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