Hobby Model MiG-15 Fresco

[Gil]

Hi Ron,

I have the book.

Using aluminum cans as a source of aluminum has its associated problems the largest being reclaiming usable sheet stock from the can. One that's difficult to overcome is that the alloy used in can stock does not anneal to a dead soft state preventing it from being worked into compound curved surfaces.

I still have a few sheets lying about but haven't really found any further uses in card modeling for them (yet).

The company that made the glue that the author recommends, "Quick Grab", went out of business and is now available as "Omni Stick" from the company that picked up the production (not to be confused with "Quick Grip" glue).

I tried converting several card models into aluminum can models with less than impressive results. Of course there's been a lot of water under the bridge since then but I'm somewhat less than positive on using beverage can aluminum to make models...,

+Gil

[Gil]

I am stopping this thread.

Late into the process I found the Hobby Model MiG-15F design lacking in more than a few areas and just doesn't live up to my version of what constitutes "geometric fidelity". It's still a nice model but just doesn't have exact enough geometry to base a full up effort on. I am, to say the least, a bit chagrined that a good amount of time was spent building on a false lead. Controlling the destiny of the design through ownership of the base geometry is a lesson you'd think I would of learned by now. As a consolation I might be able to use "bits and pieces" of the MiG-15F model...,

The good news is that the MiG-17F design is now back on the palette and will appear in the "Design" Section shortly.

+Gil

[CMDRTED]

Gil,have you considered the old Marek Mig 15 as a base kit? It was pretty good as I remember, took the Fly model mig15 cockpit grafting rather well.

[B-Manic]

That's unfortunate to hear Gil. This was looking good - going where no paper modeler has gone before and all that . . .

~ Douglas

[Ron40]

Gil,
Fly Model produced a duo kit that included
the Mig 15 and the F-86. It is Nr 56 and I
have one. Ron

[Gil]

Hello All & Happy Fourth,

Yes, I've taken a good look at Marek's MiG-15. At this point the decision that the base geometry files are required for a successful project outcome has been made. It's easier to design the model from scratch than to go the reverse engineering route.

I went spinning down the path recreating the original (3D model) from what I thought were developed surfaces (unrolled 3D surfaces in CAD) only to find that they were hand drawn instead (good, but not good enough). This is a big no-no for what I'm trying to achieve (back annotation is not "nice" to have, it's a "must").

The good news is the MiG-17F design is approximately 70% done. The other good news is that I can build a plug that's within 0.1% of scale.

Hang with me on this. I can safely say that this project is no longer a quest but just a matter of getting the work done (in other words there are no unknowns and I've had a peek under the deja vu curtain)....,

+Gil

[Gil]

Just when this project was totally dead it springs to life for a moment or two...,

+Gil

[Gil]

After a little time off, I came back to the MiG-15 and decided to investigate a few paper forming techniques. It's intention is to bend paper in two directions without wrinkles - better known as a compound curved surface.

Below is two results of this effort with a U.S. penny for scale comparison. Both were cutout of 65# stock and the surface sealed with nitrate dope - it keeps the water based inkjet ink from running.

The right example has had the back scored in a radial pattern and then formed by applying PVA glue and a ball ended burnishing tool against a vinyl eraser back. A reinforcing washer was glued in to maintain circularity.

The left example has approximately six darts where the back half of the paper was removed. It was formed using the same method as above.

The right example was worked harder than the left in an effort to obtain a near small radius for the inlet. In my zeal the cross section was deformed slightly.

The second photograph shows the inside structure of both.

Lessons:
1. Nitrate Dope is good.
2. Creating a weak point controls where and how the paper will "wrinkle" - also a good thing.

-Gil

[Gil]

MiG-15Bis nose formed from 0.005 inch tooling foil and 65# cardstock. It was amazingly easy to make...,

+Gil

[opalmox]

Beautiful result.