DONE @ p.5 +++ Chardiv Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II скорость

[Dizzyfugu]

Yup! 

As far as I can tell at the moment, this LSR vehicle will be a kitzbashing affair. The KP MiG-21 I use as a basis is SO poor that only rudimentary elements can and will be used, and many details will be changed in order to make a ground vehicle out of it. But I am positive, I already have a concept for the overall layout of the vehicle, and the rest ist scratching and probably a lot of PSR... But I think that it will look quite cool! 

[loupgarou]

Nice idea for the wheels (if that's indeed the idea). Not many wheels available for an LSR vehicle.

[Dizzyfugu]

I actually favored the slightly bigger wheels from a Czech Panzer 38(t) tank, but could not get my hands on a cheap donor kit in time. And when I dug through the kit pile I found a Hasegawa Panther with a Schmalturm and late war standard wheels, which contained a surplus sprue with the extra wheels. They really look the part, and their slightly smaller size is probably even better for the LSR vehicle. And, as an additional bonus, the outer Panther wheels are relatively thin, so that it will be easier to integrate these as front wheels under/inside of the MiG-21 hull, while the normal track wheels from the Panther's 2nd row are wider and will end up as rear wheels. This way, I can even fulfill the FIA's demands for four wheels on the ground for a serious/official record breaker. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Work makes good progress, but it is slow. This has turned into a full kitbashing/scratchbuilding affair, because the KP MiG-21 is a VERY shabby specimen and I want to incorporate some ideas taken from real world LSR vehicles that make the скорость (Skorost = Velocity) rather look like a dedicated car-thing construction than a converted jet fighter. PSR galore so far, WiP pics to follow soon.

[zenrat]

Can't wait.

[Dizzyfugu]

Here we go, there's a lot to catch up with.

Work started with the deletion of the spinal tunnel and of the fin, what necessitated a plug and reconstruction of the vehicle's upper side. The original landing gear wells as well as the wing attachment points had to disappear, too. Fit of anything taken from the KP MiG-21 is abysmal, so I also replaced the exhaust section with a donor part from an 1:72 F-100.


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The original cockpit tub was retained, as well as the shock cone, even though it was placed further inwards, as an attachment point for a new, more spectacular intake shape. The new cone is actually the rear end from an Airfix 1:72 P-61 drop tank, the wheels were taken from the Hasegawa Panther kit - they look very much like typical all-metal wheels of modern high speed vehicles, and their size is also perfect.


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


And the new nose now looks like this:


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The air intake extension (as well as the new shock cone) was inspired by Art Arfons' "Green Monster No. 15" in its late guise, and the extension itself is actually a piece from an 1:72 Buccaneer tail cone.

The cockpit received a completely new, smaller canopy - from an 1:144 Tornado. As a consequence, the cockpit opening had to be narrowed and the fuselage shape adjusted with filler. Furthermore, a rear fairing for the canopy had to be added, in this case a piece from an 1:72 streamlined 1.000 lb bomb, plus lots of PSR, which was also necessary in order to re-build the spinal area on top of the crude styrene sheet plug.


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Just for comparison: the original (surprisingly nice) MiG-21 canopy and the new donor part:


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The fin had, for a groudn vehicle, to be reduced in size. An initial choice was a shortened F-16 fin, but I eventually found a leftover fin from an Amodel Kh-20 missile, which was, together with a scratched brake parachute fairing, added to the tail:


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Here's a look at the nose section with a loosely fitted new shock cone:


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


For the front wheels I added an aerodynamic fairing, simply made from styrene strips and later filled with putty:


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Next came the rear suspension - this had to be scratched completely from various styrene profiles and parts from an 1:35 tank model's running gear:


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


So much for now... 

[zenrat]

Looking good.

[Gondor]

Very Very Very nice indeed 

Gondor

[loupgarou]

Not much left of the old Mig. Inspiring. Yesterday I have seen an old (KP?) Sukhoi Su-7 or 9. Even more tube-like for such a project.

[Dizzyfugu]

A Su-7. Yes, not really much left from the MiG, it's in the end just a long pipe with some extensions. But the whole thing looks slick and purposeful, more than I expected!

[loupgarou]

I had forgot: your new air intake is fantastic.

[ericr]

I had forgot: your new air intake is fantastic.

yes, fantastic

[Dizzyfugu]

 

[PR19_Kit]

Isn't that a wind tunnel model of Art Arfon's 'Green Monster'?

One awesome machine for sure!

[Dizzyfugu]

It's the vehicle's last incarnation, after he sold it (and was run as "Pea Soup Andersen's Monster"). AFAIK it's rotting somewhere in an underground car park in the USA.

Besides, some more update pics - the completed rear suspension and some overall impressions:


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Charkov Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles ChADI 9-II "скорость" experimental high speed/land speed record vehicle (final form); Lake Baskunchak (Soviet Union), August 1989 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Painting to start soon. I am still not 100% certain, but there will be red trim around the nose section, and probably light grey for the rest. Not flashy, but this one will be a university's experimental vehicle, and it's a Soviet design after all, not a sponsor-decked private US thing.

I will also create a dedicated base for it, for the photo sessions, because a flat and glittering salt surface is not easy to improvise. Thankfully it's flat and bleak, so this will be a simple task.