1/48 Academy MiG 29A - NATO Fulcrums |
|
Gallery Article by Said
on July 6 2003 |
|
|
These
are my 4th and 5th ACA MiG29As (2116). These have been
modified somewhat to depict a MiG 29 “G”, or “German NATO” version of
the Fulcrum. Once more I used Aires resin cockpit sets, resin exhausts and
decals are from Hi-Decal MiG 29A/B/G Fulcrum (Prod # 48-013). There are about 12
decals per jet on this sheet, plus stencils from the kit’s decals. Paint is
Model Master Enamels and Acrylics used to depict modern NATO Camouflage. Silver
details are Testors square bottle silver, grey is Tamiya
dark gray.
Click on
images below to see larger images
|
|
This
is the MiG29G 1st Squadron, 73rd Fighter Wing “Steinhof”,
German LW, based at
Laage
AB.
The colors and markings are
for a jet that made the 1999 Island Hoping on the first ever visit by the
Luftwaffe to America.
They came via Scotland,
Iceland
and
Canada. The pylons have been
modified to accommodate extra gas tanks (taken from a SU25UBK), which have been
modified with new winglets and other detail. The jet has been extensively
weathered because it has just crossed the
Atlantic
.
Since
then the LW Fulcrums have visited Florida
and upstate New York
again. Once they complete
their current trip to America
they will be retired.
Germany
has decided to ground their
Fulcrums in favor of the EF 2000 and they were sold to Poland
for 1 Eurodollar each.
Engine
exhausts are resin. Weathering was oil washes with dark umber and burnt sienna,
and a mixture of dust and Future. Scratch built tubing and oleos for the wheel
wells and landing gear. Please note lights on top of jet and on bottom of port
engine. The antennas on the Polish jet have scratch built from thin copper plate
to look like their modern Fulcrums. There are 2 blade antennas on the hump and
those under the chin are nonstandard, modified for Polish jets only.
The
second jet is a Polish Fulcrum after overhaul, wearing new NATO colors, antennas
and English stencils. This is Red 66, MiG29G, 1st Fighter Regiment, “Warsawa”
Polish AF, based at Minsk Mazowiecki AB, 1999. These
Fulcrums went into operation in 1999 and were to be joined by the LW Fulcrums
after they returned from overhaul in
Russia
. However, since then plans
have changed a lot.
Poland
has now bought F16C’s
which will begin to be delivered soon. The future of their Fulcrums is unclear
but it seems like they will be returned to
Russia
for good this time
This
is a good example of how this world is changing. When I began this build I meant
to show the LW Fulcrums now and in the near future. Now this build represents
two birds that flew but whose time has come to pass. Both will soon get their
wings clipped and probably be scrapped.