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Academy 1/48 MiG-21MF "Polish Air Force"


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Here's my build, Academy's 1/48 MiG-21MF, "Polish Air Force", along with Wolfpacks sets for the spine, cockpit, and wheel wells. I chose this for the markings, which mark the unit's 45th anniversary.

mig-21mf-start1_zps9923f616.jpg

mig-21mf-start2_zpsd4368b76.jpg

mig-21mf-start3_zpseddf6110.jpg

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This doesn't look bad at all. Appears to be just cut a larger opening for the cockpit and remove the existing well. We'll see. :whistle:

I was going to do just the spine. Then I saw the cockpit; asked around and thought about it for quite a while before I finally caved. Then Sprue Bros showed me the wheel wells when I was buying the other two and I saw how truly basic the kit was there, too. The markings are what mattered to me for this over the Eduard...

To be sure, I know all too well how hard this could get. I had a knock-down drag-out of thinning both resin and plastic when installing an Aires wheel well into Tamiya's 1/48 P-51B/C...O.M.G.! I could practically read through both when I finally got the wing to close...

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I cut the bits off the casting blocks, including the house-sized block beneath the tub bottom, taped the bottom and sides together, and it's pretty much a drop-in! :nanner:

Here's the complete tub taped together. I need to do those plastic cuts for the rear-wall and IP to fit

mig-21mf-taped-cockpit_zps58a193a8.jpg

I'm really liking this Wolfpack resin! Particularly the photo instructions, which give a very clear view of how the parts fit together.

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Dang, this is annoying. I went with the Academy kit plus Wolfpack resin because of the kit's markings. I was just looking through my decals and what do I find? Albatros Modelworks 48012, "Weird MiG 21s" with those very markings! :bandhead2:/>

SOLD: Don't need this set anymore... Paid $17, I'll sell it for $10 + postage. Here's a review; the sheet also includes markings for India, Congo, and Mozambique aircraft...

Edited by David N Lombard
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Got the cockpit and wheel wells painted. The stick is off to the side...

mig-21mf-cockpit-painted_zpse28fabaa.jpg

I used Interior Green for the wells per Eduard's instructions. While the hue looks about right according to the Kagero Mig-21MF book, it's a tad dark...

mig-21mf-wells-painted_zpse5fc2448.jpg

Here are comparisons of the Wolfpack and the kit nozzles.

e677bb09-effc-4f08-b274-eacea71b2baa_zps562259d2.jpgmig-21mf-can-top_zps1849d5b6.jpg

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bashace,

Thanks! I foolishly resisted buying the nozzle when I got the other resin because, well, how bad could it be? Once I compared photos to the plastic, there was little choice.

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nickdanger,

Thanks, I am quite happy with those wheel wells. Between good photos and the great Wolfpack resin, I had a good start! The simplistic cockpit was the 2nd item noted after the fin and spine. I went for the wheel wells while I was buying the fin and cockpit.

As I noted above, I only got this kit over Eduard because of the decals; if I had bothered to check my decal stash more carefully, I would have realized I already had those markings. :crying2:

Having written that, I did learn that Wolfpack does a Really Good job on resin. The parts fit beautifully and they take advantage of the kit's locating molding. They'll always be on my short list from now on. I also had been looking at their T-38 plus Vagabond's Spirit of '76 decals due RSN. I'm so happy with the resin, that I'll go for the T-38!

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Got the nose assembled and weighted. I had to put in a blanking disk behind the nose piece to avoid see-through. Some seam work is needed, but I'll wait for the rear fuselage to be married to the nose.

mig-21mf-nose1_zps3ec89c49.jpg

mig-21mf-nose2_zpsfabd8cbe.jpg

Instructions call for 15g, I put in 20g to account for potential scale inaccuracies with its 5g precision.

Next are the wheel wells in the rear fuselage.

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Modelguy2,

Thanks for the heads up. The Wolfpack spine is a little wonky, so I was going to compare it to the kit spine to see how I'll deal with that issue.

Edited by David N Lombard
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Ron,

I intend to! I'm working on closing up the after fuselage with the wheel wells and nozzle. I'm thinking I should prepaint the fuselage around the wheel wells first to make masking easier.

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Got the aft fuselage joined up with the wheel wells and nozzle captured.

mig-21mf-fuse1_zpse523d624.jpg

mig-21mf-fuse2_zps8db0e5e7.jpg

mig-21mf-fuse3_zps0786b625.jpg

The wheel wells interlocked, and I was a bit concerned about alignment, but they lined right up. Actually had more problems getting the forward and aft fuselages to marry well, but I'm happy with it.

Next are the wings and empennage.

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