Fictional MiG-31 and The Movie "Firefox"

how did you find this movie ?

  • my favorite Eastwood Movie

    Votes: 12 20.0%
  • nice coldwar Propaganda

    Votes: 35 58.3%
  • the Popcorn was better

    Votes: 4 6.7%
  • it's sucks

    Votes: 6 10.0%
  • stop Torturing me !

    Votes: 3 5.0%

  • Total voters
    60

fightingirish

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http://thinkinrussian.org/

Yes folks, i mean the movie with Clint Eastwood! :)

A brilliant site!
 
... then take a look here:

My scratchbuilt Mig-31 Firefox project, ongoing progress of tooling patterns ... from "Wbnemo1"

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=54597


... even if I think the first pictures are "off-line" !

Deino
 
Firefox variants studied for the movie
 

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One of my favorite movies....

At that time I was a kid but really amazed by the "Firefox", I also remember (back in 1984) of a really hot arcade based upon the movie and utilizing the scenes with a techique called "laser-film" (anything would mean.....).
 
Looking at the nose of the aircraft it makes you wonder what the USAF/Lockheed thought about that seeing how the movie came out six years before they revealed the F-117.
 
Strange thing is parts of the design of Firefox do make sense. Its just the whole together is clearly a piece of fantasy designed to 'look good'.
 
zen said:
Strange thing is parts of the design of Firefox do make sense. Its just the whole together is clearly a piece of fantasy designed to 'look good'.

Obviously, but you have to wonder if that nose raised some eyebrows as at the time "stealth" generally meant smooth curves and rounded edges in the press.
 
Apparently the producers of Firefox wanted to use live Swedish AJ37 Viggens as the two “MiG-31 Firefox” prototypes. They were in negotiations with the Swedish air force and government but the deal fell through.

Obviously some Swedish airbase surrounded by Pine Trees and live Viggens painted in red stars flying over Nordland snow would have looked fantastic in the film. Most people wouldn’t have no idea what a Viggen was making the experience even better.
 
Abraham Gubler said:
Apparently the producers of Firefox wanted to use live Swedish AJ37 Viggens as the two “MiG-31 Firefox” prototypes. They were in negotiations with the Swedish air force and government but the deal fell through.

Obviously some Swedish airbase surrounded by Pine Trees and live Viggens painted in red stars flying over Nordland snow would have looked fantastic in the film. Most people wouldn’t have no idea what a Viggen was making the experience even better.
Well, who wants their plane to be on the "bad" side? Could confuse possible "foreign" buyers too.
 
It is time for a remake. I am preparing a movie treatment for "Firedragon". Lucy Liu and Jet Li to star as two American agents sent to China to steal the "Firedragon" J-118XX hypersonic stealth bomber. Lots of martial arts and great opportunities for special effects.
 
Hi,

also MiG-31 Firefox.
 

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I don't know what you fellows think of the song "Painkiller" by Judas Priest, but this video clip comprises most of the Firefox flying sequences in the film created by John Dykstra's Apogee Productions. The film had cutting edge special effects in 1982 employing a new technique named "Reverse" or "negative" blue screen. If I remember correctly, then current blue screen special effects technology could not be used with black painted miniatures.

Alas, I wish that I hadn't given away my copies of American Cinematographer before a move several years ago. American Cinematographer (September 1982) stated that some of the aerial plate footage was shot over Idaho in a Learjet. Unfortunately, they did not specify which region of Idaho. I don't recall if the article mentioned where aerial plate footage was shot for the Arctic ice floe sequences. IMDb mentions that Thule Air Base, Qaanaaq, Greenland was a filming location for the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_wKcDLSTPE

"Making of Firefox" documentary that is also on the DVD version of the film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bomGXsn6oQ

First appearance of the MiG-31 Firefox in the film, Maurice Jarre used synthesizers in his motion picture scores during the period.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yySrcLlSmc

Link to images of a completed 1/48 scale model Firefox by Studio 2 Models:
http://page.freett.com/stzip/mig31.htm

I really like the Japanese poster artwork for the film. The fictional NASA Dryden Flight Research Center image and data sheet gave me a chuckle. I also included the publicity photograph of the two Firefox prototypes in combat that made me believe that the Firefox had laser weapons before I saw the film in 1982.
 

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incredibly the Aircraft fly scene were made with modern Stop motion Cameras!

It is time for a remake.

REMAKE A CLINT EASTWOOD MOVIE ?!

Eastwood movie are Timeless, that is Wat you get with Remake...
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRKkcTA-e9s

(sorry had no Lego version of Firefox...)

One Moment ! steal a hypersonic stealth bomber from ... China ?
oh boy is the U.S. Tech so baaad ?!
or is this a Michael Bay Movie ? ;D ;D ;D
 
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Maybe they would use one of these in the remake, Michel? ;)

Special Effects Supervisor John Dykstra said in the American Cinematographer article that although the Firefox had a convincing and dramatic design, it had the aerodynamics of a brick.

The Hind gunships shown in the Kirov-class battlecruiser sequences were flying R/C models.

