MiG-21 family by Eduard

[ya-gabor]

14 hours ago, Illu said:

So 14 years on, and we’re still never going to see an actual MiG-21bis in 1/48.  Incredible.

 

Neither in 48th nor in 72nd.   : (   : (   : (   I don’t really care now!!! I did what I could.

 

Only one new frame will be included with the 72nd kit including the new fuselage parts, the bigger №7 fuel tank on the back with the vertical fin and a  lot of small antennae’s. All the other sprues will be from the MiG-21MF kit neglecting other changes of the fuselage and details for the 21bis version.  : (  : (

 

As for 48th, forget it, it will never happen in a box produced by this Czech company. They will not go back and do any work on it. I would recommend going back to forums more than a decade ago when the boss stated that he would personally fire any company employee who wants to do a nose conversion for bis in any shape or form.

 

At least according to the boss the nose profile was changed to make it more correct. Remember that this was one of the stumbling points about the original 48th kit all those years ago. So now with the 72nd kit they basically admitted that I was right at the time about the nose part.  

 

Oh well!

 

Back then they were told in time, when there was still a chance to make all the corrections, but the business model . . .

 

We will get this time what we will get . . .  This is why I was saying that I came away with mixed feelings about the MiG-21bis kit after discussions at Plastikova Zima.

 

Best regards

Gabor

[ya-gabor]

The release date of the MiG-21bis in 72nd scale has now been put off to June from April.

 

(OK but which year??????)

: )    : )     : )     : )

 

Best regards

Gabor

[ya-gabor]

We are back to square one unfortunately.

 

Back in spring of 2011 when the 48th scale kit was still just a drawing on the digital drawing board of a Czech company. Since the MiG-21bis was never operated by the Czechoslovak AF there was very little information available to the kit producers also very limited enthusiasm to produce a MiG-21bis.

The only difference they have seen was the big dorsal №7 fuel tank and the label MiG-21bis. This was about all, so they went on producing a MiG-21bis kit by using a MiG-21MF fuselage and wings and all other bits and pieces apart from the fuel tank.

 

The rest is history by now. One can look it up on different forums what went on in 2011 until the kit was released. All the necessary information, measurements, drawings, tons of photos were shared and with a friend we even went so far as to visit the Company HQ in Obrnice to clear up points, answer questions, talk about details . . .

 

The company and its boss refused completely to acknowledge the differences and started a funny campaign saying that all this is a nonsense and it is only fiction of my imagination. Saying that I invented the “Gabor’s nose” and there is absolutely no basis for a different nose shape.

 

Here we are in 2025 after years of delays and somewhere during the year the 72nd scale version of the kit will be released by the same company. A new “Sprue K” was prepared for the MiG-21bis kit and first images of it published on FakeBook right now. A new fuselage was made, allegedly it has a corrected nose profile. (So was I right after all in 2011???) But the problem is that there are so many other differences pointed out in 2011, panels, size differences, new airbrakes, new gun cover, new wing pylons . . .   And lots more which was shown and shared a decade ago. They are absent from this “new” fuselage. : (  : (  : ( 

 

The “new” MiG-21bis kit in 72nd scale will be released with all the previously manufactured sprues for the MiG-21MF. Most of those details are applicable ONLY for the MF and not for the bis version so as such the kit will be a Hybrid MF / bis and not a true MiG-21bis.

 

Surely the manufacturer will again go on attack and say that everything else is irrelevant, MINOR, unimportant and only a handful of “maniacs” will see them. It is really funny to see all the articles by the company where they detail how one particular service panel is different on a Me 109, Spitfire, Mustang. . . and are willing to make new tools for all the versions no matter how small those exact changes and differences, which are completely ignored on this kit.

 

By the way at the time (in 2011) Eduard even questioned the aircraft type name, saying that it should be written as MiG-21 BIS triggering page after page of angry posts from the company. How funny that by now they have acknowledged even this and refer to the aircraft now correctly as MiG-21bis.

 

Always had a soft spot for the late MiG-21’s, probably because had a chance as an aviation journalist/photographer to be next to them while still in service, see them loaded up with missiles for live fire over the Polish sea, with bombs, with a full load of ammo on the firing range. I have done this in the past 40 years, measured them right from bare metal after overhaul all the way to the scrapheap in their last minutes of their existence.

 

You don’t have to believe me, please take the time, go out and have a close look at a real MiG-21bis (Type 75) in any museum around the world to see the details and compare to the Hybrid MiG-21MF/bis that Eduard has produced.   

