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At the Moscow "Мир детства 2021" expo, ICM has announced a 1/72nd family of Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23/-27 Flogger from 2022 Source: AlexGRD V.P.

Greetings, dear modelling community! Some time ago, we finished the first test assembly of the Mig-23ML from the Ukrainian manufacturer Clear Prop Models. You can see the results here. The first assembly was aimed at checking the convergence of all elements, identifying flaws, and seeing what and where can be improved. The first test model was not painted. Now we are starting the second test assembly of this model, this time a full-fledged one. It is planned to assemble a modification of the MiG-23MLA, Czechoslovakia, serial number 0390324850. On the banner this board is shown as of May 1983, but I will assemble this board as of February 1983 - when it still had a completely standard factory color. The first test assembly confirmed all the expectations built into the model at the design stage. However, as a result, it was decided to make a number of improvements. One such improvement was the development of more detailed out-of-the-box photo-etching: The number of photo-etched parts has been increased by more than one and a half times compared to the original version, the detailing of each element has been revised and, if possible, finalized. This build of the model will also feature an additional Clear Prop Models resin accessories. Details are under development. At the moment, we can demonstrate the resin nozzle: A distinctive feature of this accessories (in addition to surface detailing) is the implementation of the peculiarity of the nozzle sag in the parking position. In out-of-the-box plastic, the nozzle is strictly symmetrical along the axis. This is entirely true for the flight configuration, but not for the parking one. During the assembly process, I plan on my own all kinds of improvements by hand. The model does not need any recutting, but I plan to improve and supplement the detailing of individual elements. Assembly begins with the cockpit. The first thing I can show is the cabin floor with all the elements: I made a new throttle so that this part of the cabin looked more voluminous. Native throttle has already been removed. In fact, this is the start. As updates become available, I will post them.

ClearProp Models is to release a family of (wrong scale ) 1/72nd Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23ML, MLA, MLD and P "Flogger" kits. First in line is a 1/72nd MiG-23MLD "Flogger-K" - ref. CP72021 Source: https://www.facebook.com/Clearpropmodels/posts/2801911910091290 Concerning the last statement I suspect a family of ground-attack MiG-23BN/MiG-27. V.P.

Kovozávody Prostějov is to release a family of 1/72nd Mig-23 Flogger kits. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234931186-azmodellegatoadmiral-wwii-aircraft-comments-questions-and-wishes/?p=1891334 New tool? That's the question. Some sources quoted these future kits as repop from the R.V. Aircraft moulds. V.P.

Please widen you screen for a side by side display : Jaguar Compared to the GR1A, note the different nose laser instrument. The Two seater E (École / School) sports two guns whereas the B/T has only one. About the external difference between DEFA and Aden guns, see link : http://www2.capitole-kit-club.fr/walkarounds/jaguk/ For a detailed history, see : http://www.militaryf...?aircraft_id=92 Hunter MiG-23 More here : http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=234919159 http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234918558-a-day-at-the-museum/?hl=%2Bday+%2Bthe+%2Bmuseum http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234918446-a-day-at-the-museum/?hl=%2Bday+%2Bthe+%2Bmuseum http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=234919157 http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=79182

