Bronco's 1:48 scale
MiG-15bis

by Brett Green

MiG-15bis

Here is my latest completion - Bronco’s 1:48 scale MiG-15bis.

You can see my in-box review by following this link.

This is a very nice kit with a high level of detail and good fit.

One of the few shortcomings of this kit is the instrument panel, which is a single decal on a totally flat plastic panel. I therefore decided to wait until Eduard released their photo-etched detail set before building the kit.

As it turns out, Eduard also offered one of their new “Space” update sets for Bronco’s 1:48 scale MiG-15bis. This comprises 3D printed decals for the instrument panel and various consoles, plus photo-etched parts for the harness straps, seat structure and other details. I decided to give the Space set a go and I was delighted with the results.

I found that the 3D decals barely needed to be wet at all before they would slide - or sometimes fall - off the backing sheet. I used Gator’s Grip acrylic glue to secure the 3D printed decals to the plastic kit parts.

The only other after-market item used was the Eduard masking set - Item No. EX762.

I actually bought a Quickboost resin MiG-15 ejection seat but decided not to use it for this project.

I added nose weight using small fishing sinkers. The instructions suggest 5 grams. I used eight small weights, squashed flat using a set of pliers to help them fit into the confined spaces of the kit nose.

I mostly followed the instructions but I did cut off the large press-fit towers from the inside of the fuselage and wings.

Also note that the instructions would have you fit the rudder after the fuselage halves are joined, but if you wait until then you will have to separate the upper and lower sections and glue them in place separately. I don’t think this is really a problem as I doubt that most modellers will want a working rudder anyhow.

Camouflage was applied with the aid of home-made masks, held above the surface of the model with balls of Blu-Tack. Extensive freehand re-painting was needed afterwards.

I’ll be writing this one up in detail for Model Airplane International magazine, Issue 192.

Thanks to Bronco for the samples.

Model, Images and Text Copyright © 2021 by Brett Green
Page Created 4 May, 2021
Last Updated 4 May, 2021

Back to HyperScale Main Page