This
is my Trumpeter 1/32 MiG-21F-13 Fishbed.
Construction
Other
than some wire and retaining straps (lead foil) that I used to simulate
the brake lines on the nose gear, the model was built straight out of the
box.
While
the kit has nice detail, there are some engineering issues with it.
There were some fit issues with the landing gear as well as some locating
pins/holes that were missing. Also, attaching the screws that are supplied
to affix the wheels to the struts was quite frustrating in some areas.
In addition, the engine body came in four "quarter" sections
that didn't have any locating pins or holes.
The
canopy and windscreen both had a raised seam going down the middle of
them, however, I used the method posted on ARC’s Tools ‘n’ Tips
section to eliminate them and the method worked perfectly. The
canopy is actually supposed to be angled a little bit higher but I had
some trouble with it remaining straight the higher I tried to hold it and
the glue just wouldn't seem to set until it came down a little.
Click on
images below to see larger images
Painting
& Decaling
Testors
Silver and Model Master Burnt Iron was sprayed on for the Tumansky R-11
engine. A light "sludge wash" was then applied using
black pastel chalk, water and dish detergent, which, in looking at the
couple of color pictures from the 4+ book, adds a more accurate
"used" look to it.
For
the cockpit, everything was first airbrushed in flat black. The cockpit
tub, consoles and instrument panel were drybrushed with dark gray
then aluminum while the seat was drybrushed with RLM 70 black-green. I
used the pictures in the 4+ book for reference.
The wheel hubs and wheel wells/gear door interiors were painted
with Model Master Dark Green and Neutral Gray respectively.
The
natural metal finish is a product called Rub N' Buff which is a wax (comes
in various colors) that's sold at most large Arts & Crafts stores (I
picked up my tube at Michaels). Prior to applying the Rub N’ Buff, for
the base I used Tamiya Satin Black out of the spray can which went on
great. For
the framing on the clear parts, I brushed on two coats of Humbrol Flat
Black and masked off the clear areas with drafting tape before applying
the Rub N’ Buff.
For
the shaded areas, I first sprayed a coat of Polly S Satin Clear Coat to
seal the Rub N’ Buff.
Once it was sealed, I masked off the panels with Post-It Notes
and applied Testors enamel heavily thinned flat black to the panels using
an airbrush.
The
decals came with the kit and went on with no problems.
Once all the decals were applied, I applied a second coat of Polly S Satin
Clear Coat to seal everything.
The
model represents a MiG-21F-13 ‘Fishbed C’ from the 921st regiment
of the
Vietnam
People’s
Air Force (
North
Vietnam
)
in 1967.
Happy
Modeling!
Rick
References:
-
MiG-21,
4+ Publications (1991)
-
MiG-21
Units of the Vietnam War by Istvan Toperczer, Osprey Publishing Ltd., (2001)
Click on
images below to see larger images
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