 

Sad that after almost 15 years we are still back where we started.

 

Best regards

Gabor

[Laurent]

A little reminder of what the story is about. Self quote... "the MiG-21PF/.../MF nose is to the Su-9 nose what the MiG-21bis nose is to the Su-11 nose":

- Su-9: in side view the top and bottom nose curvature is smooth; there's not curvature discontinuity; the cross-section changes smoothly from oval to circular

- Su-11: perhaps it's due to a bulkier radar equipment bay but Sukhoi changed the nose... they cut the Su-9 nose and replaced it by a nose that has a symmetry axis (cylinder); there are curvature discontinuities; the cross-section change is abrupt

 

It's the same story with the MiG-21bis: it has a cylindrical nose like the Su-11 has. The transition area is around the top air outlet. Eduard was made aware of that and they replied by mocking the people who reported the issue while knowing they were right.

 

Cold War Studio did a resin correction set for the 1/48 Eduard MiG-21bis. 

 

Edited February 17 by Laurent

[ya-gabor]

Hi Laurent,

 

Cold War Studio prepared a great MiG-21bis conversion set in 32nd scale also. Getting ahead with new technologies the new set was 3D printed to the highest quality! Some photos of the test samples was shown to me by Stenka. 

 

The sad part of the story is that I have no idea what is happening with Stenka the owner of Cold War Studios!  : (  : (   He hasnt been around for a very long time. So have no idea what happend to that 32nd set.   : (  : (

 

Best regards

Gabor

[ya-gabor]

Well the Boss is the Boss like all rulers around the world.   Who cares about him??? He has his own problems with IBG trumping into his little world with a series of early Spits, with Fine Molds making a really nice A6M5 Zero while he was planning to do it . . .

 

I am more interested as a modeller in building a good kit of a MiG-21bis (be it 48 or 72), as researcher interested in helping a manufacturer if he is willing to accept the input information.

I did not believe that after 15 years we are still back where we started. This is the sad part of the story!!!

 

Best regards

Gabor

[ya-gabor]

This Hybrid MiG-21MF/bis kit has been scheduled last year for April 2025 (maybe a Moson availability) then in a recent video interview with Squadron the boss has indicated a June release.

 

Last week on a Czech forum I was asked by Eduards commanding officer if the Hungarian MiG-21bis 1904 (that terrible yellow “aggressor” scheme) was OK for the May release? No one ever spoke about anything, about May before that. How should anyone know??? Do people really believe that we modellers keep an eye every second of the day on what this Czech company is doing???

 

What we know so far is that it could be released this year (April, May, June . . .) and probably one of the schemes will be that awful yellow bird.

It has been used sooooooooooooo many times for no real reason. I would most certainly not like it  or any Hungarian markings for it! But fortunately since the whole kit is only a Hybrid MF/bis and not a real scale MiG-21bis it is completely irrelevant what paint schemes are included on this What-If bird.

 

Best regards

Gabor

[sakai]

On 2/17/2025 at 7:13 AM, Illu said:

So, to make a long story short, Vlad Sulc is acting like the egotistical, know-it-all jackass that he’s always acted like.  Big news.

Thanks to this "egotistical, know-it-all jackass" there is a plenty of very nice 1/48 kits in the market that may not have been released otherwise, ever.

To balance Gabor's rather opinionated posts in this topic why don't you check out what the "other side" has to say, see link to Czech Modelforum with English translation to make it easier for you

https://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?p=2683604#p2683604

 

Re: 1/72 new aircraft models from all manufacturers
Posted by Vl.Šulc » Feb 14, 2025, 23:21

Gábor, I asked you for your opinion on whether our color scheme of the Hungarian MiG-21bis is okay. It is our May new model, so I think it is quite relevant to ask about it in the topic about new models in 1/72, when you commented on the quality of work of our Ukrainian colleagues here in the discussion about another MiG in Hungarian colors. I think there was nothing wrong with my question.

In any case, thank you for your answer.

You are surprised that Eduard keeps and repeatedly ignores your good advice. With reference to your answer to my question, I will try to explain why Eduard does this.

In most cases, when you write to one of my people, you proceed practically in the same way as in the case of your answer about the MiG-21bis. You wrap the essence of your message in unnecessary and irrelevant references and a list of mistakes that we have made in the past, mainly because we ignored your good advice. In essence, you are telling the addressee that we are stupid, retarded beasts, incapable of ever doing anything right. By doing this, you will anger the person in question so much that he will not even read the message about your advice. Unfortunately, this makes you useless to us as an advisor. No one wants to cooperate with someone who insults them at the very beginning of every contact.

