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VPAF MiG's, Part 5: MiG-21F-13 'Fishbed-C' (Modelsvit 1:72) MiG-21F-13 'Fishbed-C', '4426', pilot Nguyen Nhat Chieu, 921st FR, Kep, 29 October 1967 According to VPAF records, Nguyen Nhat Chieu was flying '4426' on 29 October 1967 when he shot down an F-4 - his sixth kill. US records do not verify this. Couldn't help myself - I just received this and it looked so interesting that I had to put it up here too. I'm getting bit crowded already for the rest of the year but oh well.... what's better than four migs, right? Five of course. Decent amount of stuff in the box - no aftermarket stuff in this photo apart from the couple Print Scale numbers. Kit plastic is bit of a mixed bag - sure it has some flash and stuff, but looks like the details are there, just needs some prep work. Lots of plastic, lots of small parts. Altough the kit itself might not be as refined as Eduard for example, there is still sense of quality with the kit - including the manual. Decals. Print Scale numbers on the bottom - I will be mixing the two to create '4426'. Some PE parts are included with the kit. Interesting looking scheme. And like with all my VPAF MiG builds - these are my reference books. My other MiG's: VPAF MiG's, Part 1: MiG-17 'Fresco-A' (Zvezda 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 2: MiG-17PF 'Fresco-D' (AZ Model 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 3: MiG-21PFL 'Fishbed-D' (Eduard 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 4: MiG-19S 'Farmer-C' (KP 1:72)

VPAF MiG's, Part 3: MiG-21PFL 'Fishbed-D' (Eduard 1:72) MiG-21PFL 'Fishbed-D', '4127', pilot Dong Van Song, 921st FR, Noi Bai, 1966 Dong Van Song flew this plane often on the first part of 1966 - and two kills were confirmed by Noi Bai pilots with this airframe. On july 14th 1966 '4127' was shot down by F-4C (flown by Capt W J Swendner and 1Lt D A Buttell) using an Aim-9B missile. Pilot Ta Van Thanh was killed as the plane disintegrated over Hanoi, while he was chasing F-105s. The kit, new Eduard Profipack edition of the MiG-21PF. To my knowledge, difference between PF and PFL was just some of the equipment, PFL had some Vietnam specific stuff. So model wise, they should be identical (correct me if I am wrong). What's in the kit. Being a Profipack, contents are already pretty good with the canopy masks and color PE set (not to mention high quality Eduard plastic parts in the first place) - but I'm using some aftermarket in the form of decals by Print Scale. Some of the details. Really nice kit, the Eduard MiG-21. I've built MiG-21MF earlier and is one of my favourite kits. Kit comes with North Vietnamese decals, but I chose something else. I found this from Osprey's 'MiG-21 Aces of the Vietnam War' by Istvan Toperczer - looks to be some hastily applied camo job over metal finish. I'm using the numbers from Print Scale sheet - but the insignia from Eduard, as the Print Scale insignia is just way off shape wise. And yeah, the number is '4721' and not '4127' - but it's easy enough to change the place of the numbers BTW has anyone knowledge about the insignia on the wings - whether VPAF MiG's had them or not? I remember reading somewhere that they were not necessarily used, especially not on camo'ed aircraft? My other MiG's: VPAF MiG's, Part 1: MiG-17 'Fresco-A' (Zvezda 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 2: MiG-17PF 'Fresco-D' (AZ Model 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 4: MiG-19S 'Farmer-C' (KP 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 5: MiG-21F-13 'Fishbed-C' (Modelsvit 1:72)

VPAF MiG's, Part 2: MiG-17PF 'Fresco-D' (AZ Model 1:72) MiG-17PF 'Fresco-D', '4721', pilot Lam Van Lich, 921st 'Sao Do' FR, 3. February 1966 'First Nightfighter Kill' MiG-17PF, the uglier (?) radar equipped brother of the legendary MiG-17F. Even with the limited qualities of the radar, it gave VPAF some night fighter capability. Directed to the target area by ground controller and turning the radar on at the last possible moment to surprise the enemy. This tactic was pioneered by Lam Van Lich who took of alone in the evening of february 3rd 1966 to intercept Skyraiders. At the target area he detected and fired upon two Skyraiders - and got credited the first VPAF night kills (US sources do not confirm these kills). Getting started with the VPAF builds, here is the second one: Back of the box. The stuff we're gonna use - contents of the box and some aftermarket enhancements (atleast I hope they are enhancements). Little bit of resin, which should make Rich happy. We'll see how we marry this to the plastic fuselage. Hoping that those white spots are just dust and not cracks. Detail is bit soft on some places but in general it's pretty decent for a smaller manufacturer. I think we can make a good looking MiG out of this. Aftermarket stuff were gonna use. Masks, metal guns & pitot and resin ejection seat. Here's the scheme and decals - more info about it at the top of this post. My other MiG's: VPAF MiG's, Part 1: MiG-17 'Fresco-A' (Zvezda 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 3: MiG-21PFL 'Fishbed-D' (Eduard 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 4: MiG-19S 'Farmer-C' (KP 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 5: MiG-21F-13 'Fishbed-C' (Modelsvit 1:72)

