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Trumpeter 1/48 MiG-19 Farmer C

By Gary Meinert

History

The MiG-19 was the last of the classic swept-wing fighters from the MiG Design Bureau. Often compared to its contemporary, the North American F-100 Super Sabre, the MiG-19 Farmer was actually a better performer than the Super Sabre in terms of speed, climb, and maneuverability. Although serving in smaller numbers than other types in the North Vietnamese forces, the MiG-19 was respected by USAF pilots as a dangerous adversary.

The Farmer family includes the Farmer A and C day fighters, the Farmer B and E radar-equipped interceptors, and the Chinese Shenyang J-6(export designation F-6), which was a licensed production version of the Farmer C. The Chinese also produced a two-seat trainer variant, the Shenyang JJ-6 (FT-6). Many nations in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia operated Farmers over the years. Some of the most colorful Farmers were flown by the Pakistan Air Force, which retired the F-6 in March 2002 after 36 years of service.

The Kit

Trumpeter's new releases include the MiG-19S Farmer C, the MiG-19PM Farmer E, and the Shenyang FT-6 trainer. This review looks at the Farmer C kit, item no. 02803. The kit is a late production Farmer C, with the deep vertical fin base extension and two small blast panels on the forward fuselage(represented by engraved lines).

Upon opening the box, I was pleased to see crisp, well-molded parts with very little flash and petite recessed panel lines. I did notice two small sink marks on both sides of the forward fuselage and a deeper sink mark in the left side of the rear fuselage part that encloses the jet tail pipes. Both halves of the large splitter plate assembly that fits inside the nose intake have a pebbly texture, and there are some ejector pin marks inside the wheel doors and speed brakes. These are minor problems and should be easy to remedy with a little filling and sanding.

The cockpit is nicely detailed with a tub, side panels, and a 3-piece rear bulkhead. Raised detail is present on the consoles. The 5-piece ejection seat lacks only seatbelts/harnesses, which are not provided in most kits anyway.

I was disappointed with the clear parts. Although attached to a sprue that was bagged separately, the parts--especially the wind screen--have prominent scuffs and abrasions. The main canopy piece has some wavy lines running through it. I don't know if all these defects can be removed by surface sanding and polishing--perhaps a bath in Future floor wax may be necessary. The canopy also has a raised mold line running length-wise along the top, which will have to be removed by sanding.

On the plus side, the canopy and windscreen frames are raised and opaque, which will make these areas easier to see and paint. One of the clear parts is an instrument panel with holes in it to reveal the film instruments that sandwich between this panel and a backing plate.

There are impressive options in this kit. Choices include 30mm cannon with or without muzzle gas deflectors, optional inboard wing pylons, open or closed speed brakes, and separate, positionable control sufaces. The horizontal stabilizers have round locator pins so they are moveable. Two drop tanks and their pylons are also provided. It gets better: the optional parabrake housing and alternative rear fuselage
cooling scoop arrangement are all there if you want to build a Chinese J-6/F-6.

One point worth noting is that the wings in the kit are actually for the non-cannon armed Farmer E. Therefore, in order to build a Farmer C, you must cut and remove a notch in the leading edge of each wing along the appropriate panel lines. This is where you insert the wing 30mm cannon, which already have a small piece of wing molded to the cannon base in order to fit into the notch. This is clearly illustrated in the instructions.

Instructions & Decals

The instructions (in both English and Chinese) are clear and logical with color call-outs sprinkled throughout the pages. The colors are generic terms like green, silver, or light blue, so check your references for more precise color information(especially for interior colors). The Painting and Markings page shows exterior color numbers coded to Gunze Mr. Color paints.

The decals have accurate, bright colors and good registration. Markings are provided for three aircraft: USSR, East Germany, and China. The East German aircraft is a colorful blue-yellow-red subject painted especially for the 1968 World Aerobatic Championship. The other two are for natural metal aircraft. Trumpeter has thoughtfully provided extra tactical numbers in both the East German and Chinese styles so the modeler could create other aircraft than just the three featured in the instructions.

Conclusion

I have neither dry-fitted the parts nor built this kit, so I cannot comment on the fit. But I give a thumbs-up to Trumpeter for accuracy ,detail, and options. I am happy that Trumpeter has included the Farmer in its line-up of modern kits of aircraft from the former USSR. Keep them coming! Thanks to Stevens International for the review kit.