Julien Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 MiG-31M Foxhound 1:48 HobbyBoss The MiG-31 is an incredible machine even today, but was innovative and even more impressive when it was first brought into service, delivering on the failed promises of the Mig-25 Foxbat, and adding more capabilities. The Zaslon-M aircraft was to be a further development of the aircraft. The new aircraft was to be fitted with a more powerful radar able to track further and more targets. As such the long range Air to Air Missile compliment was raised to 6. Three abreast at the front and back. Four medium range missiles were to be carried under the wings. The M model would have the cannon deleted and an in-flight refuelling system moved to the starboard side of the aircraft, additional fuel tanks added, and more powerful engines fitted. For the airframe to accommodate all of the the mid fuselage cross section was increased. Noticeable differences were a rounded windscreen, small side windows for the rear cockpit, wing leading edge extensions, and wing tip mounted ECM pods. 1 Prototype and 6 flyable pre-production units were created before the break up of the USSR ended the project. Some of the improvements for the M would later make their way into the current upgrading of the existing MiG-31, which makes you wonder how formidable the M would have been had it reached production. The Kit Until recently modellers in 1:48 scale had little choice when it came to the Foxhound, but now they have two modern new toolings of the in service aircraft. This kit does differ somewhat from the In service one we reviewed here. The kit arrives as one large lower fuselage moulding, 9 major sprues, 16 weapons sprues, a clear spure, rubber tyres, a small photo etched sheet and a set of metal landing gear. Construction starts in the cockpit. The 7 part ejections seats are made up and added to the tub along with the rear and mid bulkheads and pilots control column, and back seaters radar controller. The instrument panel are added with the instruments being in decal form. The side walls are then added. Once the cockpit is complete it can be added into the nose section and the coamings added. The intakes are the next parts to be built up. These are fairly large boxes. The intake ramps are added and then the side go around this. Large intake ducts are then built up and added to the back of the intakes. What look to be additional suck in doors are added to the top, though these are only moulded in the closed position. The nose wheel bay is then built up. This is complex multi-part affair with the metal leg being fixed in at this point. This is then followed by the main wheel bays. All the gear bays can then be fitted into the lower fuselage moulding, and when done the nose section added. The engine fronts can then be added to the rear of the intake trunking, and these can then be fitted into the lower fuselage moulding. Next up the lower wings are added to the large upper wings/fuselage moulding. Separate flaps and ailerons are provided for the main wing. Once the main upper structure is finished this can be added to the complete lower structure, not forgetting a single part at the very rear of the airframe separating the engines. The engines themselves are then made up. There are 5 fairly large parts to each engine which will give a fair representation of the huge engines fitted to the aircraft. Once the engines are in the tail planes can also be added. The twin tails have their separate rudders added, then they go onto the airframe. A large fence is then added to each wing. Moving back to the front of the airframe an injected frame is added to each main canopy along with PE mirrors for the pilots canopy. Once made up these can be installed along with the front one part windscreen. The main gear units are then built up and their tyres added. I am not sure how well the rubber tyres will stand up to the weight of the completed model. To finish of the airframe bottom variable ramps for the intakes are fitted, all the gear doors are added, and a variety of aerials and pitot probes. Now for the fun parts – the weapons. This starts with the wing pylons, which are built up from two halves each, and fit into pre-drilled holes in the underside of the wing panels. The wingtip ECM pods are alos built up and added. 6 of the large long range AA missiles are built up for the under fuselage stations. For the wing pylons a combination of medium range AAMs and Short range AAMs, along with fuel tanks can be selected. Markings Markings are supplied for blue 057 prototype, other letters are there and can be arranged for other machines. A full set of stencils are included. All aircraft are medium grey (see AKAN for the perfect colours), and have the obligatory National markings of red stars on the wings and tail surfaces. Conclusion While the kit does share some of the flaws of the other one however if you want to model the M version of this impressive aircraft this kit is currently the only one out there. Recommended. Our sincere thanks to our friends at Creative for letting us have this review sample. Review sample courtesy of 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fewr9fkr9595 Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 On offer at creative this week for just over £40 free p&p 👍🏿 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 That's a good price - I hadn't noticed how different the airframe was from the original, so I've put Julien's arm up his back and he's sending that one back to me Would have been an awesome aircraft if it had made it to production Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted February 8, 2018 Author Share Posted February 8, 2018 57 minutes ago, Tony Oliver said: On offer at creative this week for just over £40 free p&p 👍🏿 That is a good price. 51 minutes ago, Mike said: That's a good price - I hadn't noticed how different the airframe was from the original, so I've put Julien's arm up his back and he's sending that one back to me Would have been an awesome aircraft if it had made it to production Hmm really Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim T Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 Thanks for the heads up Tony. Just bought mine. Would be rude not to at that price! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fewr9fkr9595 Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 3 hours ago, Tim T said: Thanks for the heads up Tony. Just bought mine. Would be rude not to at that price! No worries mate... I did too Will have all three of the mighty hboss migs in the stash when it arrives tomorrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fewr9fkr9595 Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Comparison Pictures! I was worried that it was going to be the same kit with a new canopy and ecm pods to add onto the wingtips. As looking at the sprues in grainy online pictures showed the same layout. Yes the parts layout on the sprues are the same but they contain reworked bits to account for the larger spine, different wingtips completely and the whole lower fuselage is new too for wider spaced engines and extra missiles. Also the nose halves have been reworked to show different panels and the like. No shown canopy etc as they are obviously different. So overall there are enough differences to point out and show to the wife to justify buying it. When I eventually tell her about it anyways... Bare parts are from standard/first MiG-31 sans suffix kit, parts still in plastic are new MiG-31M Hope these are of use to someone. Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted February 22, 2018 Author Share Posted February 22, 2018 On 08/02/2018 at 12:46, Mike said: That's a good price - I hadn't noticed how different the airframe was from the original, so I've put Julien's arm up his back and he's sending that one back to me Would have been an awesome aircraft if it had made it to production Yes I had to give this one back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dudikoff Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 On 2/9/2018 at 5:32 PM, Tony Oliver said: Comparison Pictures! I was worried that it was going to be the same kit with a new canopy and ecm pods to add onto the wingtips. As looking at the sprues in grainy online pictures showed the same layout. Hope these are of use to someone. Thanks for the effort, always nice to see a direct comparison photos. I got myself one, as well as this is a must-have for me. I myself used the initially published colour reference as an indication on what to expect from the kit and it seemed to indicate all the major differences are there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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