Scale Aviation Modeller International — February 2018

(Jacob Rumans) #1
grey and turquoise is suggested
for the cockpit surroundings.
There are 24 parts indicated as
not for use on the R version. These
include two sets of tyres, a spare
set of wings, and a variety of guided
missiles. I regard these as a bonus
and they will be of good use on
other Russian-made combat types.
The fit of the parts is good,
but the main fuselage halves lack
locating pins (to assist in aligning
the fuselage halves when mating
them, my suggestion is to glue
some intermittently spaced tabs,
made from half-inch sprue pieces,
along the edge). A little filler was
all that was needed here, where
the wing meets the fuselage
on the underside root area.
The cockpit canopy is very
clear and in two versions, one
with a top fairing; in each case,
there is the option to assemble it
open or closed. A rear view mirror
is supplied to fit on the inside.
The nose area has some issues:
in Stage 8 of the instructions, you
are instructed to fit the radome,
Part 48, and the nose wheel well,
Part 34. I would suggest fitting Part
34 to half of the fuselage on the
inside, leaving the nose cone off.
The nose cone can be inserted after
the fuselage halves are closed when

you can then insert the radome.
There are two sets of wings, one
of which is surplus and indicated
not for use. The one that you do use
is meant to carry a wingtip ESM
pod. Wing strakes come as separate
parts, and there are a number of
small intakes to add to the rear
fuselage. There is also provision
for aerials beneath the wing tips.
The three air brakes on the
fuselage can be assembled flush
or deployed. The R type did not
carry the twin-barrel cannon
normally mounted on standard
Mig-21MFs, and instead is fitted
with a streamlined strake.
A nose intake ring and an
engine outlet ring at the rear
end of the fuselage complete
the fuselage assembly.
Wings and tail planes are
all butt-welded; when fitting
the tailplanes reference should
be made to the colour plans to
ensure that the correct face
is showing uppermost.
There are four underwing
pylons. The chamfered pylon should
go on the outside of the wings,
not as shown in the instructions.
These carry the wing tanks, while
missile rails for the inner pylons
are also provided. Reference
material indicates that there were
at least two different recce pods,
one for daylight photography and

one with non-visual sensors. A
centreline recce pod is attached
under the fuselage, but due to the
lack of any guiding pins, the exact
position has to be established by
reference to the side-views.
There are parts and instructions
to assemble the model with the
undercarriage either retracted or
lowered. I opted for a metal gear
issued by SAC (72146), as they are
of a more robust nature, especially
considering how delicate the
undercarriage legs are by nature.
These were an exact fit and were
super-glued in place, in the
same manner as the kit parts.

PAINTING
I opted for the green and light
brown camouflage version, with
light blue undersides. These proved

to be attractive camouflage colours,
although they do not have as much
contrast as the camouflage worn
by other Mig-21s. This Mig-21R
1501 belonged to the Air Test
Department, based at Caslav airfield
in 1994. It carries a chequered
rudder and a narrow nose rim
in black and white triangles.
Following paintwork, the kit
was given a coat of gloss lacquer
and was ready to receive the decals.
The decals are not to the same
standard as the kit itself. I found
that they are of very thin quality,
and areas like the chequered rudder
needed very careful transferring
to their location. Perhaps a coat
of clear lacquer on the decal sheet
would have helped to make the
decal stronger. The stencilling
also needed equal care.

CONCLUSION
This is a welcome version of the
Fishbed. I liked all of the colours
presented, I enjoyed the build, and
I had a chance to add a different
version to my Mig-21 collection.
When finished, the model
makes a good representation
of the original and looks the
part – what more can you ask?
My thanks to KP for supplying
me with the review kit.

KIT REVIEWS


WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM • FEBRUARY 2018 • 71


070-73-Reviews-0218.indd 71 12/01/2018 12:11

Free download pdf