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A new Eduard 1/48 Mig-29 ?


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Trust me when I say, if Eduard had been doing a totally new tool 1/48 MiG-29, this wouldn't be the first you'd heard of it. The MiG-21 generated hooplah for almost five years before it came out.

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How good is the Acedemy kit?

I can say without a doubt that it's the best 1/48 MiG-29 kit available. Of course, being the only kit currently available may have something to do with that ranking, as well as the only other kit ever made being the old very inaccurate Monogram kit.

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No, it isn`t Eduard`s, it is the Academy`s one with brassins, masks and top notch decals.

Which one? Single or two seater? Got a link?

How good is the Acedemy kit?

Basic wheel wells. Cruddy intakes, but there are screens that drop down to block them off for off road-ing. The exhausts need some detail. Really nice surface detail. I personally like the cockpit, but it does need seats. The nose cone on the single seater isn't the right shape, but that's an inexpensive and simple fix.

It looks really good to me. There are some minor fit issues with the way the fuselage goes together if you don't do things in the right sequence (ignore some of the instructions), but I saw a guy turn one of these into a show-stopping masterpiece with almost no aftermarket once. Overall, I'd say I really like this kit. It'm really looking forward to seeing what Eduard does with it.

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How good is the Acedemy kit?

It's a decent airframe to start with, but almost everything else about the model is lacking. As Mr. Williams noted, it's also the only game in town.

Here's a short summary of the deficiencies:

1) Cockpit - the kit tub is vastly underscale, such that when the original aftermarket seat for the kit came out from True Details, that seat was something closer to 1/60 scale than 1/48. The whole thing has to be replaced. I think Eduard's Brassin seat that just came out addresses that issue, but there are other excellent aftermarket options such as the excellent Aires cockpit

2) Wheel wells - The shapes and details of the wheel wells are sorely lacking as well - again Aires comes to the rescue in spades.

3) Burner Cans - The kit parts stink, suitable replacements are available from Aires.

4) Weapons - This kit dates to 1993, so it was in the days before anyone cared about aircraft weapons. Nothing about the missiles included is even close to right. Fortunately there are starting to be some options available on that front. The new Aerobonus line from Aires has some nice weapons, but so far, very little appropriate to the MiG-29. There are the Miniarm R-27s which are SUPERB, but those are difficult to find. There are also the out of print Sol R-73s, the other primary weapon of the MiG-29. I'm hopeful though that we'll see other replacements soon.

5) General detail - items like the wheels, pylons and so-on can all use some help! The FM detail sets can help in this arena. Unfortunately they come with a lot of extras as there's a cockpit and similar included, which are throw-away, when compared to the Aires offering.

6) Fit - the kit was generically tooled with a six-part fuselage, not counting the radome. This was to allow common tooling for the single and two-seat variants. The result is a fit experience that leaves something to be desired. The key here is to NOT follow the kit instructions, and buil the model "top and bottom" insteat of "front to back" as the instructions suggest. You'll still have some shimming and putty work, but nowhere near the hate and discontent of following the instructions.

7) Version - the kit is only a 9.12 variant. The 9.13 variant isn't available in kit form, and is just as common in service, if not more common. Just be aware when picking markings. The 9.13 is the slightly "fatback" variant, know to the west as "Fulcrum-C"

That's just a short version. I'm sure Eduard's offering will be an excellent starting point. Good stencils, good add-ons, but you'll still likely want to get the Aires sets, and more.

Given what we've seen from the MiG-21, it's time to see the MiG-29 receive the same treatment!

Paul

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Given what we've seen from the MiG-21, it's time to see the MiG-29 receive the same treatment!

Frankly, I'd much rather Eduard concentrate their efforts on a complete MiG-21 family first, then a MiG-23/27, and *maybe* then a MiG-29. But I'm not holding my breath on any of that anytime before I retire, save for maybe the Fishbeds.

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Jennings - I agree, we need them to finish the other two gens of Fishbed first - I was more pointing to the need for ANYONE to do a new 1/48 MiG-29 - both 9.12 and 9.13. As for the MiG-23/27, I know you're not a fan of Trumpeter and CopyBoss, but frankly their big MiG-23 really isn't that bad, and if shrunk to 1/48 - which CopyBoss is sure to do in the next 18 months - it would more than fit the bill for me.

I understand that the Brassin MiG-21 cockpit will be in August - probably shown at the Nats.

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Jennings - I agree, we need them to finish the other two gens of Fishbed first - I was more pointing to the need for ANYONE to do a new 1/48 MiG-29 - both 9.12 and 9.13. As for the MiG-23/27, I know you're not a fan of Trumpeter and CopyBoss, but frankly their big MiG-23 really isn't that bad, and if shrunk to 1/48 - which CopyBoss is sure to do in the next 18 months - it would more than fit the bill for me.

I understand that the Brassin MiG-21 cockpit will be in August - probably shown at the Nats.

I'm sure HB will probably do the 23 in 1/48 - I hope. The 1/32 kit doesn't seem bad (just too big).

Sign me up for half a dozen Brassin Fishbed cockpits for starters :)

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Hmmm....I had a look at the instruction sheet on the Eduard site. They really are throwing a lot of goodies into the box. Expensive but nice.

Question though. One of the big gripes I have heard about the Academy boxing is that the weapons didn't look right or were out of scale. I have (and am currently building) the Eduard Mig-21MF. Admittedly, I don't know a ton about Soviet weaponry, but would any of the weapons in the '21 kit be appropriate on the '29? The Eduard weapons look pretty darn nice and if they constitute a "legal" load would look good hanging on the Fulcrum. Just a though.

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Hmmm....I had a look at the instruction sheet on the Eduard site. They really are throwing a lot of goodies into the box. Expensive but nice.

Question though. One of the big gripes I have heard about the Academy boxing is that the weapons didn't look right or were out of scale. I have (and am currently building) the Eduard Mig-21MF. Admittedly, I don't know a ton about Soviet weaponry, but would any of the weapons in the '21 kit be appropriate on the '29? The Eduard weapons look pretty darn nice and if they constitute a "legal" load would look good hanging on the Fulcrum. Just a though.

If you feel confortable working with PE parts, Eduard has a PE set designed to correct the kit weapons

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