Eduard, which seems to be on a MiG-21 kick lately, has produced a kit of the MiG-21MF in a new “Super44” 1/144 scale series.
As is fashionable in this scale, two full kits are included along with canopy masks and decals for eight options. Giving nothing up but size to their bigger siblings, the detail and molding finesse on these kits is excellent, with nice wheel bays and cockpit detail. Surface detail is petite, and you can use the razor-thin wings as letter openers.
Construction begins in the cockpit, with six parts to be assembled and painted — quite enough in this scale. Eduard gives a choice of two seats, one slightly taller and more to-scale if you want to take advantage of the open-canopy option. I was hoping to slip the nose cones in after painting, but the fit and shape are so precise that I had to glue them in place before closing up the fuselages. Don’t forget to add a bit of weight to keep your “Miglets” off their tails.
Assembly of the rest of the airframe goes quickly. You need to be gentle when cleaning and handling parts, as they are tiny with very sharp edges and can be easily bent or damaged. The join of the wing to fuselage is seamless, as are all the joints – no putty on this build. I left the stabilizers off to aid painting, but in very short order I had two little MiGs flying unmarked missions. Of course, I added the canopy to each prior to flying missions, including the wonderful masks. What could have been a chore, cutting and attaching tape, was completed in minutes and certainly better than I would have done myself.
Eduard includes two drop tanks, two Atoll AAMs, and two air-to-surface rockets for each kit. They show potential load-outs in the instructions, including one with three tanks. Bear in mind there are four tanks to share between the two airframes, so a three-tank option would leave one Miglet a bit thirsty with only a centerline tank. After I had selected my preferred load-out, I attached the pylons to the drop tanks for ease of handling during painting.
The hardest part of this kit now confronted me — I had eight great options for markings, but only two airframes. I finally settled for the Croatian “arctic tiger” and a two-tone gray Polish aircraft. I may have to get another kit to pick up the also-ran schemes.
The painting instructions are nicely done in full color. Once my eyes uncrossed after painting the tiny camo patterns, I applied the decals. The second decal I applied wrapped itself into a little ball when I got a little careless moving it into place. Be gentle and plan on applying them as close to the final position as possible, as they like to stick once they grab the surface.
After applying the markings, I removed the canopy masks and was relieved to find they had worked perfectly. I attached the stabilizers, ordnance, and landing gear, then carefully applied the long pitot probe. This is probably the only noticeably over-scale item in the kit, but it still looks reasonable.
I’m impressed with Eduard’s reentry into 1/144 scale, and I hope this is a sign of many future releases. My Miglets took 14.5 hours to add to the shelf and can be built by anyone — especially if they’re willing to paint tiny camouflage schemes.