The full-scale Firefox prop was constructed at Apogee Productions in Van Nuys, CA. Propane burners from hot air balloon were inside the full-scale prop for engine effects on set.
 

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Has anyone got a decent 3-view line drawing of the Firefox?

Regards,

Greg
 
GTX said:
Has anyone got a decent 3-view line drawing of the Firefox?

From 'think in russian':

http://thinkinrussian.org/images/ff_desktop04.jpg

and:

http://www.thinkinrussian.org/docs/whitepaper_2005.pdf
 
the full scale "Firefox"
was build from the framework of an old radio tower !
covert with panels from plywood
for taxiing around it had a Volkswagen motor mounted internally with a chain-driven rear wheel
and 2 Propane burners from hot air balloon were inside for engine effects on set.

so build hollywood aircraft ;D
 
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sferrin said:
Looking at the nose of the aircraft it makes you wonder what the USAF/Lockheed thought about that seeing how the movie came out six years before they revealed the F-117.


Funny - that's exactly what I thought about the faceting of the forward fuselage!

Regards
Pioneer
 
[/quote]Well, who wants their plane to be on the "bad" side? Could confuse possible "foreign" buyers too.[/quote]

Everyone knows that all the bad guys fly Northrop F-5E's in just about every modern movie!! ;D
Its called the MiG-21, MiG-23 oh and yes in Top Gun, its called the MiG-28

Regards
Pioneer
 
I think it somewhat ironic, that after watching the Youtube footage of Firefox, after say 10-years, and with the technology we have today. The use of rear-view CTV camera for rear view is both viable and usefull - and yet I do not know of any fighter/interceptor so-fitted with one!
I wounder why this is?
It makes perfect sense to me for assisting combat situation awareness!!
After all doesn't history clearly show that traditionally more aircraft have been shot down in air-to-air combat, without the victim even seeing the killer?

Regards
Pioneer
 
Michel Van said:
incredibly the Aircraft fly scene were made with modern Stop motion Cameras!

It is time for a remake.

REMAKE A CLINT EASTWOOD MOVIE ?!

Eastwood movie are Timeless, that is Wat you get with Remake...
[flash=200,200]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRKkcTA-e9s[/flash]
(sorry had no Lego version of Firefox...)

One Moment ! steal a hypersonic stealth bomber from ... China ?
oh boy is the U.S. Tech so baaad ?!
or is this a Michael Bay Movie ? ;D ;D ;D

I wonder why there is sound and dialogue from Robocop in the beginning and the end of the clip. ???

Still cool, though. :D
 
Still in theme :
other fictional aircraft :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictional_military_aircraft

and


real Mig-31

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiG-31_Foxhound
 
Great if somewhat dated techno thriller but not my favourite Clint Eastwood movie - he did a great job making the character believable but you could with some ease replace Eastwood with any decent action actor. Chuck Norris perhaps?

My favourite Eastwood movies are "Dirty Harry" and "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly".
 
Hammer Birchgrove said:
Great if somewhat dated techno thriller but not my favourite Clint Eastwood movie - he did a great job making the character believable but you could with some ease replace Eastwood with any decent action actor. Chuck Norris perhaps?

My favourite Eastwood movies are "Dirty Harry" and "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly".

No. Chuck Norris would have climbed back out of the Firefox in the hangar so he could take on every soldier on the base unarmed and then break into a chorus of, "In the eyes of a Ranger".
 
If it had been fashionable at the time, like it is now, for TV actors to go Hollywood and do feature films, I'm sure Lee Majors would have been great in that role. But back then it was a heresy for a movie star to do TV material, and extremely pretentious for a TV star to even dare to consider the silver screen as his next playground...
 
The visual effects are very limited, compaired to todays standard. Although the plot is still relevant. Clint's character Grant tries his best to make the audience believe that the aircraft is real. The chase scene at the end is the best part as it has the viewer cheering Grant onto victory.
 
F-14D said:
Hammer Birchgrove said:
Great if somewhat dated techno thriller but not my favourite Clint Eastwood movie - he did a great job making the character believable but you could with some ease replace Eastwood with any decent action actor. Chuck Norris perhaps?

My favourite Eastwood movies are "Dirty Harry" and "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly".

No. Chuck Norris would have climbed back out of the Firefox in the hangar so he could take on every soldier on the base unarmed and then break into a chorus of, "In the eyes of a Ranger".
:D
 
Believe it or not, I actually have an RCS engineering book that
discusses the Firefox design.
 
XP67_Moonbat said:
I think the SFX need to be remastered.

Ironically, when produced in 1984, the SFX were state-of-the-art.

I still think that the "Firefox" design was excellent.

However, the story is a rip-off the the "Joe 90" pilot.
 
saturncanuck said:
However, the story is a rip-off the the "Joe 90" pilot.

for those who don't know Joe90

is Gerry Anderson Marionett Series
the Pilot is about Boy who steals a Soviet super fighter

[flash=200,200]http://www.veoh.com/collection/joe90/watch/v838613XPbaZYwa[/flash]
 

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