1/48 Academy MiG-21 PF

Egyptian Air Force

by Praveen KS

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This is one of Academy's newer kits and I was quite impressed with the quality of the moulding. The parts are quite detailed with finely recessed panel lines, although the cockpit details could be a lot better.

The kit features 4 air force options - Soviet AF, Egyptian AF, North Vietnamese AF and Chinese PLAAF. I chose to build the MiG-21 in the Egyptian Air Force scheme, simply because it stands out and there aren't many models featuring this scheme on the net. The entire scheme was airbrushed using commercial matt enamel paints. The camouflage on the topside was done free-hand while I used a strip of masking tape while painting the underside pale blue-grey. The cockpit and landing gear were painted using acrylic paint.

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The kit went together quite well. But I have one complaint. There is a seam that comes up when the  nose section and fuselage section are attached. This required a lot of sanding and some of the panel lines needed re-scribing. The cockpit is very sparse. This plane requires some ballast to be included before the nose is assembled.

Decals don't adhere well on matt paints and the silvering only adds to the disappointment. That's something I need to take care of in my future projects. Academy's decals are usually quite good, except that they are gloss and don't match with matt paints. I brushed a small amount of ModelMaster Dullcote on all the decals to cut out the shine.

Overall, the model turned out quite nicely and was value for money, indeed.

Praveen 

From - India

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Photos and text © by Praveen KS