ICM 1/48 MiG-25RB by Michael Chilestone
W
e may think “photo-
bombing” is a new
fad, but the Soviets
could be said to have used the
concept in the 1970s, albeit with
a completely different meaning.
The MiG-25RB, NATO codename
Foxbat Bravo, entered service in- It was a developed version
of the MiG-25R, featuring
improved reconnaissance systems
and introducing an offensive
capability, carrying up to eight 500
kg bombs. The RB was developed
further into the RBT, a kit of
which was released by ICM in
2016 and later reboxed by Revell.
ICM have now put out the
RB version, the subject of this
article, which follows on from
my First Look in Scale Aviation
Modeller International volume
23, 1ssue 11. I won’t repeat what
was in that, except to say that the
robust top-opening box contains
nine grey sprues, two of which
are identical, plus a further one
in clear. The plastic appears to be
the same as the earlier RBT kit,
with the addition of a new sprue
(C1) containing alternative nose
and other parts, and a further two
identical sprues (H) which supply
the bomb load and the racks to
carry them. There are also a number
of parts, such as the large fuel tank,
which are shown as not for use.
The package is completed by
an instruction booklet and decals
for four options. Of these, I picked
the one with the red stars, Bort
number blue 55, of the Soviet
Air Force during the late 1970s.
As usual, the plan was to build
it completely out of the box, and
allow you, the reader, to judge
what extra work you wish to do or
what aftermarket parts to invest
in. It didn’t quite happen, for
reasons which will become clear!INITIAL THOUGHTS
When you examine the parts, even
before opening the bags, the whole
kit looks a bit odd, and it took me
a minute to work out why; apart
from the section forward of the
intakes, there are no conventional
fuselage halves. Of course, we’ll
get to how it goes together in due
course, but it is a complex multi-FOXBAT
Photo-Bombing
6 • MAY 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
BY SACCO DE VRIES
MIG-25RB
BY MICHAEL CHILESTONE
1/006-13-FEAT-MiG25-0518.indd 6 13/04/2018 14: