MiG-21 F-13 "red 809" Polish Air Force - Revell 1/72
And off we go - starting with the ejection seat. The kit's rendition isn't so bad, but as the eduard PE-set offers some improvements I didn't pass the opportunity.
Therefore the kit's seat needs to be cut in several pieces. Only the head rest, the seat pan and some of the back structure will be saved.
Like this the MiG build is already starting on the fiddly side of things. But I think the result is worth the effort. However, I won't keep the colour of the precoloured PE parts as my references suggest that most seats appeared in the same, darker grey-blueish colour as seen on early MiG-cockpits. Therefore it will be repainted.
Still, there are photos showing the seat in this lighter grey, for example on ejectionsite.com/sk1seat.htm
Still, there are photos showing the seat in this lighter grey, for example on ejectionsite.com/sk1seat.htm
In order to find the correct aforementioned grey-blueish colour I tested several hues from my stash on some plastic sprue. During my research "A-14 steel grey" was mentioned to be the correct colour for early MiG cockpits. However, the corresponding Model Air shade didn't seem to be blueish enough. In the end I chose Model Air Ocean Grey as seen on the right side.
"Challenge accepted" - eduard offers a way to build up a more detailed jet pipe than the kit's plastic part. Creating a round tube from 2D photo echt parts is always a bit tricky. The white paper cutting has the lenght of the PE part that needed bending and helped to find a suitable bending tool. Most of the time you'll find one item in the household that does the job. In this instance a screwdriver.
Comments
27 11 June 2022, 15:29
Bernd KorteWelcome, Oliver!
My new project has now officially started 🙂 I decided to go with Revell's MiG-21 F-13 kit, despite there being a newer and - as I have heard - better version from Modelsvit. However, the Revell is of some sentimental value to me. It was one of the most anticipated new toolings from Revell back in 2004/2005 when I worked for a few weeks as an intern at Revell Germany in Bünde. It's almost curious that so much time has passed since then and now the Revell kit is "old" and surpassed by an even better offering from another manufacturer.
11 June 2022, 15:44
Thomas KolbWow, I love the MiG-21. Following for sure! Almost an entire seat made of pre-painted PE, I don't think I have ever seen that before. Cool!
12 June 2022, 08:19
Bernd KorteThank you guys! It almost hurts that l'll need to repaint the seat in the cockpit colour once it's finished. Unfortunately the small printed-on stencils will therefore be lost. Perhaps my spares box has some fitting replacement decals to offer.
12 June 2022, 09:52
MariusFollowing too!
As a small note (maybe you are not that far yet and likely you knew it already), the MiG-21F-13s never had the cockpit in that Turqoise colour by default as suggested by the Eduard PE set. All F-13s and PFMs had a dark-grey interior when leaving the factory and only those overhauled by the guest country might have had variations or eventually repainted much later in turqoise...but I have no idea which countries did that. I've heard for example that the Hungarian F-13s might have been repainted in a very bright green in the cockpit shortly after delivery (not 100% sure if true).
When Eduard designed this PE set, they probably didn't do their research well.
Btw, I had the same PE set some 2 years ago and I remember the pain with the almost full PE ejection seat 🙂).
13 June 2022, 06:05
MariusAnd a short comment about the Modelsvit kit because you mentioned it: it's a disaster, DON'T buy it! Check my review here at the bottom of this page:
MiG-21F-13 (ModelSvit 72042, 1:72)
and some photos from the build process (the first kit in many years I threw in the trash on purpose):
MiG-21F-13 - Vietnam - in progress | Album by Redicus (1:72)
The MiG-21F13 from Modelsvit is a short run and in terms of quality has nothing to do with their great Mirage kits.
Or also check this second review here which comes to the same conclusion:
themodellingnews.com..scale-build.html?m=1
The Revell kit with all of it's flaws is still by far the best MiG-21F-13 in 1:72 and you did the right choice, provided that you replace or correct the nose of course. Yes, the Revell kit is missing a lot of details, the Modelsvit kit has much nicer cockpit and landing gear, but overall none of these are relevant when you have to completely rescribe the fuslage and parts of the wings because of excessive sanding and puttying. It feels like scratchbuilding all along with the Modelsvit and it really kills the mood if you don't know it's THAT kind of kit beforehand.
13 June 2022, 06:12
Bernd KorteThanks for the heads up, Marius! I wasn't aware that the fit of the Modelsvit kit was so bad!
Yes, I already noticed that the PE set's interiour colour is not correct. I believe the right colour is called A-14 steel grey.
13 June 2022, 14:59
Robert PodkońskiI am a little late, but from now I will follow your build report dilligently, Bernd! 😉
21 August 2022, 14:56
Bernd KorteThanks Ricardo!
Progress has been very slow over the summer. But that's not the kit's fault!
Some time was used to pick the grey-blueish cockpcit colour. That's settled now as you can see in the photos.
21 August 2022, 14:56
