arma 3 near-future jets, like the F/A-181 or the To-201, https://arma3.com/dlc/jets.

S M
This is so cool!

David Taylor
Looks like a T50 nice.

FATHER †
Oooh this is hot hot hot

WhiteGlint
@Sarunas
Yeah, F/A-181 and the To-201 are cool jets. The F/A-181 is a mix of the F-22 and the Super Hornet, while the To-201 looks like a Su-57 with Mig-29 wings.
You should definetly try kitbashing. It can be both frustrating but also a lot of fun.

@David
That's right, I used a Su-57/T-50 kit for this project. The other one was Italeri's F/A-18E.

Thanks everyone. 🙂

Sarunas D
Put it on top of a piece of plexiglass so it literally looks like hovering 😄

Slavo Hazucha
alright... 🙂

WhiteGlint
Maybe I'll try that, Sarunas. 😄
The other idea I have is to place it on one of those transparent flyer bases like they are used in Warhammer 40k or I have seen on Dioramas with flying aircraft.

First there needs a lot to be done with this tank. Especially the lower hull.
I need to close the hull where there tracks would have been. Not sure yet how I will approach this.
And a lot more to be filled and sanded.

Slavo Hazucha
or you could make it actually hover using a magnet-setup... just saying...😉 I´ve actually seen a 40K Eldar dio with this gimmick somewhere...

Nathan Dempsey
Interesting project. Following🙂

WhiteGlint
Magnets sound really intriguing. Could make for a very cool diorama if done right.
I'll try it. 🙂
This will take some research, testing and time.

Pierre Vauthier
following

WhiteGlint
Thanks for all your interest. I hope I don't dissapoint.

Today I recieved the magnets I ordered some time ago.
They are a bunch of neodymium magnets with different holding force (is that the right term regarding magnets?). I hope they are strong enough for the result I am aiming for.
Still, as long as it hovers I'll count it as a victory.

I think I found the 40K Eldar diorama Slavo was talking about. It used a ring electromagnet. I really like that dio, but for now I don't want to buy an electromagnet as I try to keep the costs low.
Right now I am trying to buy some furniture for my new man cave, to finally get the workbench out of the basement. 🙂

Next I need to find the right way to position the magnets on the ground of the future dio and inside the tank. Positioning the magnets in a ring around the tank is probably the best way to avoid it slipping from the magnetic field and keep it hovering in one place.

Also it still looks too much like a Gepard. I feel like the hull needs some more modifications.