MiG-23 MF (Flogger-B) | 1/72 | Hasegawa East Germany I finished this on 1/31/2021. This replaces a long-lost MPC MiG-23 I made in middle school. I bought the kit only about a year ago, with the intention of doing an East German MiG. I saw one at the Evergreen museum in Oregon and for some reason the colors in the camouflage really appealed to me (pictures in my WIP). Not a lot to say about this build... it's not based on a specific aircraft and the decals were actually for a MiG-23BN (MiG-27 lookalike) and as a result were missing a couple insignia that go on the nose and tail that I've seen on all operational E. German MiG-23's. These missing insignia are just a couple of a few minor inaccuracies in this build, which is disappointing, but it still looks really cool on the shelf, so I think overall it was a win . The kit itself went together fairly well. The seams weren't terrible. It took a little scratch building to fix some errors in the cockpit and bring it up to snuff. I had to figure out the colors myself, which was a little hard, but I think I matched the colors on the Evergreen Museum MiG. Operational E. German MiG-23s seemed to have a range of colors used for the Dk. Green / Lt. Green / brown camo and there were also patches of different colors on operational MiGs, maybe from repairs or touch ups. I tried to replicate this in my paint job. Finishing: Seams filled with CA Paints: Mr. Color C56 (IJN Gray Green [Nakajima]), Mr. Color C43 (Wood brown), Hataka RLM 70 on top / Mr. Color C20 (Light Blue) on bottom / Mr. Color C331 (Dark Sea Gray) for dielectric panels / Mr. Color Super Metallic Stainless Steel with a dusting of Alclad Magnesium for all metal surfaces except the exhaust nozzle, which was Alclad Steel Weathering/Wear: Ivory Black and Burnt Umber oil paints Decals: Hi Decal Line 72-017 Here I had to build up the floor so that the seat would sit properly -- as it was, it was way too low. I also replaced the lame control stick with one from a Testors F/A-18, and made the seatbelts and ejection pull handles myself. That, and the detailing I did on the dashboard are actually visible with the canopy open or shut, which makes me happy! I'm still perfecting my penciled in panel lines technique. This kit had raised panel lines, which I sanded off completely, and then penciled them in at the end. They are barely visible in this photo, which is the point! To me, just barely visible panel lines seem the most realistic. I haven't gotten to the point where I'm going to fill in engraved panel lines and re-do them with a pencil because I'm too lazy for that, but it is a distinct possibility with the Airfix 1/72 Spitfire Mk. I that I have in the stash! The wheel bays were very plain, having just two vertical spars in them. I found pictures of MiG-23 wheel bays and copied the hydraulic lines and pipework. It makes a difference because design of the wheel bays and their doors means the interior of the main wheel bays can be seen from the side. I think they turned out OK despite these bad pictures. Close up of the detail I added to the dashboard and the painting of the Odd Rods and the panel they are mounted on. Thanks for looking! Comments, questions or constructive criticism welcome!

My wife chose my next build for me. This Hasegawa MiG-23 has been in the stash for only about a year. I bought it with the intention of doing an East German MiG. I saw one at the Evergreen museum in Oregon and for some reason the colors in the camouflage really appealed to me. I can't say that this is the correct version of the MiG-23 to match what was in the museum, but I think it is. The decals are not entirely correct either, so this will be a somewhat-less-than-exact build. I've wanted to do a MiG-23 for a long time now. I had done one when I was in 8th grade. It was the MPC boxing of the Airfix mold and it is also one of two models I don't have here or at my parents' house and the only one I can't remember for the life of me what it's fate was. It was a "bare metal" (Hand painted silver... ) Soviet build and I loved it, but I just can't remember what became of it. It had to be something tragic, because I tend to keep everything, even for spare parts. Weird. The other funny story about the old MiG model was how I got it. It was hard to find any models in my town back then (or now, really...) and it was especially hard to find models of Soviet aircraft. So when I saw it, you can imagine how badly I wanted it. Being an 8th grader with no income, I was at the mercy of my parents. Standing there in the store, I remembered that I had a "how-to" presentation coming up at school (my English class was doing a unit on speeches, which included a formal speech, a demonstration ("how-to") speech and so on), and I decided on the spot that I could do my presentation on how to put a decal on. So, suddenly, I needed to have that model for School! ("but mom, it's for school! I don't really want it that bad... but I want to get a good grade, so....") I'm pretty sure my mom could see right through it, but indulged me anyway. Back to today... Here's the parts shot: I thought the cockpit would be pretty straightforward, but after some dry fitting and looking at several cockpit pictures, I realized that the seat is way too low. Hasegawa made the cockpit floor and the front wheel-bay ceiling (?) the same part. Unfortunately, the cockpit floor needed to be much higher. I added spacers on the bottom to get it to the correct height. Much better. The cockpit is the usual late 80's, early 90's affair with no detail at all. Not even a stick. I found an F/A-18 stick in the spares box, so that will have to do. Once I had that, I realized the floor needed to come up. There we go. There was a ton of room between the seat and the sidewalls, so I pushed the sidewalls in with some styrene, basing it on the pictures I have of the cockpit. It's not perfect because the seat is too wide to have the correct side consoles, but at least it gives the illusion of a more cramped cockpit. I probably won't be able to see much detail through the canopy when its finished anyway. And so to the paint booth. Afterwards, I used a tooth pick to add some black and red "buttons" and "switches" that are only slightly correct. It really just to provide some visual interest through the canopy when it's finished. Having a seat inside a turquoise box to look at wouldn't be that realistic. Not that this is much better, but at least it's something. I also painted the seat, but no pictures because, well, it's just a gray seat right now. I did make some ejection pull handles for it though, out of some very small gauge wire: I think I've got all the external colors nailed down, except for the light green... that is proving to be difficult. there are a half dozen suggestions from about a half dozen model and decal manufacturers and they all look wrong. My wife is a painter and has a good eye for color, and she gave me a couple ideas for mixing my own, so I'm confident I can get it. Hope you're intrigued enough to follow along... I think this will be fun. Maybe not too accurate, but fun.

