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Spiros Pendedekas
153 articles

Hobby Boss 1/72 MiG-15 UTI

October 23, 2023 · in Aviation · · 49 · 322

Following the 14 July 1958 Revolution, which resulted in the end of monarchy in Iraq, the influence of the Iraqi Communist Party grew significantly.

The first commander of the now Iraqi Air Force (the "Royal" prefix was dropped after the revolution), Jalal Jaffar al-Awqati, an outspoken communist, encouraged prime minister Abd al-Karim Qasim to improve relations between Iraq and the USSR. The Soviets reacted quickly, and in the autumn of 1958 a series of arms contracts was passed between Iraq and the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia.

As a result of the above contracts, the delivery of various aircraft was stipulated, including MiG-17F fighters, Ilyushin Il-28 bombers and Antonov An-2 and An-12 transports.

Among these was a number of the mass produced (2012 units) MiG-15UTI trainers. The type, which in essence was the two seat derivative of the charismatic yet temperamental MiG-15, retained the advanced (for the time) flight characteristics, but also the idiosyncrasies (unrecoverable spin after stall, severe buffeting after Mach 0.92) of the single seater brother, providing crucial jet training to Iraqi pilots for many years until the late 80s.

This is the regularly reboxed two seat version of the HobbyBoss 1/72 “Easy Assembly” MiG-15, a by all means good, solid kit with few and of little importance shortcuts taken due to its Easy Assembly nature, a real bargain for the price offered.

The specific kit was bought from my hometown's sole petite hobby shop in 2021 and I decided to build and send it to a good friend who lives in Bordeaux, France as a 2023 Christmas present. Should you wish to read the full build review, you may do so by visiting my beloved site Modelingmadness:
https://modelingmadness.com/review/korean/ussr/fighters/pen15u.htm

Happy Modelling!

Reader reactions:
16  Awesome 3  1 

49 responses

  1. Very nice Mig Spiros!

  2. Looks great my friend!

  3. I love the Mig 15 and this is a lovely build, Spiros @fiveten! The camouflage pattern is beautiful and how on earth do you always get such clean canopies 🙂

  4. Who say's simple can not say a lot. Or like a picture a model can say a thousand words. Some strong work with some great photos Spiros.

  5. I have one of these in 1/72 - now I know what to do with it! This scheme looks great, and your build is excellent.

  6. I have one of these in 1/72 also, though an older mold - now I know what to do with it! This scheme looks great, and your build is excellent.

  7. Nice work on this, @fiveten.

    I did the Eduard kit, a good alternative to those MiG aficionados who like more detail, but these Hobby Easy kits are a good value.

  8. Great build & finish. A real gem for your friend.

  9. Great looking MiG, Spiros.
    Proof once again, those HB 'Easy Assembly' kits are always worth a look.

  10. Well done! Looks like a wee little kit...

  11. Nice job on the MiG, Spiros!

  12. Really really nice Spiros

  13. Ah, it’s that time of year again, I’m sure your friend in France will be very happy to receive his Christmas gift.

  14. This one really came out nice, Spiros (@fiveten). I really like the camo. Well done.

  15. Excellent result and such an interesting aircraft. It has a certain ugly charm to it which you've captured to perfection.

  16. Excellent achievement on this little MiG, Spiros @fiveten
    The camouflage scheme suites this aircraft very well.
    It can easily pass for a much larger scale.
    Your friend will be very happy to add it to his collection.

  17. Very nice MiG with not so common paint scheme. Well done.

  18. Hey Spiros buddy , what a nice job you made of this ungainly looking little bird ! ,I like it.

  19. Paint job is stellar, Spiros. Great job!

  20. Nice work, Spiros. Good to see one of these built.

  21. @fiveten - Very cool build Spiros. Amazing that this kit was so inexpensive. Just goes to show it's not the cost of the kit but the experience of the builder that really matters.

  22. Very nice build of an interesting subject Spiros. I have to admit, I didn't know there were 2 seat versions of the Mig 15, but it makes sense there were some. I like the camo pattern, it's a nice change from all metal sceams. Outstanding job.

  23. Nicely done Spiros, looks good in that scheme.

  24. Great paiting! It is this small HB kit with few parts?

  25. Very nice! Interesting version & deployment of a MIG-15!

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