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Hi all, Another roll-out from the Williams’ production line. This one could be described a conversion but truly it was not converted and remained the original type. It is more of an amalgamation. The work was in the incorporation of Eduard parts to raise the detail level of the final model. It is, therefore a KP/RV MiG-21UM “Sparka” (popular name) enhanced by parts from Eduard MiG-21MF and PFM kits. That is an awful waste of plastic and hard earned cash you’ll be crying out but this, for me, was an experiment to see what was possible, given the mainline manufacturer’s (I mean Eduard’s 😉) resistance to producing a high quality twin-seat MiG-21. The leftover PFM and MF bits will help my future builds, including the FL. If you are a rivet-counting kind of modeller I’d better put out my disclaimer now – some panel detail will be inaccurate. I also forgot to change the small panel on the port side of the fin. It is vertical in orientation on the UM as opposed to horizontal on the PFM. It was too late to change when I realised ☹ On reflection I should have set up a WIP – I am sorry that I didn’t. The main work was the insertion of the lower fuselage section from the Eduard kit. This took a fair bit of wrangling before it settled okay. It also meant using the entire Eduard main undercarriage and doors. In addition to that there was: a new nose intake (resin), different jet pipe (Eduard), different fin from the PFM (Eduard), new various scoops (resin and Eduard), a new cockpit (resin). I made and added the AoA vane on the port-side nose, and a few other little bits and pieces. I attempted to use the Eduard tail pipe surround too but the dimensions were too far out from the KP so I didn’t bother. I also cut out the forward speedbrake housing and fashioned a brake from a spare MiG-21 fuselage, giving me a matching curve. Here she is at the dry fitting stage: At this point she still had the KP fin and rudder. And a couple later on: The baseline KP/RV kit is actually not too bad. However, it does lack some features which are obvious to anyone who has even the scantest knowledge of the type. For example, it has no forward or aft positionable speed brakes. Of course, the fighter variant MiG-21s had a different arrangement in the forward bay but the rear was identical - one area where the Eduard helps enormously. This is the parts breakdown: I’ve chosen to finish the model as MiG-21UM “TZ-358” (c/n 5169570016) of the Force Aerienne de la Republique du Mali (FARM) and operated from Base Aerienne 101, Bamako-Senou. She was last seen in a derelict condition in 2014, having been delivered to the air arm in the mid-1980s. As a proficiency and recurrency trainer she and the other UMs supported the mixed fleet of MiG-21MFs and Bis fighters. What is interesting to me, apart from the unusual colours, is the wide range of finishes that these machines acquired during their service. I seemed there was a mix of locally applied colours as well as factory-applied finishes after maintenance in the Czech Republic and Soviet Union (or Ukraine). Here she is when stored in the hangar at Bamako-Senou. Note the "weighted" tyres ;): Credit: E.B via Jean-luc Debroux So, what did I do or use?: 1. Kit – KP MiG-21UM 1/72 (KPM0132), the Eduard MiG-21PFM (70144) and the Eduard MiG-21MF (7451). The KP provided the fuselage. The PFM provided the fin with the separate rudder (not available on the MF kit and an essential for a MiG-21). The MF provided the lower fuselage section with the wings, the undercarriage, elevons (pivoted on brass), jet pipe and many small bits and pieces. 2. Decals – The Aviation Megastore neglected to include a stiffener in the packaging ofmy Lift Here order and the postal service folded it! Fortunately I had the roundels in the spares files from the Blue Rider Chaco War set. The stencils came from the Begamot set (72-021) and Giorgio @Giorgio N produced the serial for me. The Aviation Megastore did me a favour! (They did refund me ) 3. Paints – Colourcoats MiG Cockpit Blue Green ( ACSM07), Eau-de-nil (ACRN30 ), Desert Pink+Chestnut ( ACRN16+ACGW06 66%&33%), Sand (ACSM10 ) and Pale Blue Grey (ACSM01). Various Humbrol – Polished Aluminium (27002) and Steel (27003), Glosscote, Mattcote, etc. 4. Aftermarket - Aires MiG-21UM Cockpit and seats resin set, wheels, Pavla intake, Aires scoops, 5. Weathering etc – Tamiya Powders and Flory washes (Dirt and Sand) plus silver pencil Conclusions? In my view it was absolutely worth doing. There was a fair bit of wrangling to get the lower wing and fuselage section to match up with the KP fuselage, but you can get there, as you can see. I had to whittle down the main undercarriage housing get it in. You can probably achieve the same thing by using just the PFM kit as the donor rather than going my expensive route. I’m not a MiG expert at all and so I can’t be sure. I chose to add the entire section because it added detail to the wings too. The use of the PFM fin also added a lot of crisp detail too. For any MiG-21 there is a need for the speed brakes to be open to varying degrees. When the hydraulics were off these always dropped. You can see on every photo that this is the case. This is another reason why the use of the Eduard parts is an advantage. What you will not get is the forward brake and so you will have to make one yourself. By employing Eduard’s far superior moulding and engineering you can get a very good Sparka. Would I do it again? Yes, and I will 😊. One day I will build an Indian MiG-21U-400, specifically “U455” of the MOFTU at Tezpur. It will be in memory of Phil Camp. That will bring more challenge, of course, but why not! 😊 I hope you like her as much as I do!! Martin PS: It was my first set of photos using my two new ring lights (£7.98 each in the "cheap" shop )