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

[PR19_Kit]

.......rough trimming of the intersection ensues and major PSR starts......

That could be a mantra for the whole Whiff community! 

[Dizzyfugu]

*mumble* "PSR, PSR, PSR..." *mumble*

[Dizzyfugu]

Not much happened visibly. After the sixth layer of putty and the respective sanding procedures I stopped counting. But the shapes start to come together, and this morning I also added the fin. I eventually rejected the tall and slender A-5 option, because it did not look ...fast enough. Size and area were O.K., but it's a tall piece - and when I held it on the engine nacelle, it looked awkward. I needed something with more sweep, and lower. An 1:72 Tornado stabilizer would have been good in shape, but too small... But I eventually found a pair of leftover PM Model Su-15 wings upper halves (not the one from the cockpit donor kit). Without the lower halves, a pretty pointless pair of parts, but when I held both pieces together they formed a very good fin! A little thick, yes, but the size is after light trimming very good - and it just has that Soviet touch that the Vigilante fin lacked. Looks very Tu-22M-ish now, due to the resulting massive fin fillet.

[Dizzyfugu]

Pics to illustrate last weekend's progress. First, a look at the beast's bottom:

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 we focus on the engine nacelle - note the various layers of different putties to sculpt the box and the seams with the fuselage.
Step by step, gaps, nicks and dents disappear...

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

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


At the front end, the Su-15 nose and the B-1B fuselage blend into each other, and the foundation for the canopy (to be cut into five pieces) is laid down - with putty and the help of some tape.

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

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 for the moment, the fin which is actually two PM Model Su-15 upper wing halves glued together. But can it look more Soviet?
As a side note: check the different multilayer-pattern of the putty on the nacelle, compared with the pics above.  I stopped counting after layer #6...

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 "Fastback" takes (menacing) shape! 

[DogfighterZen]

That's looking very good, Dizzy.
Just one question, how much weight did you put in the nose? Looks like it will have a slight tendency to sit on it's tail...

[PR19_Kit]

That's HUGE compared to your usual model sizes Thomas! 

It looks terrific, and that engine nacelle looks SO Soviet too. It's going to be a real looker.

[Gondor]

Amazing looking aircraft. Sure it should not have "World Air Force" or something like that from a Gerry Anderson production rather than Soviet Stars?

Gondor

[Snowtrooper]

With such a tail-heavy construction, rotation should be no problem (cf. XF-103 and the projected runway length it would have required)

But then I wondered: wouldn't placing the engines above the centre of mass be a bit tricky? Also, torsional forces with such a small supporting structure must be considerable - I wouldn't pull much G's, especially negative G's with that...

[PR19_Kit]

But then I wondered: wouldn't placing the engines above the centre of mass be a bit tricky? Also, torsional forces with such a small supporting structure must be considerable - I wouldn't pull much G's, especially negative G's with that...

But isn't that the same configuration as the Blinder, with its engines either side of the fin?

[Dizzyfugu]

Yes, the Blinder used the same layout, but basically the Boeing 727, Tu-134 and other airliners, too. CG should not be a problem - after all, there's not much inside of the box, just the engines and the afterburner. It just so big because of the massive air flow - and it looks odd because the "normal" long intake ducts are missing. These might be necessary from an aerodynamic point of view (slowing down the airflow appreciably for the engines to work properly), but I ignore this fact for the sake of whifworld. And, after all, some Soviet Mach 3+ designs just featured such a layout - and I have sketches of later Tu-22 derivaties where you can see how small and surprisingly short the actual engine in the nacelle is. I took this as a benchmark for my build.

G forces should also be of little concern. This one is designed to go fast, in a straight line, at high altitude and loiter for air space control. It is not a dogfighter, even less than a MiG-31, which also features a massive gun (just in case... ) that this one will not carry. The fictional 71/2 here is, just as some similar real paper designs that inspired it, rather a weapon platform and a kind of mini AWACS that might attack enemy objects at 200km distance or more and guide lighter fighters to their targets. And it could also be used in the recce role, much like the SR-71. In so far, the layout is very straightforward and consequential.

The nose is pretty full of lead, maybe 4" of my preferred curtain weight band - it seems to be necessary, but enough. Yesterday's work saw more progress on the canopy and the underside. I added covers for the weapon bay and started with the landing gear (pics to come soon, things become more strange). Since yesterday, the Fastback stands on its spindly feet. And I decided to add retractable small canards/rudder panels for improved slow speed handling; these will be detachable, too, and (technically) disappear in slits level with the cockpit floor.

[TheChronicOne]

Fascinating stuff.   

[Dizzyfugu]

Piccies... here's an overall view, with the stabilizers in place in "fast" position:

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 landing gear. This was a tough decision - because there is hardly enough space for a conventional arrangement with a decent track width, and something MiG-23-ish would have certainly looked strange on this big bird. So I went a totally different route, and the thing gets a bicycle arrangement - with a massive four-wheel bogie (left over from a VEB Plasticart 1:100 Tu-20/95) and outriggers. The latter still have a rather narrow track and will look pretty small, but it looks interesting... 

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 outrigger struts come from a Hobby Boss 1:72 Fw 190, IIRC.

The front wheel is more conventional - here the Kangnam MiG-31 is the donor bank, with light adaptations on the covers:

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

Overall look at the bottom, with covers on the weapon bays in place and the missiles dry-fitted:

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 retractable canards - or better rudder paddles (rotor blades from a Matchbox Dauphin helicopter) - and their stowage slits:

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


Finally, work on the canopy is soon finished, 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

[jalles]

That overall shot is awesome! 

The outriggers are great too.  Seems the Soviets were big into alternate wheel configurations, at least in regards to concepts.

[Gondor]

Hmmmm helicopter blades as pop out canards

Gondor

[DogfighterZen]

This is gonna be a stunner, no doubt!