MiG I-3U (I420) Modelsvit 1/72 - First of the 'Heavy MiGs'

[John R]

 

 

In the early fifties the Soviet Union was attempting to develop an integrated intercept system. After a couple of false starts, due mainly to the lack of a suitable engine, the MiG I-3U appeared. According to the description in the kit this first flew in 1956 and testing took place during 1956 and 1958. However according to the book 'MiG - Fifty years of secret aircraft design'  by Belyakov and Marmain there were continual problems with the engine and the project was terminated before it flew. I probably would not have bought the kit had I known this but I only discovered it several years later.

I have fascination with the ‘Heavy MiGs’ that appeared in the 50’s and early 60’s so when I saw this kit was available I had to have one. I was positively excited when it arrived to find that there are plans to produce kits of the rest of the series. Be still my beating heart….

As they say, ‘be careful what you wish for…’ there is a warning on the box about it being a limited production item and the instructions warn that it is designed for experienced modellers. Presumably those with their analyst’s home phone number or a resident nurse.

There is something of the curate’s egg about this one as initial impressions were quite favourable. The surface detail is good and the main parts fit together without too much trouble. I didn’t like the way the top and bottom of the wings fitted together as there is an ugly joint along the top surface where it meets the flap section, which is part of the lower surface. Fitting the wings to the fuselage required some carving to get them at the same angle of incidence, the same dihedral and the same fore aft position. I got so concerned with the first two that I didn’t get the last one right.

Fitting the cockpit and nose cone was a nightmare, requiring much carving to get them to fit. This is complicated by the nose cone NOT BEING IN THE CENTRE OF THE INTAKE. Guess who failed to notice this until it became obvious that something was very wrong but fortunately before too much had been cut away and glue applied. The instructions would have you assemble the cockpit, nose cone and nose landing gear in one piece and fit them to the fuselage. I couldn’t do this and had to cut away a lot of cockpit sidewall to get it in such a position that the pilot’s seat was sufficiently high enough for him to see out. Nothing was said about nose weight but there is plenty of room for it around and aft of the cockpit.

The rest went together without much trouble but I did replace the monstrous pitot tubes with ones made from tube as I couldn’t see them surviving in their original form. According to photos there should be small fins fitted to them but I didn’t think that my fumble fingers were up to anything that delicate.

The finish is mainly Alclad aluminium over matt black acrylic with various panels in different shades to try to avoid that ‘aluminium tube’ look.

I had some problems with the decals. The instructions call for the under wing ones to be put on back to front. The ones for the fin looked a bit too big and were replaced with ones from the spares box. These used a different shade of red so I replaced the lot. I also had one of the originals break up so take care if you use them.

There are a couple of boo-boos. The air intakes around the rear fuselage are not correct and the finish is a bit rough in places. My excuse is that I rather hurried through the build after being afflicted by ‘getonefinished-itis’ after a rather frustrating time with a number of other projects grinding to a halt.

I hope you find this of interest. Any comments, positive or negative, are welcome as they may help someone else.

John

[Darby]

Very Pre Glasnost. Nice and different

[Paul A H]

Cool!

[colossusfr]

Nice build. I like this type of plane.

Alain

[Val]

Very cool

[general melchett]

Great stuff John, I know they are 'challenging' to build but all power to Amodel/Modelsvit for producing these wonderful machines in the first place ! Lets hope for a nice and shiny YE-152A at some point too....well done with persevering with it, the end result seems worth the hassle........

[Learstang]

Very nice! That's one Soviet type I haven't seen before, being more of a Great Patriotic War fan. I tend to stay away from the postwar Soviet aircraft as there's just so many fascinating types, especially if you include the experimental aeroplanes, that I'd buy yet more kits that I'll never get to. And yes, General, "Hear, hear!" to Amodel?Modelsvit for tackling such interesting subjects.

Regards,

Jason

[John R]

This was in the kit. When, or even if, they will appear is still unknown. Given the state of the Ukraine I don't hold out much hope that they will be on sale before my ageing fingers give up. The price should not break the bank. The I3-U was about £24.

John

[general melchett]

That's great John...didn't realize they're planning to do the whole series ....including the E-150 and I-75 !....hope they make it to production....

[John R]

Just updated the description to explain that contrary to the description in the kit it never flew due to unresolved problems with its engine.

Just found out about this when considering starting an I-75, one of its succesors that did fly

John

[Wulfman]

Lovely build and finish on the MiG !

 

Wulfman

[GiampieroSilvestri]

Fantastic Mig I-3U (I-420)!

 

Saluti

 

Giampiero