MiG-21R

Eduard ProfiPACK, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Michael Drover

Eduard's 1/48 scale MiG-21R is available online from Squadron.com

Eduard's Previous MiG-21s

Eduard’s MiG-21 family would be a familiar model amongst many modelers. Since the first release of the ‘MF’ back in 2011, the family has been slowly growing. The ‘R’ version is the latest derivative in the line up and we’ll examine it here.

Previous releases have been well covered on this site and many others so her I’ll concentrate on the new sprues rather than rehashing what modeler’s have already read about.

If you’re not familiar with the earlier releases of the Eduard Mig-21 go here, here and here to look at previous reviews.

The kit contains 254 plastic parts, 2 photo etch frets, 1 express masks and markings for five options.

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The same smooth glossy dark grey plastic used in the original release is also used in this kit. The surface detail is quite fine and will look good under a coat of paint.

The changes between this boxing are quite minimal from the original release. Eduard has planned this kit to get as much from the sprue layouts that they possibly can and you can’t blame them for it. Changing one variant to another is as simple as changing one sprue out for another. In the case of the MiG-21R the original B sprue containing the wings, flaps, and vertical fin has been replaced with the new P sprue. This sprue contains the same original pieces however the upper wing pieces have been changed out for the ‘R’ wings which include the wing tip ECM blisters that are molded into the wingtips.

The R sprue is a new inclusion containing the parts for the type D daytime PHOTINT photographic pod and type R ELINT electronic reconnaissance pods.

The majority of the included F sprue isn’t needed for the kit as most of the items were used on ordinance items from the MiG-21MF kit. For those looking at something different albeit minimal, the recce pod can be ditched and a set of AAM’s can be loaded to turn it into a missile only fighter (the R wasn’t armed with a gun).

Two main clear parts are supplied for the larger canopy piece to allow any of the three canopy configurations to be built.

Eduard looks to have got the small details correct too. The pitot probe is correctly offset to the starboard side and the angle of attack sensor is correctly represented on the port side just behind the engine intake. The odd rods antennae array is also correctly represents on the underside of the nose and the tip of the fin. Be careful with these when handling the model as they’ll come off quite easily.

Photo-Etch

The photo etch items are specific for the MiG-21R. The cockpit photo etch is prepainted in the gaudy blue-green hue that Russian cockpits were adorned with during this period. This is where I see the problems though. Colour matching the cockpit paint to the pre-painted etch can be quite difficult if you’re looking for an exact colour match. If you’re after a starting point I’ve seen good results using a 50:50 ratio of Gunze Sangyo H25 - Sky Blue and H46 - Emerald Green. (Thanks Richard from Gekko Graphics).

The remainder of the coloured etch includes items for the ejection seat and associated grab handles.

The unpainted etch is used for external airframe items such as brake lines, ventral fuselage strakes and overwing fences.

Markings

Cartograf has supplied the national insignia sheet and squadron markings while Eduard appears to have done the stencils in-house. Express masks are provided for the wheels/tyres and canopy framing.

Markings are provided for two NMF and three camouflaged aircraft as follows.

• 39, Soviet Air Force, 263rd Independent Reconnaissance Air Squadron, Kabul Air Fie;d, Afghanistan, 1981

• 104, 353rd Reconnaissance Air Squadron, Yugoslavia, 1971

• 1501, Czech Air Force, Air Test Department, Caslav Air Base, Fail, 1994

• 1423, Polish Air Force, 32nd Tactical Reconnaissance Air Regiment, Sochaczew – Belice Air Base, Early 80’s

• 111 Cuban Air Force, 80’s - 90’s

Thanks to the reduced number of parts required for this kit and with the Profipack nature of its design this kit should fly together. Eduard is getting a lot of bang for their buck when it comes to the Mig-21 and this kit continues on with the tradition. I recommend it without hesitation particularly if you’re into reconnaissance platforms.

References

MiG-21 Fishbed In Action – Aircraft no. 131 Squadron/Signal publications

Wikipedia

Thanks to Eduard for the sample

Review Text Copyright © 2014 by Michael Drover
Images Copyright © 2014 by Brett Green
Page Created 26 February, 2014
Last updated 26 February, 2014

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