Author Topic: MiG-10 Tank Buster  (Read 4204 times)

Offline Brian da Basher

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MiG-10 Tank Buster
« on: October 27, 2018, 05:46:06 AM »


While the MiG-9 UTI is famous the (third) world over as a ubiquitous trainer



less well known is an aircraft it spawned, the MiG-10 tank buster.



The initial concept was something like a jet-powered Sturmovik armed with two 26 mm cannon pods under the wings, two 12.7 mm machine guns in the nose and two 21 mm defensive cannons in a rear turret.



Unfortunately, the original power-plant was under-powered so a new engine was being worked on for the MiG tank buster.



Development of the Klimov XLVIX engine was so protracted that by the time the prototype flew, the design was obsolete.

Other factors may have also caused delays...



Therefore only 10 were ever made, one prototype and 9 limited production models.



Deemed unnecessary by the Soviet Central Comittee for Air, these aircraft were provided as dubious foreign aid to the tiny satellite state of Trashcanistan.



First seen by western observers during the 1981 Alphabet Crisis Brought to You by the Letters F & U, they were given the NATO reporting name 'Flail'.



And flail they did. By the time of the crisis, they were in such poor shape the four still airworthy were forced to abort and turn back before engaging the enemy.



The last known sighting of a Trashcanistani MiG-10 Flail was when a defector crash-landed one and surrendered himself as well as what was left of his aircraft to the inscrutable and ever-stylish Sheik Yurbooty.



This is the last that would ever been seen of the ignominious MiG-10 'Flail' tank buster. As the design was a failure and Trashcanistan is a very backward land, scant photographic evidence exists of the type.





The MiG-10s remaining in Trashcanistani service were all scrapped and recycled into far more mission-critical beer cans by 1985.



What little wreckage there was of the defector's MiG-10 was graciously given by the Sheik as a reward to the farmer who found it and has been unfortunately lost to time and the elements.



There is so little left of this once potent tank-buster that the so-called "experts" insist any notion of a MiG-10 must sadly come from a flailing mind.



Brian da Basher
« Last Edit: October 27, 2018, 09:35:46 PM by Brian da Basher »

Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: MiG-10 Tank Buster
« Reply #1 on: October 27, 2018, 06:36:11 AM »
This all started when a 1/72 MiG-9 UTI trainer model arrived in a care package (thanks a million, hamsterman!).

You've got to admit, that's some box art.



This one's from Mother Russia but I'm not very good at reading Cyrillic. While the long sides of the box were little help, there are some very useful measurements guesstimating the size of the completed model.



Actual kit dimensions in 'murcan must be classified. It doesn't matter, I bet all of these are slightly different when built anyway.

Looking on one of the box ends got me no closer to solving the mystery of this kit's provenance.



Apparently there might be bugs involved. After getting a can of Raid handy, I checked out the last remaining side of the box and hit pay dirt.



Skarabey? These guys appear to be a top-flight Russian maker! They even give you their address and phone so you can contact them. Talk about customer service! That's a good sign, right?

Instructions start with a nice history of the type. I was grateful for the translation.



Assembly looks pretty straightforward given the fine exploded-views.



There was even a paint and marking guide.



Wait, what's this?



A Gloster Gladiator and possibly a RAF P-51 with D-Day invasion stripes?

I'm not sure what this has to do with a MiG-9 UTI, but I could use a bracer already.



That was refreshing. Now on to the sprues. The first one looks ok even if it has more flash than the Jackson 5.



The other sprue is molded in a darker gray. It kind of reminded of those old beloved Matchbox kits.



However, upon test-fitting it turns out that the different colored MiG-9 parts were designed by two people who weren't actually on speaking terms. "Fit" was apparently some sort of alien concept. It was time for another pick-me-up. It's happy hour somewhere now, isn't it?



After cleaning up the parts I was able to force them into an unholy marriage using the best industrial adhesives money can buy along with good old Yankee ingenuity and brute strength. Here's how it all looked once the HazMat squad cleared out.



Since it was a bit of an ordeal getting this far, I decided to keep things simple.



The obvious mod seemed to be turning this into a twin-tailed aircraft with a rear gunner.

