Eduard 1/72 MiG-21PF Weekend
By Jacob Russell
The Plane
The MiG-21PF was powered by the Tumanskij R-11F-2 300 two-shaft axial flow turbojet engine which produced 13,492 pounds of thrust. The PF used the type SK ejection seat, SRO-2M IFF antenna and the RP-225 Sapir 21 radar. The PF was the first all-missile armed Fishbed variant. Other options included the RS-2US and R-3S air-to-air missiles. The MiG-21PF served in many air forces in addition to that of the Soviet Union including Iran, Mongolia, the German Democratic Republic, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Bulgaria.
The Kit
The kit comes in one of Eduard's customary sturdy boxes. This is a multimedia kit. It consists of 150 parts, 13 of which are clear. The cockpit is a multi-piece assembly. The floor doubles as the front wheel well roof so there are parts to add to both the top and bottom. The cockpit is highly detailed. The ejection seat is well executed and it's fitting that you add it to the cockpit after the entire air frame is assembled.
The wings are well done. The lower wing is a single piece and it also includes part of the lower fuselage. You glue the afterburner can to one fuselage half before joining them. Next you add the wheel well for the main wheels before joining the fuselage and lower wing and then attach the upper wings to complete the air frame.
The landing gear, doors and wheels are well executed. They will look great with an oil wash and careful dry brushing of the raised detail. The under wing stores are comprehensive. They include 490 and 800 liter external fuel tanks and R-13, R-2S, RS-2US and R-60 rockets.
Eduard's decal sheets are up to their customary high standards. The printing is crisp and legible with bright colors. One decal sheet is for the air frame stencils and the other is for national insignia and aircraft numbers. You have 2 aircraft to choose from:
1) "Blue 47," Kacha Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots, Kotelnikovo Air Base, Soviet Union, 1979. This colorful plane was in Red Brown, Light Green, Dark Green and Tan over Blue. The nose cone and front of the under fuselage fence were Radome Green.
2) "Black 0404, 2nd Squadron, 1st Fighter Air Regimen Plana at České Budějovice, Czechoslovakia, 1968-69. This plane was in natural metal with a steel nose ring. The nose cone was Radome Green and the front of the under fuselage fence was Brown.
There are no surprises with Eduard's instructions. They are well illustrated with a logical, clear build sequence, a parts map and a 4 page guide to applying all of those stencils. Color call outs are for GSI Creos (Gunze) Aqueous and Mr. Color paints.
Conclusion
This an excellent kit of an important and iconic post Cold War Russian jet. It is accurate and well detailed right out of the box and the decal options are exciting. You can increase the detail level with Eduard's Brassin resin parts and photo-etch sets. I recommend this kit and I would like to thank Eduard for the review sample.
References
1) Print:
A) Walk around, MiG-21 Fishbed Part 1, Walk Around Number 37, by Hans-Heiri Stapfer, Squadron/Signal Publications, 2004
B) MiG-21, author unknown, 4 + Publications, 1991
2) Web:
https://www.topedge.com/panels/aircraft/sites/kraft/data.htm