RetroWings 1/144 MiG-25 Cockpit
By Matt Bittner
The LS kit has been around for quite a long time, just exactly how long I'm not sure. Even with it's age, it's still a great kit - in fact, better than some that are being put out recently. Nice engraved panel lines, in general the shape is good, and what appear to be four R-40 (AA-6 'Acrid') missiles (which could use a little refinement). Two of the biggest areas of contention are the intakes (about 2mm too short in the front) and the canopy isn't large enough. The decals that come with the kit constists of just red stars and red nose numbers, so you can create some of the more "usual" operational MiG-25s.
|
I believe this kit is still available from Minicraft, but that's assuming the Minicraft kit is based on the LS kit, which I'm unsure of. Either way, I have also seen numerous LS MiG-25s on sale on eBay, so they're still out there.
This release from RetroWings covers one of the other areas on the LS kit sorely lacking, and that's the cockpit. In fact, the LS kit doesn't have a cockpit at all, blanking over the cockpit opening with injected plastic. Because of this you'll need to perform some surgery on the LS kit so the RetroWings cockpit fits. Once that is accomplished, though, and after the cockpit is painted, then add the one-piece seat-and-control-column to the cockpit tub, and the cockpit tub into one fuselage half. You now have a relatively complete cockpit for your LS MiG-25.
|
Until another company releases a 1/144 MiG-25, the LS kit is the best on the market, and thankfully still available. Coupled with the RetroWings resin cockpit you can have a very nice looking MiG-25 model adorn your finished shelves.
My thanks to RetrokiT for supplying the review cockpit.