I really do need to avoid the GB Chat area!!! Aa a result of wandering through the GB forums (..I won’t say why… ) , we’ve had STGB’s for pretty well all the popular/known modern jets (even multiple times) and one was noticeably missing, the MiG-23/27. Whilst the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23/27 was probably not their most popular or well-loved product, they did produce over 6000 in all their variants and used by just about everyone (37 counties in total), and surprisingly is still in use (9 counties in total). So it’s probably time we had a STGB for her and show her a little love. The MiG-27 is included as she is a direct sibling much like the MiG-31 is a sibling of the earlier MiG-25. There’s a huge range of models available, with even a great number of interesting schemes. Me, I’ll be going with Eduards 1/48th “Bedna” MiG-23MF/ML model…in Czech Tiger scheme of course! 1, trickyrich - host 2, Corsairfoxfouruncle 3, Col. 4, reini 5, zebra 6, Marlin 7, Valkyrie 8, Foxbat 9, Jabba 10, Arniec 11, theplasticsurgeon 12, helios16v 13, CliffB 14, exdraken 15,

Hi, all! Since this topic expressed an interest in further discussion of problems with the first versions of the MiG-23, an automatic translation from Russian is published: "Another unpleasant feature was the unstable operation of the side air intakes during glide flights, when one of them was obscured by the fuselage. The disruption of the normal air flow was manifested by a hum, which was clearly audible in the cockpit and warned of the danger of stalling the flow in the input devices. The MiG-23 did not tolerate slipping in flight with the wing folded down, responding to lateral movement with energetic roll development. Such properties of the aircraft required a more thorough study of the characteristics of track and lateral stability. The change in sweep was accompanied by a significant effect on the roll and yaw behavior of the aircraft: when the wing was released with its large span, the machine responded to the leg only by sliding, however, with the wing retracted, the moment of inertia of the aircraft "squeezing the wing" decreased so much that it literally fell into a roll. The reasons for the decrease in lateral stability were the features of the aerodynamics of the machine in combination with control with a differential stabilizer instead of the usual ailerons. In addition to reducing the lateral moment of inertia with the wing folded by about half, countering the roll as the sweep increased was made difficult by the fact that the damping qualities of a fully retracted wing with a small span deteriorated by an order of magnitude. In theory, these features were predictable, but their practical consideration caused many problems. In flight, the aircraft reacted to the ground at elevated angles of attack with side swing and energetic roll. Likewise, sliding led to a stall on the wing, which was especially evident at high flight speeds. Due to the fact that when shifting the wing and performing energetic maneuvers, it was troublesome for the pilot to monitor the change in lateral stability, piloting with aerobatics on the MiG-23 for the first time on domestic aircraft was prescribed to be performed only with the Automatic System Control ( next on text – ASC) turned on in the "stabilization" mode. Moreover: with the suspension of the ventral drop-tank , the reserves of track and lateral stability were so reduced that the flight had to be performed exclusively with the ACS turned on, and in case of its failure and the presence of suspensions, it was allowed to land only by dropping the outboard tank. Aerobatics with a large sweep In flight MiG-23 mod. 1969, with mock-ups of K-23 missiles under the wing, it was prescribed to perform "smoothly and in a coordinated manner, without slipping, avoiding sharp deviations of the rudder, when maneuvering, do not rely only on the sensations on the handle and signs in the behavior of the aircraft, but control it by instruments" (however , the same instructions about "competent and accurate piloting" were contained in the manuals for other aircraft). The presence of other features did not cause significant problems. So, the alarming displacement of the center of gravity, focus and shoulder of balancing forces during wing shifting was easily parried by the handle. With an increase in sweep up to 50oza due to the wing retreat, a small diving moment arose, compensated by taking the handle towards itself by only 30 mm. With a further