VPAF MiG's, Part 4: MiG-19S 'Farmer-C' (KP 1:72) Shengyang J-6 (MiG-19S 'Farmer-C'), '6066', 925st FR, Noi Bai, 1974 Shengyang J-6 was the Chinese license built version of the MiG-19S 'Farmer-C'. Even if MiG-19 was the first supersonic fighter to go into mass production - it is overshadowed by it's predecessor and replacement. One reason is because it had quite short life span, just filling the gap between MiG-17 to MiG-21. Even if it had better performance than it's US counterparts - for example MiG-19 had superior rate of climb when compared to F-100 Super Sabre - the type was plagued with all kinds of technical problems, engine issues and design 'features' that made it somewhat dangerous to fly in inexperienced hands. Many of those flaws being caused by the hurry to get the plane type into production. '6066' is one of the 24 Shenyang J-6's that the Chinese provided as combat attrition replacement in 1974. The kit, newly tooled KP Shenyang F-6C 'Farmer-C' "late". Back of the box, not that we're using these with this build. Which is kinda shame, looking for a GB that gives me an excuse to build Pakistani jets (*hint* *hint*). What's in the box - plus some aftermarket stuff. Like I said, this is a newly tooled kit. And while not quite up to par with the big names - it's a good looking kit and MiG-19 is something that has been neglected for quite a long time. Great thing is that KP is releasing even more MiG-19 goodness soon. Aftermarket stuff - Pavla seat, Master gun barrels and Print Scale Decals. This is what Print Scale offers as a scheme - and it's definitely not a bad one. But... ... when I saw this, I had to choose it. It's even got the same number - so it's simply meant to be! But as can be seen, Print Scale VPAF insignia are way off, looking at the pics, the bars are slightly chunkier than 'normally' (US etc.) - but what Print Scale offers is very thin and wide bars. I'm thinking of cutting them down and see if they look any better. The scheme on the plane is quite non-typical - as it is Chinese scheme that was left on the plane as it was taken into service. BTW is anyone familiar with Chinese J-6's? I'm guessing getting any color codes for these is a long shot - but for example the underside, is it gray or metal? Also any pics where the scheme can be seen (on the wings etc.) would be highly appreciated - my Google skills are failing me... My other MiG's: VPAF MiG's, Part 1: MiG-17 'Fresco-A' (Zvezda 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 2: MiG-17PF 'Fresco-D' (AZ Model 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 3: MiG-21PFL 'Fishbed-D' (Eduard 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 5: MiG-21F-13 'Fishbed-C' (Modelsvit 1:72)

VPAF MiG's, Part 1: MiG-17 'Fresco-A' (Zvezda 1:72) Shenyang J-5 (MiG-17 'Fresco-A'), '2310', pilot Pham Ngoc Lan, 921st 'Sao Do' FR, Noi Bai, 3. April 1965 'First Kill' This early Shenyang J-5 (license built MiG-17 'Fresco-A' by the chinese), number 2310, was flown by Pham Ngoc Lan on the 3rd of April 1965 when the first recorded VPAF kill was achieved. This happened over Thanh Hoa province and Pham Ngoc Lan claimed to shot down a F-8E of VF-211 flown by Lt Cdr Spence. But in fact, Crusader was only badly damaged in this incident and Spence made an emergency landing at Da Nang. The kit by Zvezda. Gotta love these sturdy top opening boxes. Here is what we get in the box, plus some extra. I'm not much of an expert when it comes to MiG's - but the easiest way to tell between 'Fresco-A' and 'Fresco-F' is the airbrake, different shape, size and the location of the 'bump' is different. I think other differences are the ejection seat but someone with more knowledge feel free to educate me Here is the aftermarket. I like the Master pitot's & gun barrels quite a lot, they're not too expensive and they add good looking details to the plane that is difficult to achieve with just plastic. Here is the scheme, we're going with kit decals. More info about the scheme on the top of this post. Altough info provided here might be more accurate, F-8E was not indeed shot down, it was shut down. My other MiG's: VPAF MiG's, Part 2: MiG-17PF 'Fresco-D' (AZ Model 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 3: MiG-21PFL 'Fishbed-D' (Eduard 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 4: MiG-19S 'Farmer-C' (KP 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 5: MiG-21F-13 'Fishbed-C' (Modelsvit 1:72)