Since the kit came with two almost identical rudders, these were used for the front of the new "barn doors". 30-thou card cut and sanded to shape made up the rear of the rudder assembly. The kit horiz stabs were cut slightly for the new configuration and attached after I chopped off the original fin (hehehehe) & rudder.



One part that made me flail was the splitter intake. This kit gives you two options and I ended up bodging both of them. This forced me to go with a blanking plate and a shock cone cut from a small drop-tank.



Under-wing cannon pods were left-overs from a Hasagawa Me-109G.



The nose guns were kit parts and the pitot tube was swiped from an Airfix P-40 Tomahawk. Bits of the kit landing gear struts were cut and glued on in back for those fearsome tail guns.



Here's how it all looked before paint.





Speaking of paint, the old hairy stick was trotted out and loaded up with a lot of Polly Scale Gravel Gray acrylic. The canopy was tinted on the inside with Model Masters Insignia Blue. Model Masters Aluminum was used on the intake.



The burner cans were painted with Model Masters Jet Exhaust and a custom gunmetal mix was used on the guns.



Decals were all from spares. The Trashcanistani markings may have been RAF fighter squadron colors that border the roundels, but they've been rattling around so long I'm not sure if my memory is correct.



The canopy framing was done using white decal strips as a guide since there weren't any engraved or raised lines on the part.





Here's a picture highlighting one of the under-wing cannon pods. These are very nice pieces with excellent detail.



I've been working on this model all week and once I actually got it all built things went pretty smoothly.



Before I forget, here's a couple of "money shots" (U.S. penny for scale):





I'd like to thank Bill for sending me both the MiG-9 UTI and Me-109G kits that made this all possible. I couldn't have done it without you!



I'd also like to thank Mr Jello for moderating this GB and those of you playing along or just stopping by for a look.



I hope you enjoyed the MiG-10 tank buster and reading a little more forgotten aircraft history.



Brian da Basher
« Last Edit: October 27, 2018, 08:20:50 AM by Brian da Basher »

Offline ed s

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Re: MiG-10 Tank Buster
« Reply #2 on: October 27, 2018, 07:02:40 AM »
Looks too perfect. The real ones looked a lot worst. The kit parts probably came from the same mismatched manufacturers as the real a/c. Possibly more vodka would have helped.

Offline finsrin

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Re: MiG-10 Tank Buster
« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2018, 08:13:11 AM »
Turned into one lethal tank buster for its time.  Memories of the Stuka reinforced importance of having a tank buster in Trashcanistan.
Twin tail conversion is right on.  Looks like always was that way.  Particularly like canopy structure and tail guns.   :smiley:

Offline Robomog

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Re: MiG-10 Tank Buster
« Reply #4 on: October 27, 2018, 05:43:12 PM »
Nice design Brian, that second do's and dont's sheet is definitely of FROG origin, makes you wonder if they've taken the Frog mould and added a UTI body or vice versa. Which would explain the mismatch of parts. Good looking aircraft all the same.

Mog
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Offline kitnut617

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Re: MiG-10 Tank Buster
« Reply #5 on: October 27, 2018, 09:17:31 PM »
Oh I like this one Brian ----   :-* :-* :-*

Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: MiG-10 Tank Buster
« Reply #6 on: October 28, 2018, 03:17:18 AM »
 :smiley:
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline elmayerle

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Re: MiG-10 Tank Buster
« Reply #7 on: October 28, 2018, 03:52:40 AM »
Beautiful work and back-story.  I have heard of Trashcanistan before from a biography of its former leader, Ali Kat.

Offline Frank3k

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Re: MiG-10 Tank Buster
« Reply #8 on: October 28, 2018, 05:31:30 AM »
Great job on a crappy model, Brian! I love the concept, and early jet planes are a favorite of mine.

Offline ChernayaAkula

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Re: MiG-10 Tank Buster
« Reply #9 on: October 28, 2018, 06:40:58 AM »
Likin' this! A lot!  :smiley:
Cheers,
Moritz

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Offline ysi_maniac

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Re: MiG-10 Tank Buster
« Reply #10 on: October 28, 2018, 07:55:50 AM »
I find the concept quite inspired indeed!  :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: :icon_alabanza:

Offline LemonJello

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Re: MiG-10 Tank Buster
« Reply #11 on: October 29, 2018, 01:23:40 AM »
A fearsome addition to any nation's arsenal.  Nicely done!