Fancy Fishbeds
MiG-21 in International Service

El Presidente Decals, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Peter Mitchell

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The MiG 21 Fishbed holds a fairly unique place in aviation history. It has served around fifty countries over four continents and even now nearly fifty years since it was introduced into service it is still flying as a frontline fighter.

Few aircraft have been built in such numbers (It has been estimated that more than 10,000 MiG-21s were built), boasted such longevity, seen as much combat and served so many masters.

Consequently there are legion variations of types and liveries for the MiG 21 such that the modeler could exclusively produce the MiG 21 (I’m sure they are out there) and not run out of interesting options.

To my knowledge there are few decal sheets that cater for the MiG 21s currently in service with small poers around the world. This release from El Presidente Decals goes a long way to filling this gap and adds some unique liveries to an already large list.

Markings for no less than 14 aircraft are supplied (4 Cuban, 3 Croatian, Madagascar, Yemeni, Ugandan, Nigerian, Serbian and Lybian).

The decals themselves are neatly arranged on a single blue coloured backing sheet and printed by Fantasy Printshop. The carrier film is thin, colour register and density is perfect and colours presented appear to be correct all be it a little glossy.

The resolution is wonderful; the small print and detail is quite legible, and this is most impressive given that some of the markings are small and quite complex.

A small correction sheet has also been included, suggesting an ongoing attention to detail in the research for this product.

The livery colours and decal placement guide come in the form of beautifully presented booklet. Each option has at least one page dedicated to it with an accompanying colour profile and in most cases a colour photo of the actual subject. A large effort has been made to give information on the correct colours, type of finish (gloss/matt/hard edged/soft edge etc), as well as the general condition of wear of the paint scheme.

This must rank as some of the best decal instructions I have encountered.

Marking options provided are as follows:

• MiG 21bis; 665. 1996 Cuba. Middle Blue/Olive Green over Light Grey. Dark Blue Cuban roundels.

• MiG 21bis; 618. 2008 Cuba. Yellow Green/Brown/Grey Green/Medium Green/Olive Green over Light Bluey. Light Blue Cuban roundels.

• MiG 21bis; 672. 1993 Cuba. Middle Blue/Medium Grey over Light Grey.

• MiG 21bis; 656. 1996 Cuba. Middle Blue/Turquoise over Light Blue. Dark Blue Cuban roundels.

• MiG 21bis; 255. 1990s Ivato Airport Madagascar. Over all natural metal. Malagasy roundels..

• MiG 21bis; 2230. 2008 Yemen. Red Brown/Cream//Grey Green/Medium Grey over Light Blue. Yemeni roundels, fin flash and Air Defence insignia.

• MiG 21bis; 17163. 2006 Batajnica Airbase, Serbia. Dark Grey/ Light Grey overall camouflage. Serbian roundels similar to pre-WWII Royal Yugoslav Airforce roundels, Serbian flag.

• MiG 21bis; 704. 2006 Okba Ben Nafi Airbase, Libya. Green/ Light Brown/Tan over Grey.

• MiG 21bis; 1995 Zargreb Airport, Croatia. Dark Green/ Tan over Warm Grey. Croatian roundels, Croatian coat of arms, Knights helmet and “1” unit insignia.

• MiG 21bis; 2002 Pula Airport, Croatia. Medium Green/ Light Tan over Warm Grey. Croatian roundels, Croatian coat of arms, Winged bull and “22” unit insignia.

• MiG 21bis; 122. 2006 Osijek Airport, Croatia. Olive Green/ Dark Green/Medium Dark Grey over Medium Light Blue. Croatian roundels, Croatian coat of arms tail insignia.

• MiG 21bis; 93, NAF 693. 2006 Nnamdi International Airport, Nigeria. Lime Green/ Dark Green/ Dark Tan over Light Cold Grey. Nigerian roundels on tail,

• MiG 21bis; 9811. 2000s Entebbe International Airport, Uganda. Pale Grey/ Light Blue Grey. Ugandan roundels on tail.

• MiG 21bis; FA-96. 1990s Bou Sfer Airbase, Algeria. Buff/ Medium Brown over Warm Light Grey (faded colours). Algerian roundels on wings and fuselage.

I have a number of Fujimi 1/72 MiG-21bis waiting in storage and many of these decals will find their way onto these kits.

Thanks to El Presidente Decals for the samples

El Presidente Decals are available online from their website

Text and Images Copyright © 2008 by Peter Mitchell
This Page Created on 26 November, 2008
Last updated 26 November, 2008

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