I'm sorry, I like you, I appreciate your knowledge and abilities, I always enjoy seeing you and talking to you, even though you basically call me a stupid retarded brute in every conversation that I'm not going to do anything right (:)

I apologize for being honest, but it's about time someone told you.
User avatar
Vl.Šulc

[ya-gabor]

Hi Sakai,

Thanks for posting the CEO’s views from Modelforum. You have saved me time by posting the boss views. As you can see from this thread (scrolling further up) I always quote the other sides views no matter if it is good or bad news. It was far more important to show those images of the planed Sprue K (70170) as a fresh news!  

 

To get some facts right in view of what was written above.

There is lots more going on in the background in private in comparison to what is seen here and on other forums!!!

Years ago (before Covid) I told him clearly at Moson that I WANT NOTHING TO DO with any MiG-21bis design by Eduard for 72nd scale! The reason is very simple: ALL information, data, photos, notes, drawings. . .   needed to make the kit as correct and authentic as possible was ALREADY supplied directly to the company in 2011 on my visit to Obrnice. There is nothing new and important, dimensions have not changed with time! : )  : )  : )

 

Was all the information provided "crap and nonsense" ("unnecessary and irrelevant references") as written above?

 

It is a question of opinion, but fortunately at least on Sprue J (8230) for the original MiG-21bis 48th scale) kit many of my “crap and nonsense” was taken into account and included. Even though on forums at the time one could see some strong “exchanges” concerning that kit, both Sulc and the kits chief designer Ladislav Jonáš “Ládá” knew exactly how useful was my (unnecessary and irrelevant references) input. They did thank me several times both personally and in writing for all my “crap and nonsense”. Even produced a special placard and made a special signed kit with a big THANK YOU on it. This is what you get for “crap and nonsense”!!!  : )  : )  : )

 

Since then more than a decade past and I received regularly direct request from the company for my “crap and nonsense” and designed for Eduard details, aftermarkets, and a lot of detailed decals (different MiG-21bis, MiG-21PF, MiG-21MF, MiG-15’s, L-29’s, L-39’s . . .) for new Eduard kit releases. Just as for this 72nd scale MiG-21bis. So . . .

NO DETAILS of using yellow "1904"in the May release of the new MiG-21bis WAS COMMUNICATED in any form what so ever on any forums. So there was nothing to which give any answer.  

 

Were those inputs "ignored and annoying"? Well, since all of them were USED IN GIVEN KITS and duly acknowledged! the statement by the boss is questionable!

 

The last time I had contact with the company boss about the MiG-21bis was on 17th of November 2024 at 12.10 hours when HE REQUESTED from me articles about the MiG-21, MiG-15 MiG-17 for the INFO publications. In view of my previous very bad experiences with INFO I had refused to write ANYTHING AT ALL for Eduard! ( I have all the original letters saved of course) He was not happy.

 

In May 2020 (five years ago!!!) Sulc shared with me some of the very first renders of the would be brand new 48th scale MiG-21F-13 and asked for my opinion, my “crap and nonsense”.

 

A producer is never happy (or takes it as an insult) when confronted with mistakes, design flaws, wrong scale kit (remember the Me-109G-6!!!) and the automatic response on forums has always been attack and dishonour anyone who shows different from what the company believes, wants to project.    

 

Will share soon images of this new MiG-21bis and my build but for the moment I am happy to work on the exceptional Fine Molds A6M5 Zero.

 

Best regards

Gabor

Edited February 21 by ya-gabor

[ya-gabor]

There was a comment by Sakai that I dont show the other sides view.

Well here it is from the brand new INFO publication. What my opinion of the kit? will be shared separately with my build in a different topic but I have reminded the producer of the problems already at Plasticova Zima show in November 2024 based on preliminary images. 

 

Once again it will be a Hybrid MiG-21MF/bis kit!!!  Yes I can live with it, sad, but there is nothing to do. All the information, photos, details, measurements were provided byck in 2011. 

I can live with it. Apart from what I am doing in my own build.  : )  : )  : )

 

Someone was saying earlier that company is trying to get ahead to justify the problems. Well . . . 

 

So here it is from Google translate:

 

. . .  In Bytom and Prosek we will also have 1/72 scale MiG-21bis die-casts, which will then have their premiere a month later. For Czechs and Slovaks, and also Moravians, Hanáky, Silesians and Ostravaks (with a short sharp, short and not a mistake) the new MiG will have its premiere at Easter in Prostějov, for foreigners and Gábor a week later in Mošon. Gábor already knows that Bis will be bad again, but don't worry, there is no Gábor's nose this time. We have remodeled the entire front part of the fuselage, the nose is made according to a scan of a real MiG from the GDR, we have done everything we could to it, we have added missiles with pylons and a lot of little things. There are only so many antennas that it is not nice. They are terribly tiny little things, but they should cover the entire range of avionics that were used on the aircraft in various countries. I would say that this shows the power of freedom and democracy, it seems that after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, each user installed whatever he wanted into his aircraft, when the Russians could no longer interfere with them. In our case, it shows how far toolmaking and stamping have progressed and how fine details we can get into plastic today. And we don't even need starting molds for that. We probably won't please Gábor, but he'll have to accept it. Yes, and someone has already complained that the Bis won't be riveted. Accept that, just as we have accepted it. We would also like to rivet it, but considering that the Bis is a continuation of the MiG-21PF, PFM and MF series, which are not riveted, it seems stupid to suddenly change the style in the middle of the release schedule and rivet the other three versions. I'm talking about three versions because we have two more ready, R and SMT. . . . 

 

Best regards

Gabor

[ya-gabor]

On 2/21/2025 at 5:28 AM, sakai said:

Thanks to this "egotistical, know-it-all jackass" there is a plenty of very nice 1/48 kits in the market that may not have been released otherwise, ever.

To balance Gabor's rather opinionated posts in this topic why don't you check out what the "other side" has to say, see link to Czech Modelforum with English translation to make it easier for you

https://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?p=2683604#p2683604

 

Re: 1/72 new aircraft models from all manufacturers
Posted by Vl.Šulc » Feb 14, 2025, 23:21

Gábor, I asked you for your opinion on whether our color scheme of the Hungarian MiG-21bis is okay. It is our May new model, so I think it is quite relevant to ask about it in the topic about new models in 1/72, when you commented on the quality of work of our Ukrainian colleagues here in the discussion about another MiG in Hungarian colors. I think there was nothing wrong with my question.

In any case, thank you for your answer.

You are surprised that Eduard keeps and repeatedly ignores your good advice. With reference to your answer to my question, I will try to explain why Eduard does this.

In most cases, when you write to one of my people, you proceed practically in the same way as in the case of your answer about the MiG-21bis. You wrap the essence of your message in unnecessary and irrelevant references and a list of mistakes that we have made in the past, mainly because we ignored your good advice. In essence, you are telling the addressee that we are stupid, retarded beasts, incapable of ever doing anything right. By doing this, you will anger the person in question so much that he will not even read the message about your advice. Unfortunately, this makes you useless to us as an advisor. No one wants to cooperate with someone who insults them at the very beginning of every contact.

I'm sorry, I like you, I appreciate your knowledge and abilities, I always enjoy seeing you and talking to you, even though you basically call me a stupid retarded brute in every conversation that I'm not going to do anything right (:)

I apologize for being honest, but it's about time someone told you.
User avatar
Vl.Šulc

 

 

Hi Sakai,

For the whole and more complete picture of the situation it would be important to quote a little more from that “conversation” on Modelforum dot cz. It is page 1120 in topic “72nd scale kits”. Don’t believe me, anyone can turn to that page and have a look.

 

Earlier in response to the statement of my comments one of the Czech modellers asked:

Who is right?

 

In the answer he had to admit that:

He is right,

 

So are those comments just mindless bashing of the products and the company from my side?

According to the company, I am right in pointing out things, it is another question how important THEY think my comments are, according to them it is “crap and all nonsense”. So is it right or not?

I would recommend readers to go back little in time and have a look at the company responses to modellers comments where the scale and some details of the then brand new 48th scale Me 109G-6 kit were pointed out and questioned!

We all know that in the end the company decided to redo the whole kit from scratch at a considerable cost because it was completely out of scale!

 

As to the MiG-21bis kit, it was always a pure burden and nuisance for the company both in 48th scale and now in 72nd! The Czech or Czechoslovak AF NEVER operated this version and as such it has very little relevance to them. As a business subject for the company it is considered as a minor and unimportant subject that “we had to do”.

 

To keep to facts.

It was always the Eudard company WHO CONTACTED ME AND ASKED FOR DETAILS, PAINT SCHEMES, DESIGN DETAILS OF PARTS, DECALS . . .! The above post from the company suggests that I bombard them with useless information which annoys and distracts from the valuable work.

Sorry but I have nothing to gain from contacting them, it is Eudard who are asking for details! My mail archive has all the letters from the company ASKING for details. So the statement in the post is a “bit of an overstatement” or if I was to be less diplomatic, it is simply a lie!

 

Fortunately there are other companies who use the provided information.

 

Best regards

Gabor

[Tomcat Fan]

sory for interuption or if I missed this info.. does Eduard plan to issue Mig 21 UM in  1/48 scale ? 

[potez]

Some years ago Eduard's Boss said "we will do it". That's all for today no additional info appeared, there is nothing in the pipeline up to 2026 at least also. I think that 1/48 Mig-15 will be released earlier.

[J.C. Bahr]

So in Sulc's latest monthly update newsletter the SMT is mentioned at the very end... does that really mean it's going to be a reality in 1/72 too finally? 🙏

[ya-gabor]

27 minutes ago, J.C. Bahr said:

So in Sulc's latest monthly update newsletter the SMT is mentioned at the very end... does that really mean it's going to be a reality in 1/72 too finally? 🙏

 

Hi J.C. Bahr,

 

Yes, the plan is to have the R and the SMT versions in future. This is almost certain. The time frame is little less certain. Somewhere in the future. So was the MiG-21bis which took more than half a decade to  . . .

The basic design of the MiG-21R, SMT and the bis was prepared a very long time ago, it was only a time when there will be production capacity, business sense, will to make it . . .

 

12 hours ago, Tomcat Fan said:

sory for interuption or if I missed this info.. does Eduard plan to issue Mig 21 UM in  1/48 scale ? 

 

Hi Tomcat Fan,

 

Yes, there was a plan to do the twoseaters also as part of the Fishbed line. The plan was to do different versions, or at least the early MiG-21U (Type 66) with SK ejection seats and early fuel tank on the back as well as the last MiG-21UM (Type 69) (with KM-1 seats, different fuel tank and for the very late versions the blade antenna on the spine). 

It was taken off from plans with very UNCERTAIN future with possibly only the late 21UM coming out somewhere.

 

It was also stated that the 48th scale line of Fishbeds will be ALL copied into the 72nd scale. The (almost) first version MiG-21F-13 (Type 74) could be released in a year or so in 48th scale. Will it be copied into the 72nd scale later? Now, it was clearly stated that NO there will be NO MiG-21F-13 in 72nd scale. 

 

So basically everything is possible and everything opposite it also!   : )  : )   : )

 

Best regards

Gabor

[Tomcat Fan]

thx for the info... 

[ya-gabor]

As for the 48th scale MiG-21F-13 (type 74) here are a month old images of tool making.

 

Best regards

Gabor

[ya-gabor]

Some fresh news of the planned product MiG-21bis in 72nd scale.

 

Best regards

Gabor

[ya-gabor]

Here is the MAY newsletter featuring new kits for MAY, which will be released in MAY, which is the fifth month of the year MAY. : )  : )

The newsletter is showing APRIL instead. OK. This can happen to anyone when in a hurry to put together his work. But as I have said before they offer silly blunders on a silver plate. 

One tries to help the company where ever one can, so corrected the title to May.  : )  : )  : )

 

But here is what was written about the “new” MiG-21bis kit which will be a Dual Combo in Limited Edition.

 

The main new release for May will be a 1/72 scale model kit of the MiG-21bis supersonic fighter jet, issued as a Dual Combo in the Limited Edition series. After a long break, we are introducing our first jet aircraft kit in this scale, and we expect a positive response from the modeling community. Notably, this is the third model from new molds that we are releasing this year. For the MiG-21bis variant, we have developed an entirely new fuselage mold, including the dorsal spine and vertical stabilizer, along with new interior cockpit parts. Additionally, the new sprue will include two R-3R air-to-air missiles, which are characteristic of the MiG-21bis but were not included in previous 1/72 scale MiG-21 editions. Other sprues, such as the wings and smaller parts, remain the same as in our existing MiG-21 kits. However, the clear parts sprue has been updated with components specific to the bis version. Since this is a Dual Combo kit, it will contain plastic parts for two complete models. The decal sheet offers markings for ten aircraft, featuring Hungarian, Soviet, Finnish, Iraqi, Libyan, East German, Croatian, Cuban, Polish, and Indian versions, all with highly attractive color schemes. We have also included antennas for various systems, which distinguish aircraft from different air forces following modernization programs in the 1990s.

 

Also the schemes in the kit.

 

Best regards

Gabor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 17 by ya-gabor

[ya-gabor]

In this month’s INFO (March) publication there was a promise that the new “K” sprue for the MiG-21 in 72nd scale will be at shows in Poland and Pather Cup. Basically we are at the end of  month of March and still only CAD images of the would be kit available.

 

They clearly show that it is Hybrid MF/bis version where only the distinct №7 fuel tank on the spine and a new airintake identifies it as a bis, together with the “Pion” antennas.

Sad to see that after almost 15 years since the release of the ill-fated 48th scale version lessons were not learned and only a Hybrid version was produced.

 

On the CAD images one can also see the ASO-2 flare dispenser container (Part K7) under the engine section. Unfortunately the designers did not look at photos from the Afganistan war where this container was used. The photos clearly show its true shape and not the fiction as provided in this set. Have to add that the ASO-2 dispenser was used exclusively in the Afgan war!

 

Best regards

Gabor

[ya-gabor]

I fully understand the artistic freedom of a painter. One has to know that Hungary  has an almost completely flat landscape with very few small hills. In comparison to this he illustrated the ugly yellow airframe of  “1904” surrounded by high mountains, possible looking at some photos of High Tatra mountains and making a copy of them. 

It is a nice joke!!!

 

In the INFO publication every months there is a detailed analysis of the art work for new releases, you can buy it separately as a poster. The company authors here describe in detail every historic aspect of where and why and what is the location of the given boxart. Looking forward to the explanation how the Hungarian MiG-21bis was dodging radar detection at extremely low level in valleys of high mountains like USAF F-15’s do in Scotland. : )  : )  : )  : )  : )  : )  : )  : )  : )  : )  : )  : ) 

 

Cutting about a meter from the pitot so that the illustration fits into boxart dimensions you can attribute as a rivet-counting from me.   : )  : )  : )

 

Best regards

Gabor

[ya-gabor]

We are back to 2011 completely. On Modelforum the company CEO is going down the same road again. As Laurent wrote a little further up:

 

. . . It's the same story with the MiG-21bis: it has a cylindrical nose like the Su-11 has. The transition area is around the top air outlet. Eduard was made aware of that and they replied by mocking the people who reported the issue while knowing they were right.

 

Before I am accused again of not showing the other side of the coin, here is what the CEO wrote:

 

Yes, it's all strange. My impression is that he is offended that we took the liberty of making the MiG-21bis and not asking him for help and advice. And he is trying to prove that it can't be done without him, that kit without his advice is worthless and full of mistakes.

The difference in diameter on the nose is 0.4 mm in 1/72. It's at the point where that stainless steel ring starts. It has a different wall angle to the base than the MF, so on its leading edge the inlet diameter is larger than on the MF. But not by much, it will be about 0.2 mm more than on the fuselage tube, maybe not even that. On the quarter, we left the fuselage tube the same as for the MF and we made up for the larger diameter of the air inlet with the diameter of the ring. That's what caused the affair around Gábor's nose.

 

 

Yes, there is certainly an Ego question but it is of the CEO of this company. He has asked me in 2017-18 to help in the design of the new 72 nd scale MiG-21bis kit. Since ALL and Every information, details, photos, drawings, measurements . . .  were given to the company in the summer of 2011 there was absolutely NOTHING for me to do in this project. So I refused.

 

The CEO asked me to write a book about this aircraft, like the other books in special editions. This was the only project in which I would have been interested as aviation journalist/photographer but since for months the CEO was simply not able to answer the simplest questions concerning the book, like how many pages, how much text, how many photos needed and also important if he is going to pay at all any money for the work. No answers ever given so I cancelled the project. One day will do it with a publisher who is serious.  

 

Just last year in November the CEO asked me to contribute with articles on the MiG-21bis to his publications. Each time I have refused his request, so I believe he took it as an offence against his own Ego. It is fascinating that even few weeks ago in early March I was asked by this company to review/commnet the Hungarian yellow “1904” aircraft markings and do corrections to it for this particular 72ns scale kit. Once again I have refused. 
In every and all cases the company was asking, requesting from me work in different projects (MiG-15, L-29, L-39, MiG-21PF, MiG-21bis. . .  or even brassin projects) and not me approaching them. So there is a problem with the argument presented by the CEO of the aftermarket company. The Ego question is exactly the other way around, he has problems with my refusals for cooperation:

 

5th Sulc wrote:

 . . . My impression is that he is offended that we took the liberty of making the MiG-21bis and not asking him for help and advice. . . 

 

The last time I really cared about the MiG-21bis project was in 2011 when an opportunity was lost to make good kit of this aircraft version.

 

The problem is that the archive has ALL the letters where the company is asking for my advice and help, going back decades.  So . . .

 

But more on the build is in another forum here on ARC. 

 

 

Best regards
Gabor

[ya-gabor]

After all the constructive comments, especially on the Czech forum it is time to get back to the question of the MiG-21bis in 72 nd scale. It is important to identify the differences from the MiG-21MF before one does any work but it is also important to get the dimensions right. There are kit manufacturers who produce Me-109G6 in strange scale and after “strong attacking comments” from deviant modellers realize how big a blunder they have made and start again from scratch.

 

To avoid this in my own research I did go out and measure the real metal of a MiG-21bis. Here it is.       

 

I know April first was yesterday but . . .

 

Best regards

Gabor

[ya-gabor]

The never ending saga.  : )  : )  : )

Once again before being accused of one sidedness here is the latest instalment of the CEO’s views on this subject taken from the Czech forum, just to give a clearer picture:

 

No, it's not like Gábor provided us with all sorts of documents and pointed out some mistake when we were designing the MiG-21s in 1/48 scale. We designed the MiG-21MF, Bis and SMT based on documents we obtained ourselves or our Czech consultants provided us with, and primarily based on documentation and measurements of real MiG-21s in museums. We had measurements from Kbel for the MF, we measured the Bisa in the former GDR and we were in Lithuania for the SMT. We worked on the design and production of the molds for the first three types for about three years. I don't remember exactly when Gábor appeared there, I remember him when he arranged for us to have a MiG-21 for filming an advertisement in Hungary.

With Gábor's famous nose, we of course knew, based on measurements and documents, that the intake on the nose was larger than on the MF, and we made it that way. The problem was that after the kit was released, Gábor started a campaign that the nose was wrong, because it wasn't just the mouth of the intake, the stainless steel ring on the bow, that was wider, but the entire diameter of the hull at the bow, even behind that ring, was wider.

So we went back to Gatow, and we measured both the Bisa and the MF in the hull area behind that ring. We did it really thoroughly, we spent two days there. I'll never forget it, because the sun burned my bald head, face and neck very badly. The result of the measurement was that in the place that Gábor indicated as wrong, there was a difference in the hull diameter in 1/48 scale of about 0.6 mm. Gábor made a fundamental mistake of the kit out of this, wrote about it wherever he could and wherever they gave him space, and managed to convince at least some modelers that the kit was wrong because of that. And he's been dragging it out for 14 years now.

In fact, 0.6 mm is in the place where the alleged error occurred, basically within the tolerance in the production of any kit, even on fundamental dimensions such as the fuselage length or span. On the fuselage diameter, it is something that you are not able to recognize on a built model (or on an unbuilt kit). It is really a negligible value that does not affect anything at all, because how the model works is affected by the front ring and its diameter on the leading edge. And that is correct, it is correctly larger than on the MF, it has a larger diameter and depth, the only deviation is in tenths of a degree in the slope of the side wall relative to the base. I believe that there will be people who will claim that they see the deviation on the model. But I would see it more as their problem, not ours.

As far as I know, Gábor didn't criticize anything else about the model at the time. For me, it's a kit from 2011, made the way kits were made fifteen years ago. Today we're somewhere else long ago. To be honest, I don't understand what the relevance of this kit is to the new 1/72 kit. It's a completely different matter, made according to the current style of our kit production. Gábor and anyone else has every right to evaluate and criticize it. But we haven't seen that from Gábor yet, he's hating the kit without stating what's actually wrong with it. Besides, that's not even possible, he doesn't have the kit, he doesn't have anything to evaluate it by.

So far, he's drawing attention to the differences between Bis and MF and it seems that he somehow assumes that we don't know about them and that we don't notice them. I don't quite understand why - we have solved all the differences there - the fuselage spine, the nose (including the difference in the place behind the ring, which bothered him so much on the quarter - it makes an exciting 0.4 mm, with the wall thickness of the molding in that place being 1 mm), we have the right wing, we have a completely new outlet nozzle with corrugation on the wall, a new afterburner ring (it has three connected rings at different levels, as it should be, it's not a completely simple part by the way), a new nozzle, the fuselage spine with the SOP, there is a new cockpit and a lot of little things, especially antennas and sensors that individual air forces mounted on their Bis as part of modernizations. There are also missiles added, including a pylon and adapter, which are not on the armament frame of the MF. If the level of detail in the plastic is not enough for someone, they can buy printed accessories - for example, the printed outlet pipe with nozzle and afterburner ring is beautiful. They will only find little things there, certainly some missing cap or engraving, but you can find that on every kit.

