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Ferry_vO
May 4th, 2013, 09:47
Now that the Boxer and Puma are close to being finished, it was time to search for something new and since I mostly do armour these days, I bought.... an aircraft!

Why? Because I found some very interesting armour models from a chinese manufacturer called Hobbyboss, but I don't want to spend my money on something if I don't know what I can expect, especially on a kit costing 40+ euros ($50). They have a line of LVTP/AAVP models which interest me, and a big Czech SPH, the 'Dana' but at 600-1000 parts each I need to know these kits are good..

Today I went to my favourite aviation hobby shop and bought the Hobbyboss Shenyang JJ-5. The JJ-5 ((Jianjiji Jiaolianji - Fighter Trainer ) is the twin-seat version of the J-5, a Chinese license-built version of the MiG-17. The Russians never built a twin-seat MiG-17 so the Chinese simply added the dual pit of the MiG-15 to the MiG-17! It was on sale so I payed only 12 euro ($15) for it, and here are some first impressions:

Big box, with artwork showing the PLAAF Bayi display team's JJ-5 on the front:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/2013-05-04155448_zpsdbacb1f7.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Ferror/media/2013-05-04155448_zpsdbacb1f7.jpg.html)

Inside is a big manual with clear drawings (And perfect English text!), a double-sided, full colour paint profile and a decal sheet for three versions: The bayi team, a PLAAF trainer and a pakistani trainer.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/2013-05-04155852_zps95b05d83.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Ferror/media/2013-05-04155852_zps95b05d83.jpg.html)

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/2013-05-04155922_zpsf44a5989.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Ferror/media/2013-05-04155922_zpsf44a5989.jpg.html)

Sealed in five bags are seven sprues, nicely detailed parts which at first glance do not require a lot of cutting and trimming. A total of 133 parts, but some are not used (I think there are some parts left over for the single-seat models that share the same sprues). Optional to build are seperate flaps, airbrakes, canopies opened or closed. The kit even includes a completely detailed engine, and the entire back of the fuselage can be left off to expose the engine. If you have the Bear Studios MiG-15 or 17 you'll know what I mean!

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/2013-05-04155931_zps412f8846.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Ferror/media/2013-05-04155931_zps412f8846.jpg.html)

The Bayi paint looks nice, but for a hand painter like my it will be hard to paint it right, especially with the wing fences already modelled and not as seperate parts, so I'll probably paint it as the PLAAF trainer; that way I can fit the wing tanks too.

Ferry_vO
June 30th, 2013, 09:45
About time for an update!

So far I'm liking this model but I don't think it's Tamiya quality but more Revell/Italeri quality. The plastic is somewhat soft, the part fit is OK but not fantastic. Not sure if I want to do an expensive armour from this manufacturer yet.

Some shots; here a quick assembly from a few weeks ago, with most parts still unpainted and no glue applied:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/2013-06-30160857_zpscad4e114.jpg~original (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Ferror/media/2013-06-30160857_zpscad4e114.jpg.html)

The engine:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/2013-06-26160433_zps8b542d88.jpg~original (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Ferror/media/2013-06-26160433_zps8b542d88.jpg.html)

Complete with exhaust; a total of no less than 39 parts are used for this engine model:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/2013-06-26161231_zps709bcbcb.jpg~original (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Ferror/media/2013-06-26161231_zps709bcbcb.jpg.html)

A somewhat basic cockpit:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/2013-06-26163424_zps44fecc46.jpg~original (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Ferror/media/2013-06-26163424_zps44fecc46.jpg.html)

Earlier today, with the rear half of the fuselage painted; the front end of the fuselage is quite a tight fit with the intake parts and nose gear bay together need to be attached to the two cockpit halves and one bottom section. Really had to glue that together very tight and tape it up:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/2013-06-30160857_zpscad4e114.jpg~original (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Ferror/media/2013-06-30160857_zpscad4e114.jpg.html)

Front half had its first layer of paint, the cockpit section are in place just for the photo:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/2013-06-30171707_zpsdba2af5e.jpg~original (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Ferror/media/2013-06-30171707_zpsdba2af5e.jpg.html)

Ferry_vO
July 7th, 2013, 14:44
Slowly getting towards the end...

The front fuselage had another layer of silver applied, the landing gear has been assembled and mounted, speedbrakes and control surfaces glued into position.
I wanted to mount the engine to the back of the front fuselage so I could display it with the rear fuselage half removed, but it didn't fit very well, you could see through the cockpit past the engine and it would become quite fragile, so the engine is now inside the mounted fuselage parts.

The front canopy was a bit of a problem to fit as the window between the two pits had to be trimmed down for the canopy to fit properly.
Another issue is the balance of the model, even without the engine mounted it is already tail heavy, and there's no space in the nose to fit enough counterweight, so I made a quick improvised tail support from a clear sprue to supprot the tail for now.

Next up are the decals, and then the final small parts.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/2013-07-07155226_zps053609be.jpg~original (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Ferror/media/2013-07-07155226_zps053609be.jpg.html)

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/2013-07-07155347_zpsc860a293.jpg~original (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Ferror/media/2013-07-07155347_zpsc860a293.jpg.html)

Ferry_vO
April 26th, 2014, 04:55
Wow, it's been a long time since I poted any updates here..... Anyway, the JJ-5 is almost done ecpet for a few of the smaller decals:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Ferror/20140220_154348_zps752d02c1.jpg~original (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/Ferror/media/20140220_154348_zps752d02c1.jpg.html)

It was an interesting to the Hobbyboss brand for me; the plastic is OK to work with, albeit a bit soft and the detail is great.
There are a few downsides too, the most important being that the shape is way off! The fuselage is too narrow and definitely lacks the barrel shape so typical of these early fifties jets.
During building I had some difficulties getting the front pieces to fit properly, and there's no room for a much needed counterweight in the nose unfortunately.
The wing tanks don't fit at all on to the wings, no matter how I tried.

Overall I'm glad I didn't spent too much on this model, for full price I would have been disappointed!