1/48 Eduard Mig-21 SMT/MT in Cold War Theme (USSR)
I built this Mig-21 about 2 years ago, maybe a bit longer. I apologize for the terrible photographs but they are the only pictures I have of this cool model and wanted to share. I actually sold this model on a well-known auction site so I can no longer take pictures of it. I guess I will just need to build another one and take much better pictures!
This was the 1st Eduard kit I had built and the 1st Mig-21 since I was a youngster and built the old Revell Mig-21. Overall It was a great kit but only the weekend edition so I needed to purchase a few after-market goodies to improve the overall detail and appearance. I dont recall having any significant problems with the build and the molding was excellent demonstrating good surface details and panel lines. I recall the hardest part of the build for me was finding and/or mixing the right color for a Russian jet interior. I think I got it right. I know now a few well known paint companies make a perfect match and I own a bottle in preparation for another cold-war Russian bird.
My goal for this build was to create a model that resembled a real, hard-working, and worn out Russian war machine. As a result I spent a lot of time on weathering of the multi-colored Russian camo. I needed to use techniques which toned down the brightness significantly. I accomplished this by doing a lot of dry-brushing of the whole aircraft with lightened colors in the same family as the camo colors. I also misted some highly lightened and neutral colored very thinned paint over the whole surface until I achieved the desired faded effect.
BTW the white stuff you see stuck under the landing gear is a blu-tac like substance. I used this to hold down the plane on the clear display stand to avoid it sliding around every time I moved it. Broke the pitot tube a few times due to model sliding within the display box...ouch! Any how not my best work and not my best picture taking but hope your enjoy the article.
Looks like you achieved that "well-worn" look pretty well, Paul...almost looks brush-painted.
You gotta get a camera, so the pix are worthy of the model. Go up on eBay and get an old Nikon Coolpix picket camera for cheap- it'll do the job perfectly.
Like the weathered and worn look you achieved with this. Very nice!
Great job! My favorite Mig, had a silhouette of one painted on my flight deck jersey.
Classic version of this cold war jet, looks really great. Try using double sided tape instead of that "white-tak" to keep the wheels in place, it should look a lot neater.
Great work. Always like the looks of the humpback SMTs!
Great Mig, Paul. A real winner!