Miles Aerovan completed - Mikro-Mir, 1/72nd scale

I enjoyed this build a lot, in spite of the few shortcomings of the kit.

The subject is very appealing, civil and unusual.

Final notes:

Read the detailed construction post:

http://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2017/08/miles-aerovan-mikro-mir-172nd-scale.html

Other than that:

This is a very stubborn tail sitter. Even with quite a bit of lead it will tail seat.

The landing gear is weak (because it is to scale, which is good). So instead of adding lead -as I did-, prop the aft fuselage with the short propping leg -seen in some photos of the real thing- that I added at the end of the construction to the model.

An open tail and a ramp -that also "holds" the aft fuselage- is another possible approach.

Check photos, since some inaccuracies seemed to have made their way into the kit's painting schemes and decals, regarding geometry and color.

What finally decided me for the PH-EAB registration is the fact that it has a larger glassed area on the nose, whilst other liveries, as tempting as they were, had less glass area, hiding detail on the cockpit. Of course it also helped that the decals for the chosen version came with the kit, but the instructions to paint the model are quite inaccurate, and you have to check photos where you can clearly see the differences. PH-EAB went through some changes (even in the clear panels on the nose), so again, look at photos. At one point it had light racks on the fuselage sides for night advertisement.

I really liked this unusual subject. The molding is in general good, you get a few optional liveries (there are plenty more options, surely a matter for the aftermarket entrepreneurs), but you have to work on the fit of some parts.

Most of these issues were covered during the building and posted here.

Reflecting a bit on the build, it is evident that a subject that has for the modeler a great appeal, helps to overcome the faults that all kits, one way or another, seem to have. An appealing subject keeps the interest alive throughout the build, and the unusual aspect of this plane is surely an asset.

Perhaps this build will eventually spur the dig up of more references and details on this machine by other modelers/enthusiasts, for the benefit of us all.

I love civil planes, and I love unusual, so for me this was a rewarding build. Wish more manufacturers (some already do) would produce more subjects on those lines.

'Till the next one.

Compared to the Shorts Skyvan: