Begemot 1/48 MiG-31 Decals
By Scott Hackney
Fifty Foxhounds!
Begemot, the Russian decal manufacturer, never does any sheet halfway. Their new MiG-31 Foxhound sheet is no exception. As the title says Begemot’s Foxhound sheet contains 50 different MiG-31s, almost all featuring some kind of artwork. Most of this artwork is quite colorful as you can see from the sample decal sheets. It takes four 6.5 X 9 inch sheets to cover all the options plus stencils for one aircraft and complete missiles. As normal, Begemot decals are gloss, very sharp, thin, and the registration is perfect. The fifty schemes are about evenly divided between early and late MiG-31s.
After years of neglect, we are blessed with multiple 1/48 Foxhounds now. The beautiful AMK late model MiG-31. The Hobby Boss kit has just been released and should be readily available soon. I’m told it’s an early jet. AMK’s early Foxhound is also due soon. There are also new 1/72nd MiG-31s on the horizon and Begemont generally releases their sheets in both scales. (Editors note: they already have.)
Digging a little deeper into the sheet I did some internet looking. Most of the MiG-31s on the internet don’t have artwork like on the sheet. They are line birds-not a problem. We all build the CAG bird too. Also, most of the schemes I just couldn’t find. I’m not surprised. Russian sources are a little harder to find, and MiG-31s tend to be in out of the way places. I did find two I’d like to look at.
The first is a very nice picture of a MiG-31 with a Killer Whale on the intake. It’s one scheme on the sheet and we can work with this picture to weather the aircraft. The jet has 2 AA-8s on the wings, but the jet beside it has an AA-6. So the choice of missiles on the wings to go with the AA-9s under the fuselage is up to the modeler. Note the orange flight suit.
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The second photo shows a beat-up, dirty, faded Foxhound, all armed up. It’s not a great quality photo, but if you look at the intake you can see a faded piece of white art - a polar bear? Another scheme on Begemont’s comprehensive sheet and if you want to dirty up your MiG and put those big AA-6s out on the wings this might be the scheme for you.
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This comprehensive sheet gives the modeler a lot of choices to go with the new MiG-31 kits. Some colorful markings and enough stencils to make your eyes cross! My Hobby Boss kit is here and I’ve never been fond of Hobby Boss decals so this sheet is the perfect companion. I look forward to choosing my scheme.
We thank Begemot for the review sample.