Gábor can evaluate and criticize all of that. But what he definitely shouldn't do is to flood the discussion by telling us what we did wrong fifteen years ago, talking about my ego and what kind of advice he gives us. He doesn't give advice. We asked him for advice several times for the encore, but he always sent us a letter about how we were doing everything wrong, we didn't follow his advice and we were totally incompetent idiots, led by me. The last time we asked him to look at the Hungarian Mig on the cover image of the kit. It turned out the same, he refused to comment on it. Then he laughed at him when he saw the first version of the image. However, I didn't see anything there that he would call wrong, except for the mountains in the background.

For me, what Gábor started here and on ARC is incorrect and unfair. I'm sorry, I have to write again that I always respected and liked him. But now, unfortunately, it seems to me that he is behaving at least inappropriately.

 

I rather getting on in the background with my kit builds. : )  : )  : ) (As in the title it is NOT out of box and may contain only traces of Czech kit) : )  : )

 

Best regards

Gabor

[ya-gabor]

Here is the answer to the above view.

 

It is sad to see that in 2025 the question is still about fractions of millimetre on the intake ring, be it on 48th or 72nd scale kit. The whole question is about the SHAPE of the nose. But this is only one point in a long list of differences between a MiG-21MF and a MiG-21bis that was provided to the company in 2011!

 

It is possible that the first memory of the CEO is from the Bunny fighter photoshoot in May 28th-29th 2013  but it is interesting that he already mentioned me in the INFO years before that. Loss of memory with old age is a problem for everyone but fortunately the 21bis project archive has it all down to the minute.  

Here is INFO 2011 May issue where our “love story” began. : )  : )

Directly after Moson we did have a lot of mail contacts and the first batch of information’s for the bis were sent on 29 th- 30 th of April 2011 and the notes for the MF (on 9 th May 2011 at 1600) as requested at Moson 2011.

In summer of 2011 a visit to Orbnice was prearranged with the CEO and we spent two days at the company talking about the MiG-21bis details. The CEO was somewhere else at the time, but I had a lot of talk directly with “Lada” Ladislav Jonás the designer of the kit and different other designers at the company. A detailed database was provided including corrections to the existing MF kit and also the differences required for the 21bis, in whatever scale it would be in the future.

Since the CEO was not there at the time he could have no knowledge of this it seems.

 

There is a bit of contradiction in the CEO’s statement. What exactly did he personally thank me for several times after the release of the 48th scale MiG-21bis IF ACCORDING TO CEO’S YESTERDAYS STATEMENT I HAD ABSOLUTELY NO INPUT WHAT SO EVER IN THE DEVELOPMENT WORK???

 

Till now all I did was to show bits and pieces of the real aircraft and details shown by the company of the production tool. Just a reminder a metal press tool is like a negative film in photography which has ALL the information which will be seen later on when you hold a paper print of that photograph in your hand. The moulding tool and different anodes were shown by company which represent the would be plastic parts. So there is no need to hold the plastic sprue in hand to see what is on it.

 

Of course any company will see as “unfair, unprovoked, aggressive and blatant bloody attack” any views which differ from what they think is right! This was the same in 2011 as it is now in 2025. Oh well . . . But this was the same when questions were asked in the ill-fated completely wrong scale first release of the Me-109G6 kit.

 

I can only repeat, since I provided everything in 2011, from then on there was absolutely no reason for my participation in any development of this particular kit! This includes the very last request by the company exactly a month ago, where I was asked to comment, correct the actual paint scheme  for the decals, of the ugly yellow 1904 aircraft. It had nothing to do with the box-art, only the actual paint scheme / decal. In February this year the CEO of this aftermarket company wrote on Moldeforum that all my letters are useless information for them and they don’t even open them and bother to read it. After this was a request in early March for corrections. Someone at the company should decide if they need or they don’t need any information from me.

The box-art is a completely separate affair, but all that was written earlier.

 

As for CEO’s request for my articles on 17th of November 2024 at 12.22, I simply don’t wish to contribute in any shape or form to the given aftermarket companies publications which I explained in detail to him! It is as simple as that!  

 

If the product is perfect then the producer should not be afraid of any comparisons of the real aircraft and the plastic parts.

 

Every time I stated, don’t believe me anything, believe your own eyes and look at the photos making your own decisions. It is a point of view if this is considered to be inappropriate, unfair, attacking . . .

 

Best regards

Gabor