MiG-15bis

Eduard, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Graham Carter

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

This aircraft needs little introduction so I won’t, apart to point out that the ‘bis’ refers to the second generation airframes which had a different airbrake set-up and exhaust pipe, from what I can gather. Suffice to say that it has been well-served by model manufacturers (curiously not FROG) over the decades in the “one true scale",  beginning with the simplified Airfix one in the late fifties, just about everyone else has had a go at it from the simplified but quite nice HobbyBoss effort to this latest series from Eduard who have basically set the bar about as high as it can go.

This is the latest iteration of the kit, probably about the seventh from what I can see, and the second Profipack version to be made available, as well as the non-bis version. 

Brett reviewed the last one back on February 5th 2014 and I can do no more than repeat all he said then as nothing bar the decal choices have changed.

For more information go back six years and take a look at Brett’s detailed review.

Just to remind everyone of what is in the Profipack version - all the lovely parts, a new set of five decal choices, coloured PE (still stamped 2013), and a set of masks for the canopy and wheels, although I could find no reference to where and how the latter are used. S'pose we should all know by now?

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Points I would like to reiterate are that there are a number of parts not used in this version so be careful making your choices - the Hungarian and North Korean ones had a landing light in the splitter body in the nose that the others did not.

Cram as much weight as you can into the two spaces indicated by the Bunny on pages 4 and 6 - this is one serious tail-sitter! Make sure you fill in the centre of the canopy with liquid mask after applying the masks provided in the kit.

Markings

The decals are provided for five aircraft, each with details of who and where it was used. In addition there is a very detailed set of stencils which will keep you occupied for a while. Do note that there are choices to be made as they differ from one aircraft to another - all explained in the four pages covering stencil locations.

Note that the notes for the fifth choice , ’30’ of the Soviet AF, was supposed to have been numbered ‘1376’ while in Korea as shown in the drawings and decals but in the caption it is referred to as ‘1976’.

The choices are:

1. ‘1998’ flown by Maj. M.I.Mikhin, 518th IAF North Korea, May 1953, in green/brown/sand over pale blue,

2. ‘3234’ flown by kpt. O. Paldus of the Czech AF which was involved in an accident during a display at Cottbus airport in the GDR, 30/8/57, in NMF with blue wing and fuselage flashes

3. ‘338’ of 1sqn, 101 Reconnaissance Regiment, Hungarian AF 1972 in same scheme #1,

4. from 20sqn , Egyptian AF, late 50s-early 60s in NMF,

5. red ‘1376’ overlaid with yellow ’30’ ex 64th IAK, Soviet Union, mid 50s, in NMF.

Enough choice there for most modellers of Eastern Bloc aircraft!

The MiG-15 is one of the truly iconic aircraft of history, and it is nice to see that Eduard has given it the treatment it deserves in 1:72 scale.

This was a basic aircraft in real life and Eduard’s kit should reflect its simple nature with an easy, but well-detailed build.

Highly Recommended.

* Historical background courtesy Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15

Thanks to Eduard for the sample

Review Text Copyright © 2020 by Graham Carter
Images Copyright © 2020 by Brett Green
Page Created 29 April, 2019
Last updated 29 April, 2020

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