Manufacturer: Trumpeter, distributed by Stevens International, P.O. Box 126, Magnolia, NJ 08049, 856-435-1555
Kit: No. 02218
Scale: 1/32
Price:$59.95
Comments: Injection-molded, 293 parts (4 white metal, 5 resin, 3 vinyl), decals
Pros: Excellent fit and detail, removable tail section displays detailed engine, droppable flaps and positionable control surfaces, good ground-crew figures, lots of ordnance options
Cons:Instructions are sometimes vague and confusing, some parts collide with underwing ordnance
The Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21 "Fishbed" was the most produced supersonic fighter aircraft ever. Thousands of them were used by the Soviet Union, the former "Eastern Bloc" countries, and dozens of other air forces around the world.
Hot on the heels of Trumpeter's 1/32 scale A-10 comes the firm's Fishbed. The well-engraved parts come on 10 sprues, all individually bagged. I like the way Trumpeter keeps cockpit, fuselage, wing, engine, and ordnance parts together so you don't have to hunt down pieces from different sprues to finish an assembly. A seated pilot (with a choice of two heads) and four ground crew figures are provided.
The overall fit is great, but there are a few glitches. The instructions are vague in the exact position of several detail parts. Most of the color information is coded to Gunze Sangyo paints. If you don't use them or have a Gunze color chart, you're stuck.
The cockpit is beautifully detailed, but strangely, there are no rudder pedals. You'll have to trim down the photo-film instrument panels beyond what is shown in the instructions to get them to fit on the back of the panel. The rest of the interior looks fine. I had to trim about 3/32" off the bottom of the mounting pegs of instrument panel shroud as they caused the shroud to sit too high and interfere with the windscreen.
The engine is a little jewel made of 18 parts. The body is divided into four parts, which makes cleaning up the seams a daunting task. I left the nose gear out of the fuselage until final assembly. You're supposed to mount the strut with two screws in step 8, but I found the fit snug enough that the screws weren't needed. Leaving it off until later prevents having to mask it and keeps it out of the way of damage.
The solid white-metal nose cone helps balance the model. The well-detailed avionics deck (part No. C-17) is covered by the upper nose section (A17). A17 is not removable because the long pitot boom mounts onto it and the forward part of the nose. To change that, you would have to cut the pitot boom mount in two to remove A17.
The separate flaps and control surfaces are neat, but there is no indication of how far they should deflect. If the aileron is dropped too far, it will interfere with the underwing tank.
Fitting the outer intake ring is dicey, since the ring's locator tabs cause it to fit off center. Shave off the tabs and carefully glue the ring to the nose 1Ú4 of the circumference at a time to align it.
The wing fuselage joints are good except for a little gap on the underside aft of the gear wells on both sides.
The main wheels should be screwed to the metal struts with the tiny self-tapping screws. Make it easier on yourself by screwing them in before adding the plastic parts. The screws require a bit of torque to get them to tap the metal, but once in, they are easy to remove and reinstall later.
In steps 17 and 18, the instructions show the landing gear doors parallel with aircraft centerline, but they should align with the forward swept gear bays. However, if they are installed correctly, they'll interfere with ordnance on the inboard pylons - take your pick.
Another puzzler is the ventral centerline speed brake (A26). It is installed on a removable panel under the engine. If you want the speed brake open, you won't be able to install the centerline fuel tank. If you close the speed brake and install the fuel tank, you won't be able to remove the panel - another pick.
Be careful when adding the big pitot boom. There is no indication of exactly where it should go. While shown installed in the instructions, there is no reference to the canopy periscope (A38).
When it comes to ordnance, there's a lot to choose from. The are three pairs of air-to-air missiles (R-3Rs, R-3Ss, and two more not shown in the instructions), UB-32 rocket pods, RS-2US missiles (air-to-ground?), 250kg bombs, three drop tanks, and a cannon fairing. I didn't like the shape of the noses on the drop tanks; the taper should be smooth, so I fixed mine with filler and sandpaper.
The rear fuselage is removable and can be parked on a small dolly. A boarding ladder for the cockpit is a nice addition, and the crew figures can animate an already well-detailed model. Their poses are nearly identical to the photos of the crewmen in the instructions. There is a small resin ammo box and plastic belt of cannon rounds, along with a packed drag chute to keep them all busy.
Decals are provided for German Luftwaffe and Iraqi machines. They liked to stick immediately when slid off the sheet, so a little saliva helped keep them loose until I got them where I wanted them.
Since the fit was excellent, the Trumpeter MiG-21 took less time to finish than I thought it would. There are a lot of parts, but I spent only 40 hours on my MiG. You'll need good references to get the position and color of some of the details correct. My main reference was Aerofax's MiG-21 Fishbed. I'm going to build another one, but next time it will be in bright shiny natural metal with red stars!