2x 1:72 MiG-15: Bolivian Fagot @p.2 & Polish Navy Midget @p.3

[Dizzyfugu]

Early thread start/placeholder for a pair of Hobby Boss MiG-15s (a single- and a two-seater) I am currently building. The Bolivian Fagot is a classic what-if, while Polish Navy Midget will "only" be a quasi-what-if, because its concept is deeply rooted in real-world aircraft and just an individual interpretation of the subject. Wait and see. 

[comrade harps]

About to start playing with a Hobby Boss MiG-15 bis myself. Mine will be adapted for surface attack.

[chrisonord]

The eduard mig 15 I retrieved from the bin is built, sort of. I will decal it when I feel like it. Hobbyboss mig 15 's are nice to build, and I can recommend them.

[Dizzyfugu]

The (first) kit and its assembly:
This rather simple yet exotic what-if aircraft model, inspired by a recent CG rendition of a similar MiG-15 by fellow user/CG artist SPINNERS at whatifmodellers.com in late 2022 (see: https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=18821.msg979462#msg979462). I had a surplus Hobby Boss MiG-15bis single seater in the The Stash™ and decided to create a hardware version of SPINNER's idea on short notice, because I also has some suitable decals for it. And whil eI was at it I also dug out a Hobby Boss Midget, and built it in parallel (more about this one later).

This is the original inspiration:


The Fagot was built OOB, and external difference to an earlier baseline MiG-15 (e. g. shape and position of the airbrakes) will only be obvious to expert eyes. The Fagot kit is one of the more complex Hobby Boss kits (read: more than just a fuselage plus wings and some bits to stick onto this base) like the company's F9F or Hawker Seahawk and IMHO pretty good and crisp. It's still quite simple, but it features many small detail parts to be added on the airframe that yield a convincing model, including a surprisingly well detailed cockpit tub, a nice landing gear and two different pairs of underwing tanks (slipper and drop-shaped tanks with fins).


1:72 MiG-15 what-if combo: Bolivian Fagot & Polish Navy Midget (Hobby Boss kits) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 MiG-15 what-if combo: Bolivian Fagot & Polish Navy Midget (Hobby Boss kits) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 MiG-15 what-if combo: Bolivian Fagot & Polish Navy Midget (Hobby Boss kits) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

While it goes together well there are some watchouts:
- Locator pins inside the air intake should be sanded away, they are visible from certain angles
- The canopy's locator pins should be removed, too, and I split the part for open cockpit display
- Do not forget to add nose weight, even though there is little internal space


Painting and markings:
The FAB Fagot's livery was directly inspired by SPINNER's renditions as a simple NMF aircraft with Bolivian markings (roundels and fin flash on the rudder), a tactical code, and a unit emblem, which moved, due its size, from the fin top to the nose. Another factor for this kind of livery was that only very few MiG-15s were ever camouflaged, esp. those of early production.

For the NMF the MiG-15 received an overall coat with acrylic Duplicolor "White Aluminum" (RAL 9006), applied with a rattle can. To this a black anti-glare panel in front of the windscreen was added and some counter-shaded metal panels around the hull, done with different shades of aluminum (e. g. Revell 99, 91; Humbrol 56) and metallizers. Walkways on the wing roots were created with grey decal sheet material to liven then NMF up a bit more.


1:72 MiG-15 what-if combo: Bolivian Fagot & Polish Navy Midget (Hobby Boss kits) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The cockpit tub was painted in the dreaded Soviet anti-fatigue teal, with a black dashboard and a dark grey seat. The landing gear and the respective wells were painted in a grey tone (Revell 43), with bright green wheel discs as contrast, using good benchmark pics from literature (e.g. the exhaustive "Mikoyan MiG-15" by Yefim Gordon and Dmitriy Komissarov).

The roundels came from a Blue Rider aftermarket sheet, actually intended for Bolivian pre-WWII aircraft, and the matching fin flash was painted with brushes (using Humbrol 3 and 19, and Revell 310). The tactical code in red with a yellow outline came from a MicroScale sheet for an early Soviet MiG-21F – unfortunately it had only two digits instead of three in SPINNER's simulation. The iron-cross-shaped unit badge was originally carried by a Bolivian Curtiss Hawk (Model 35), under the open cockpit. But it would have been a nice and bold retro badge, even "authentic", so I used it on the Fagot, too, but moved it in front of the tactical code because it was too large for the fin tip and wanted to reserve the space under the stabilizers for an FAB code, created from single black TL-Modellbau 3mm letters/digits.

To complete a rather new and shiny finish the model was slightly rubbed with graphite for an additional metallic shine over the metallic paint, and after decal application the Fagot was finally sealed with semi-matte acrylic varnish, except for the anti-glare panel, which became matt.


1:72 MiG-15 what-if combo: Bolivian Fagot & Polish Navy Midget (Hobby Boss kits) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 MiG-15 what-if combo: Bolivian Fagot & Polish Navy Midget (Hobby Boss kits) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Dizzyfugu]

In parallel, the Polish Midget entered the painting stage, which is quite complex.

[comrade harps]

Looking good.

I've started my Hobby Boss MiG-15bis, too. Another easy build, the focus is on the pain  job.

I'm also doing it as a double build, with a Fresco.

[su27rules]

    

[Dizzyfugu]

Was able to add decals to the Polish Navy Midget and varnish. However, things started to list yesterday because my father is back at the hospital. 

[NARSES2]

Sorry to hear about your father Dizzy

[Gondor]

Sorry to hear about your father Dizzy

Ditto. I hope it's not too bad.

[Old Wombat]

Sorry to hear about your father Dizzy

Same here, mate!

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you all for your compassion. Thankfully it is nothing dramatic, at least when you take the circumstances into account. Interstitial fluid is building up in his abdomen, the cancer prevents its dissipation, and this time 5 L (!) had to be drained. Was in the hospital today and he will be released again tomorrow. He is fine and has no pain whatsoever, but once the fluid builds up again he will have to be taken to hospital again, and maybe he will receive a permament "drain pipe" to control the situation. He is in a good mood, though, thank to dementia, which is both comforting as well as depressing.

In the meantime I can present some pics from the Polish Navy Midget. Effectively it is a whif, but the aircraft is deeply rooted in real life since the paint scheme is an adaptation/mix of two real Polish Navy Lim-2As, it's quite "authentic". Still looks pretty psychedelic and shaggy... 


1:72 MiG-15 what-if combo: Bolivian Fagot & Polish Navy Midget (Hobby Boss kits) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 MiG-15 what-if combo: Bolivian Fagot & Polish Navy Midget (Hobby Boss kits) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 MiG-15 what-if combo: Bolivian Fagot & Polish Navy Midget (Hobby Boss kits) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 MiG-15 what-if combo: Bolivian Fagot & Polish Navy Midget (Hobby Boss kits) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 MiG-15 what-if combo: Bolivian Fagot & Polish Navy Midget (Hobby Boss kits) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[su27rules]

  

[kitbasher]

Sorry to hear about your father Dizzy

Same here, mate!

Me too.  Fingers crossed for you all.

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you!