increase in sweep to 72 °, on the contrary, a weak pitching moment arose, which was eliminated by pushing the handle away from itself by about 15 mm. The change in longitudinal balancing took place quite smoothly, since the full wing transfer took about 18 seconds (a little less when retracting the wing, which was helped by the incoming air flow during the backward stroke). Removal of the rebalancing characteristic of the aircraft, which manifested itself with any change in the flight mode, was ensured by trimming using the trim effect mechanism, the slider button of which was located on the control handle next to the thumb and was controlled by the pilot in response to the occurrence of pressing or pulling forces on the handle. The "game" with the trim button accompanied the entire flight of the MiG-23, accompanying practically any change in flight control and conditions, whether it be a wing shift, a change in speed or a change in altitude. The pilot did this completely reflexively, habitually restoring the balance of the aircraft in the same way as was done when the landing gear and flaps were extended and retracted or when the engine speed increased. This control feature of the MiG-23 accompanied his entire career, making it possible to distinguish the pilots flying on it by the always worn thumb of the uniform leather glove of his right hand. The same skill required constant monitoring of the slide indicator, the movable "ball" of which should be kept as close to the center as possible. The identified shortcomings of technology were corrected by making changes to the design. Among them was the weak survivability of plastic seals in bay." "A significant disadvantage of the MiG-23 was the insufficiency of normal overloads in the angle of attack, revealed during the tests, caused by the early stall of the flow on the wing. In turn, the use of increased angles of attack was a consequence of the interest in improving the maneuverability of the aircraft, associated with the need for a close air combat fighter. As already mentioned, these requests arose already during the tests of the aircraft, forcing significant changes to the design of the machine. Major General Engineer A. P. Ovsyannikov from the Air Force High Command noted the essence of the issue: “The experience of fighting in Vietnam and the Middle East demanded the use of the MiG-23 interceptor fighter in close maneuverable air combat, which made it necessary to draw attention to the relevant characteristics of the aircraft. " If the unsatisfactory strength and the associated limitations on overloads could be overcome by strengthening the existing structure, then this disadvantage required aerodynamic improvements with a deeper intervention. In piloting, the "twenty-third" feature manifested itself as an early occurrence of aerodynamic shaking of the aircraft, which arises when maneuvering with access to increased angles of attack. The shaking was due to the beginning of a violation of the normal flow around the wing, preceding the stall of the flow and the fall of the wing bearing properties with all the ensuing consequences - thereby stalling and the development of a spin. For the pilot, the occurrence of shaking served as a reliable warning signal of the proximity of a dangerous regime, useful and perceived completely reflexively and also eliminated. However, in the MiG-23, with the maneuverable sweep of the wing, the shaking began long before the really dangerous "stall" angles of attack. As noted during the tests, "in the flight configuration, the aircraft in the process of braking experiences a noticeable shaking at the angles of attack, much less critical." But the pilot could not “change himself” in his usual sensations and reacted to the occurrence of shaking by forever returning the plane to a safe mode in a learned way. It turned out that the "alarm" that the shaking served was false, taking away from the pilot a part of the range of flight angles of attack, at which the aircraft fully retained its aerobatic capabilities, and also taking away a couple of units of the used overload and maneuverability. A seemingly ordinary detail in the aerobatic characteristics of the aircraft attracted the attention of the test management group. The question was reported to PS Kutakhov. The commander-in-chief, himself a former fighter, gave it a fundamental sound, demanding that the industry immediately eliminate the deficiency. The reason was the unsatisfactory characteristics of the wing profile, where the early stall began. It was also found that the wing profile has a concomitant critical M number that is too small, resulting in unsatisfactory flight characteristics, including a small boosted ceiling. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the fighter had already gone to the troops. When mastering the MiG-23, it did not cause any special problems, it looked accessible to pilots, but then, when the permissible modes were expanded and the transition to aerobatics, it began to "show temper", showing features of a very risky nature. Design Bureau test pilot V. Ye. Menitsky characterized the aircraft's features as follows: “All these nuances made the aircraft very difficult to fly, although it was very simple to master. In flight schools, they mastered it even better than the MiG-21. I flew both planes, and the MiG-23 immediately seemed easier to me. However, from the point of view of energetic maneuvering and modern requirements for air combat, this machine, of course, did not meet the standards of an aerobatic machine. " Not without bickering in search of the culprits of the mistakes. The leading specialist of TsAGI GS Byushgens, who was the author of the aerodynamic solutions of the MiG-23 wing, indignantly pointed out deviations from "pure" aerodynamics manifested by its design, without skimping on the designers and technologists, whose activities "distorted and spoiled "the original perfection of the design. The opinion was also expressed that the reason for the unidentified features of the behavior of the MiG-23 at the purging stage was that the corkscrew models presented by TsAGI did not have one small detail - the Peony antenna below under the nose, which affected the flow, and she de provoked a violation of the flow and stall. Since the stall, as a rule, took place on the left wing, they began to look for the reasons for this pattern, drawing attention to one more detail - the termination of the emergency LDPE protruding from the starboard side with a sufficiently sized pylon located near the building horizontal of the aircraft. At the angles of attack, it caused a local stall of the flow, which resulted in track and lateral imbalance, followed by a stall just to the left. The LDPE was moved higher, to the canopy of the canopy, where it was closer to the plane of symmetry of the aircraft, eliminating the negative effect. This change was introduced already on the MiG-23S and MiG-23 of the 1969 model. However, this measure did not bring a radical improvement in the stall characteristics, and the tendency to shift to the left bank at critical modes remained. At the same time, the headlights, previously located along the sides in the area of the nose pillar, were removed from the bow. The release of headlights during takeoff and landing was accompanied by a tangible disturbance of the flow, which was directed straight into the inlet devices of the engines. The headlights were moved back, placing them at the bottom of the air intakes behind their cut. Complete alteration of the wing was a deliberately unrealistic undertaking, meaning not only the scrapping of the entire technology in production, but also the need for a colossal amount of new aerodynamic research, purges and experiments with an uncertain result ahead of time. It was necessary to find a way to solve the problem "cheap and cheerful". To eliminate the defect, it was proposed as the most affordable measure to change the wing tip, having reasoned that a breakdown begins with it and, therefore, all the troubles. Now the speed profile of the SR-16M acquired a rounded toe instead of the previous sharp one, which prevented early stalling of the flow from the leading edge with an increase in the angle of attack and created a suction force at subsonic speeds, reducing drag." I think that publishing excerpts from this good book will not do any harm to the authors, but only contribute to the translation of their book into English and publication in the West. But if the authors consider that their rights have been violated, I will undoubtedly delete this text. In addition, I hope this publication will stimulate model manufacturers to create the earliest modifications of the MiG-23, which no one is making now. B.R. Serge P.S. If some parts in automatic translation are incomprehensible or incorrect, write, I will correct or explain. P.P.S. The "Cold War" section seemed to me more appropriate than "Real Aviation" because the first MiG-23 models have long ceased to be "real aviation"

