1/72 Academy MiG-23MF

by Radim Schimmer

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  Czech National Day 2005 

 

This kit represents a Czech Air Force MiG-23MF painted on June 1994 with special Hell Fighter scheme celebrating 50th anniversary of creation of 1st Czechoslovak Fighter Regiment.  Now this machine is stowed in an open-air display of Military museum in Prague-Kbely.

This kit is marketed by Academy as a MiG-23S, but in fact it is much closer to the
MF version than to an S. It is considered as quite inaccurate by MiG fans, but
for me it looks like a MiG-23 :-).

Click on images below to see larger images

The kit was built mostly OOB, improvements were made to cockpit (new instrument panel and side consoles with home made decals, new gunsight, supplied living-room-arm-chair replaced with Pavla resin seat). Underwing pylons were rebuilt to better represent ones used on MF. Look of engine intakes and exhaust was unsatisfactory, so I created FOD covers. 

The main challenge was painting. First it was airbrushed Aeromaster light gray.  Red flames were then pre-drawn with a mechanical  pencil and painted with red Humbrol enamel using a thin brush. Also all other red portions were brush painted. Black flames and nose tiger stripes were then painted in a similar way with black enamel. After drying....the pencil traces were erased. Wings were airbrushed with Tamiya acrylic and metal parts near the exhaust were brush painted with Humbrol Metalcote.  Beautiful decals by MPD were applied with help of Agama Adhesol and Tensol.  The final coat was airbrushed with Sidolux (local equivalent to Future).
Pictures were taken with Canon Powershot A60 digital camera.

Happy modelling


Radim

Photos and text © by Radim Schimmer