Mig88 Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 Here is my latest kit: the MiG-31 Firefox of the 1982 Clint Eastwood film. It's the Anigrand 1:144 resin kit. Keeping in mind the discrepancies between the full-scale film prop and the "flying models", the kit has some inaccuracies, namely around the undercarriage. The nosewheel should have twin wheels and the bays and doors are wrong but I left well alone and only cut the nose bay door in a way that made it closer to what we see in the film. My only other modifications were replacing the WW2-type seat with one from a Revell/Mark I F-104 kit (chopped down a bit in height to fit) and adding a landing light to the nose u/c leg. One of the major discrepancies is the finish. The full scale prop was a dark grey colour whereas the flying models had a highly glossy or metallic) blue-grey tone. I found a comment of the prop designer in internet that stated that Clint Eastwood wanted the plane to be very shiny and that the plane was a dark blue-grey colour. I tried to get somewhere in between. I made some mixes and the final one was Tamiya Gun Metal with Medium Blue and Gloss Black (+ Vallejo Black when the latter ran out). I got a nice pearly dark blue-grey colour. The kit was fully painted by brush. The kit's painting instructions were fictitious so I tried to follow what I could make out from the film. The leading edge panels were painted Vallejo Natural Steel. The kit's decals were oversized so I used some from a Mark I red stars sheet and I placed them according to what I could make out in the ice floe scene. I applied a slightly gloss satin varnish (mixed from Vallejo varnishes) since a high-gloss sheen would look awful. Thanks for looking and all comments are welcome as usual. Miguel 46 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in a shed Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 Nice work Miguel. I'm surprised Clint managed to make anything work on that aeroplane as he had such a strong American accent when thinking in Russian it must have struggled to understand him.😁 Pete 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albymoore Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 That looks fantastic, Miguel. It's been many many years since I last seen Firefox. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 Fantastic model, always nice to see this. That second last shot is brilliant, really looks the part! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEXANTOMCAT Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 Brilliant! TT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig88 Posted May 1, 2021 Author Share Posted May 1, 2021 On 29/04/2021 at 21:17, Pete in a shed said: Nice work Miguel. I'm surprised Clint managed to make anything work on that aeroplane as he had such a strong American accent when thinking in Russian it must have struggled to understand him.😁 Pete Thanks a lot Pete! Ha ha! Indeed! All of the other actors put on some accent to imply they were speaking russian but when in theory Clint is speaking in russian too he doesn't change accent 😜! Another curious detail I noticed when reviewing scenes as research, on both occasions he gets in the cockpit, he plugs the air hose, flicks loads of switches and takes off... without strapping on any belts or harnesses 🤣! On 29/04/2021 at 21:19, albymoore said: That looks fantastic, Miguel. It's been many many years since I last seen Firefox. On 30/04/2021 at 00:01, Parabat said: Fantastic model, always nice to see this. That second last shot is brilliant, really looks the part! Yes! I like taking some ground-level three-quarters shots like that one as it gives a nice perspective. 20 hours ago, TEXANTOMCAT said: Brilliant! TT Thank you very much everyone! Miguel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wulfman Posted May 1, 2021 Share Posted May 1, 2021 Fabulous Firefox, great build ! Wulfman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig88 Posted May 2, 2021 Author Share Posted May 2, 2021 18 hours ago, Wulfman said: Fabulous Firefox, great build ! Wulfman Thank you very much! Miguel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickpadwick1801 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Nice work, I really want a kit of this particular aircraft. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig88 Posted May 1 Author Share Posted May 1 On 23/04/2024 at 00:19, Rickpadwick1801 said: Nice work, I really want a kit of this particular aircraft. Thank you. As far as I know, only Anigrand released it both in 1:144 anbd 1:72. Miguel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickpadwick1801 Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 8 hours ago, Mig88 said: Thank you. As far as I know, only Anigrand released it both in 1:144 anbd 1:72. Miguel Thanks, I'll look for it when I've built a few more out of my stash. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiseca Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 That looks suitably menacing. I remember watching the movie as a young child and thinking that the first hour or so was really boring, and then he took off, and the last 30 minutes was great Now when I watch it as an adult I can appreciate the espionage side of the movie too. Very nice build, and good work on the colour. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Glumbo Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 14 hours ago, Rickpadwick1801 said: Thanks, I'll look for it when I've built a few more out of my stash. they do a 1/48 now too https://www.anigrand.com/AA6015_Mig-31.htm 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CH-53D Posted Friday at 15:15 Share Posted Friday at 15:15 Take into account that I last saw the movie 30+ years ago, but my recollection is that I suspected they had used the undercarriage from an F-4 for the full-scale aircraft prop. As my avatar picture was taken about the same time the movie came out, unsurprisingly I particularly liked the opening sequence. 😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig88 Posted Saturday at 09:40 Author Share Posted Saturday at 09:40 On 02/05/2024 at 09:42, kiseca said: That looks suitably menacing. I remember watching the movie as a young child and thinking that the first hour or so was really boring, and then he took off, and the last 30 minutes was great Now when I watch it as an adult I can appreciate the espionage side of the movie too. Very nice build, and good work on the colour. Add to that the fact that Clint Eastwood plays a character who wasn't cut out for the spy stuff, carries a war trauma, and only his military professionalism helps him struggle through despite all the people who get killed for him to get on that plane! Thank you very much to all! Miguel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiseca Posted Saturday at 09:49 Share Posted Saturday at 09:49 I think Clint did really well in Firefox. I've read a couple of the novels featuring the character Mitchell Gant in my adult years and the somewhat broken man that Eastwood played was, I think, a good match for the book character. Even down to the slight desperation that he experiences when the odds are stacking up against him and, as you say, his military experience helps him keep calm and find his way through. Those were nuances I didn't understand when I watched Firefox as a child, but I appreciate when I watch it as an adult. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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