#2 DONE (@ p.7)+++ MiG-71.2 "Fastback" prototype, a 90ies MiG-31 successor

[Dizzyfugu]

Yup. Here are some illustrations from the aforementioned steps. Firstly, the enlarged weapon bay - to hold a pair of K-100 (err, AGM-78... ) AAMs:


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The weapon bay fits snuggly and allows the OOB VG mechanism to work. But I also need space for a decent landing gear for this big bird - and I eventually found this solution:


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Does not look like, but this will also be part of the new landing gear  :


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The new intake with a vertical splitter; ramps will follow once the basic layout is settled. Not easy!


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


And then there's the nacelle placement issue - how deep can I go in order to blend the power pack into the tail section?


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Eventually, thing will look this way:


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The gap and the complex shapes under the intake section caused some serious headaches. But after trying some leftover bits and pieces, I found a suitable way - cutting out some wedges from the rear engine box, and add some curved pieces as fairings in front of them which will close the gap and blend into the intakes above. Will be complicated to integrate, though, I will probably have to attach and PSR things step by step, since the interior will also receive some details (fans, intake ramps).


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


...and finally, an impression of the 71.2's full might and glory:


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Almost as big as an SR-71, but the thing looks as sleek and sexy as hoped for! 

[63cpe]

You GO Man! It's looking sleek and sexy already.... I predict you got lots of PSR to do....

But it's sure worth it....you got me inspired in return, I hink my project will take till after the closing date of the GB.

David

[jalles]

That is going to be awesome!  I'm so excited to see this one finished.

I agree about being inspired, I'd love to try to do the T-60S posted above, but would never finish it in time for this GB

[Snowtrooper]

Looking like an impressive big brute

[Dizzyfugu]

Now you might understand why I pushed back the building stage for this one for years...  But it's really fun to put all those parts together that were never intended top be put together in this fashion, with other parts that were never meant to be put together, and in places/positions that were never meant to be.

I also found yesterday a way to realize my originally planned "special effect" for the tail. Firstly, I changed the stabilizers from my original idea of Tornado parts to donor pieces from a Hasegawa A-5 Vigilante. They are bigger and thicker, and this allowed a new technical solution for what I wanted and still want to achieve - pics to come thsi evening, I think.

Glueing and PSR on the body parts has also started, as well as detail work in the cockpit and the air intakes. Things move - fast, as usual, but with less resistance than expected. But the PSR work around the engine box has not started yet. 

[zenrat]

Not finished yet then? 

IMO it's starting to look more than a little "Gerry Anderson".

[Dizzyfugu]

Well, I had to lend the TARDIS to someone else...  But here are news (from the future?  ) from Ground Zero, yesterday's effort. First, some cockpit impressions. Dashboards and the front well come from a Hasegawa F-4.

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Then a look at the belly, the original landing gear wells are gone and the fuselage halves are about to be sealed - interior work in this section done, which makes work on the front and rear end easier:

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

E. g. the fairings for parts of the new landing gear:

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


And work on the engines makes progress, too, with a pair of fans from a (or better two, they come from separate kit mummies, the right one was de-enamelized through two days in oven foam cleaner) Matchbox A-10. Looks crude, but later only little will be visible inside of the deep and narrow intakes.

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



Main attraction and challenge at the moment is the tailplane. One problem: the slender "real" fuselage, which disappears under the engine pod. I originally wanted to attach the stabilizers there, low and in one level with the VG wings (check the artistic 3012 pic above), but this does not work anymore. Instead, I decided to attach then to the nacelle itself - not implausible, since the MiG-31 has its stabilizers mounted in a very similar position.

Through this decision, I was eventually able (again) to realize my "special effects" plan. Inspired by the F8U-3's stabilizer fins (and also the XB-70 droopable wing tips for high speed stability), I wanted to have the stabilizer deflect downwards, too, while being horizontal on the ground and at low speeds. And I wanted to show both positions later in the beauty pics.
An initial idea was to build two sets of stabilizers - I had two pairs of thin Tornado parts at hand... But then I found the 'nado parts to be too small for this huge aircraft, and found the single pair of very old A-5 tail surfaces, the fin inclusive. These are not only considerably bigger, but also thicker, and that allowed me to create an arrangement that will - without a real deflection mechanism as such - allow me to fulfill my plan! Muahahaha!

It's a play with angles, and also with painting (later). The core is a construction of downward-angled styrene tubes inside of the nacelle:

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

On the stabilizers, I cut out narrow gauges and placed plastic-coated steel wire in these gaps, angled upwards just as the tubes inside are angled downwards. All fixed with super glue, hoping for a secure hold... 

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

"What the heck is he doing?", you might ask. Well, this is what the whole thing looks like when attached (My neighbor Batman is jealous!  ):

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

...and you can simply swap the sides for "Mach 3 mode":

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

With the nacelle dry-fitted in place, it looks like this:

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[jalles]

This is coming along nicely, your pace astounds me!

I love your solution for the variable angle horizontal stabilizers.

[deathjester]

This looks so awesome!!  Great work so far!!

[PR19_Kit]

VERY smart engineering with the tailplanes there Thomas, I'm impressed. 

[TheChronicOne]

This is awesome watching this come together!  I agree on the skillful support structure.

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you, but I am just pragmatic - and I had several years (I guess) to think about solutions for some ideas I had for the build. The tube/wire construction actually comes from mecha conversions/improvements I made, and for better or extra joints this method is pretty effective. The thick A-5 stabilizers just came right in time because they made the anchoring of the wire pretty easy, and with some putty in place, the whole thing looks very good! 

Visible progress slows down a bit, though. Worked further on the cockpit (painting it in Soviet Cockpit Teal, adding weight to the nose - not certain if it's actually needed, but with the big tail pack you never know...) so that I can close the fuselage halves and maybe graft it to the main assembly.

Lower section of the engine nacelle has been blended with the fuselage, took several layers of putty - but it looks good and there are now neat "air channels" under the nacelle and flanked by the "spikes", looks very purposeful and more elegant than expexted!

Engine intake interior has also been painted, so that I hopefully can close the nacelle today and start PSR on the intake and the rest.

[63cpe]

Owwww, this is going to be a great bird! 

Really like to see it build!

David

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you, David, curious about your huge bird, too!

Here's some WiP until now; PSR under the engine nacelle is NOT easy... 

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The nose section under PSR treatment:

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Then  the thing is glued to the rest of the fuselage, rough trimming of the intersection ensues:

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

...and major PSR starts in order to blend the nose and the LERXs together - I hope it looks as smooth and fast as I hope for, but so far things are promising!

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



In the meantime, at the other end, the engine bay right before "the lid is closed":

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The splitter/intake wedge is now also in place, and PSR starts here, too:

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurewitsch Izdeliye 71.2 "жура́вль" (Crane); 2nd prototype at Savasleyka Air Base, 1995 (Whif/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Worst thing to come is the gap under the intake wedge - very hard to reach with sand paper, but I might wrap a piece of it arounds a brush handle and try my best.   

[Old Wombat]

PSR? What PSR?