Hello modellers! Here is my last finished project - the triplet of Czechoslovak sharks. Project specifications: 3x 1/72 R.V.Aircraft MiG-23MF, ML and BN 3x 1/72 R.V.Aircraft MiG-23 Control Surfaces upgrade set 2x 1/72 R.V.Aircraft MiG-23 Exhaust nozzle upgrade set 2x R-60, 2x R-13M, 3x R-23T, 1x R-23R, 2x UPK-23-250, 2x UB-32M from 1/72 R.V.Aircraft Armament series 3x Bilek color PE set Paints used: Gunze H and Tamiya Acrylic (all thinned with Tamiya X-20A thinner) Alclad II Airbrushes: H&S Evolution Silverline 0,2mm H&S Infinity 0,15mm I hope you'll like these small floggers Cheers Pavol The R.V. armament sets used:

Eduard has just announced 1/48th Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23MF "Flogger-B" & MiG-3ML "Flogger-G" in Czechoslovak service. New tool? That's the question. Frankly I hardly imagine Eduard reboxing the Trumpeter's MiG-23 kits. But who knows. If they're new tool and from the same barrel as their 1/48th MiG-21 "Fishbed" Source: https://scontent.fbru2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/22382055_1823842124297393_5421894630712582162_o.png?oh=3b46bbc2e5e4abf84b990a1a4b7b5aba&oe=5A403F00 V.P.

This is one of the many MiGs the USA had for dissimilar air to air training with the 4477th in the 70s-80s. They used the aircraft to help pilots get over the 'buck fever' that had been experienced in Vietnam (where the pilot was so surprised to actually see his first MiG he ends up doing everything wrong). The US pilots good enough to be chosen from the Air Force, Navy and Marines were introduced to the MiGs in flight, allowing the pilots to see it from all angles and then would have a week of engagements and classes that they could then go back and teach their own squadrons about their new knowledge of MiGs (without actually being able to say that they had flown against them). There are a couple books on the subject, America's Secret MiG Squadron: The Red Eagles of Project Constant Peg by Col. Gail Peck who was instrumental in forming the group and his book is about men and effort into finding the aircraft and an airbase where they wouldn't be noticed. It was such a good spot that the even more top secret F-117a Stealth squadron later showed up. Red Eagles, America's Secret MiGs by Steve Davies is more about the aircraft and a great read. Lots of writing about the aircraft and the engagements with just about everything the US was flying at the time. The Flogger was the least favorite of the pilots, it was discovered it was not a dogfighter like the much preferred MiG-21s. It did however have a motor that offered incredible thrust and speed that they would use to good effect in Red vs Blue training. Some photos recently surfaced of a Red Eagle at the National Museum of the US Air Force, still in the US applied wrap around grey camouflage with the original Egyptian desert camo showing through the chipping and wear. It was similar to the one featured on Col Peck's book cover I wanted to build. This newly surfaced MiG-23 however offered excellent all around reference shots as well as video footage. Seems the one on the book cover was found in a scrap yard with lots of bullet holes in it. I used the 1/48 Trumpeter with every possible aftermarket item out there to correct it. And I stepped on the canopy right before I finished it....

HpH is working on a 1/32nd MiG-23BN "Flogger-H" resin conversion set for the Trumpeter's MiG-23ML kit. Sources: https://ipmsnymburk.com/forum/viewtema.php?ID_tema=39718&page_d=0&idp_d=0&idc_d=2&show_html= http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=73767 V.P.

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23UB Flogger-C, pics thank to Dave Haskell.

Big Flogger in design by HpH a 1/18th MiG-23BN "Flogger-H" Source: https://ipmsnymburk.com/forum/viewtema.php?ID_tema=39718 V.P.

Source: http://www.cybermodeler.com/news/trumpeter.shtml Trumpeter's 1/48th MiG-23MLD "Flogger-K" kit is expected late August 2014 - ref.02856 V.P.

