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Eduard 1/48 Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21MF in Serbian Markings

By Djordje Nikolic

Introduction

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Early versions are considered second-generation jet fighters, while later versions are considered to be third-generation jet fighters. Some 50 countries over four continents have flown the MiG-21, and it still serves many nations a half-century after its maiden flight. The fighter made aviation records. At least by name, it is the most produced supersonic jet aircraft in aviation history and the most-produced combat aircraft since the Korean War and it had the longest production run of a combat aircraft (1959 to 1985 over all variants).

Ever since my early childhood I have watched MiG-21s fly in Yugoslav, Serbian-Montenegrin and finally Serbian Air Force. Hence, I have decided that the model I am making will bear the colors of my native country. The history of the airplane model I worked on is very interesting. The airplane was a MiG-21M that was re-engined with an R-13-300 instead of the R-11F2S-300, becoming a MiG-21MF. It was flown from the USSR to Batajnica AB on September 25th, 1970. It was assigned to the 126th Fighter Aviation Squadron. It was transferred to the 83rd Aviation Brigade at Pristina air base on August 1977 as part of the 1234rd Fighter Aviation Squadron. It was in Pristina's 130th Fighter Aviation Squadron from July 1981 until August 1994, when it was transferred to the 230th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Squadron at Poinikve AB. In December 1996 it was relegated to the 126th Fighter Aviation Squadron. After the end of its serviceability, it was transformed into a gate guardian in front of Batajnica AB where it still stands today.

The Kit

Eduard's new Mig-21MF kit is a welcome addition to the market saturated with MiG-21 models in 1/48th scale by Academy. All new tooling, photoetch parts as well as Eduard's Brassin UB-16 rocket launchers are highlight of this model. There are several decal options available for Egyptian, Czech, Slovakian, Polish, East German and Soviet Air Forces. Eduard has also included a detailed decal sheet full of stencils, perhaps to test everyone's patience. Armament included in the kit is plentiful and consists of various air-to-air and air-to-ground weaponry.

Construction

As with most models, construction begins in the cockpit. The first thing that caught my eye was a beautifully detailed pre-painted photoetch instrument panel and side walls. However, when I compared the pictures of the MiG-21 cockpits I took several years ago as well as my Model Master Interior Blue/Green paint bottle, I noticed that Eduard's shade is darker. Therefore, to fix this I used a toothpick and slowly and patiently applied Model Master's paint on the photo etched parts. I was pleased with the results and went ahead painting the rest of the interior with the same color. The pilot's seat is extremely well detailed and the real bonus are nicely done seat belts as well as the ejection cord. I left the seat at this point outside of the model as I will install it at the very last step, in order to aid cockpit masking.

The wheel well interior is also well detailed, and as soon as this step was done it is possible to glue the two fuselage halves together. One must not forget to add a suitably sized weight in the nose in order to prevent the model from sitting on its tail. I noticed that especially in the nose section there are some fit issues which resulted in a need to fill the seams and sent them thoroughly. The same issue was observed at the fuselage to wing joints both at the front and at the back.

One must be careful to select the armament to be installed prior to continuing to painting as each weapon has a different pylon that mounts underneath the wings. I selected the UB-16 rocket launchers on the inboard pylons and AA-2 Atoll missiles on the outboard pylons. Both are extremely well detailed and have half a dozen stencils each.

Painting

After completing the major assembly and after I was satisfied with the fixes I had to make, I applied a first coat of primer. This identified any last fixes that were quickly resolved with some putty and fine sand paper. Prior to applying the camouflage, I pre-shaded all the panel lines, thinking ahead of what effects I wanted to achieve. I painted certain panels with a dark green color and used Eduard's pre-cut masks to protect these. This is a great aide in painting and I hope that these masks get included in their upcoming models.

The next step was applying Model Master's light gray over the whole fuselage and wings, making sure that to not completely cover the pre-shading. Upon completion, I applied two coats of Future floor polish, which, after 24 hours drying time, were followed by Serbian-Montenegrin MiG-21 decals by "Lift Here". This was followed by another coat of Future to seal off the decals after which I applied a Model Master Semi-gloss coat. The painting was completed by a panel line wash as well as subtle weathering with dark gray pigments.

Conclusion

This is a highly recommended model, but my suggestion would be that extra care and patience be taken in assembly of the fuselage and wing sections. A rich provision of decals and camouflage schemes as well as Eduard's upcoming accessories for this kit are surely going to make it a hit on the market for some time to come! It will easily displace Academy's models off the shelf. Now I can't wait for Eduard to come out with MiG-21bis and MiG-21UM! My thanks to Eduard for the review sample.