To join the Cuban Mig-21s we already have in this GB I am going to add a Cuban Mig-23. I have had this KP kit in the stash for sometime and now seems like the right time to break it out. I understand this is a reboxing of the RV kits. I certainly hope so as I have ordered a Res-IM resin cockpit which I hope will fit. A few shots of the box and spures will follow shortly when Photobucket starts behaving. Dave

Late entrant to this GB, so here goes. Have been on a Soviet roll lately (a I-16 and three straight Fulcrums) so what better way than with the quintessential Soviet fighter of the 1970s: the MiG-23 Flogger. Alas, the poor Flogger has been very badly neglected in The One True Scale. The Hasegawa kit is old and has raised panel lines, as does the Zvezda. The Academy pseudo-copy of the Base kit has them engraved but is rather shoddy and has major accuracy and detail issues. RS Models came out with a short-run series which was quite expensive. In comes KP with what appears to be a long-run version of the RS kit. Alas, the short-run nature of this kit is obvious the moment you open the box: despite superb panel line detailing, you can tell that it's going to have fit issues among other challenges. Still, it's the best Flogger kit on the market pending what I suspect will be an inevitable Trumpeter offering. I decided to go for a MiG-23M using the M/MF kit. I noticed that the instructions make no differentiation of the M and MF versions so I leave it to the experts to tell us what is so different (besides the avionics). The kit has decals for a Soviet version (Red 01) in camo colors with an interesting dolphin mascot but for accuracy's sake, I will be painting this in standard 70s overall gray. One of the more famous vintage pictures of the Flogger shows one in gray with Red 12 numbering so I will represent its unit brother, Red 10 by flipping around the Red 01. I find it hard to believe that there wasn't a Red 10 somewhere in East Germany ready to face off against NATO! Paints used are Akan from their MiG-23/25/31 set and look spot on. Part 1: Cockpit Not much to say here, the cockpit has detail but it's quite soft and definitely feels short-run quality. It would have benefited from some instrument panel decals to go over the raised detail as it's hard at this scale to paint accurately. The soft detailing also makes it difficult to give it a wash so I skipped it.

MiG-23MF Flogger B. Pics by Hans J taken at Cold War Museum, Bagenkop in Denmark

Source: http://www.eduard.com/store/out/media/InfoEduard/archive/2016/info-eduard-2016-06EN.pdf V.P.

MiG-23MF "222" RoAF, Bucharest - Otopeni, Military Parade of 23 th august 1982

MiG-23ML Pictures by Sven Harjaek taken at La Bourget museum Paris.

Just finished this one, a great kit in my eyes. Trumpeter kits is normally a kind of lottery, but this one is really nice and a pleasure to build. Well, everything is of course not excellent. Decals are easy to work with, but are not entirely correct. And the instructions places many of the Polish roundels in wrong direction. I also doubt that the camouflage pattern is correct... All additions, mainly in the cockpit, on the landing gears and mail wheel bays, are scratch-built. Apart from the pitot tube, by Master. The reason to have air brakes in open position is poor fit... But apart from that, and some difficulties to get a good fit between the upper and lower half of the body behind the wings, fit is really good. I used Gunze and Tamiya acrylics. For weathering, I used dry pastels and acrylic paint. The main wheel doors lean far too much - which is pretty difficult to correct. On the other hand, there are plenty of details on the landing gears. And it is really a challenge to get everything right there! I also added the missing doors for the wings when they are in low speed position - which meant that wings are not moveable. No problem for me, this is not a toy... Now I just wait for my favourite Flogger: MiG-23BN - which I hope will be released by Trumpeter later this year!

Wrong section... Please delete.

Trumpeter's 1/48 Flogger family enlargement. After the MiG-23M "Flogger-B" http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234916557-148th-mig-23mmf-flogger-b-by-trumpeter-released/?hl=flogger To be released in January 2014 is the MiG-23ML "Flogger-G" - ref.2855 Source: http://www.cybermodeler.com/news/trumpeter.shtml Source: http://www.trumpeter-china.com/a/en/news/20130910/2502.html V.P.