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MiG-15 UTI - 1:72 Eduard - Weekend Edition


Julien

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MiG-15 UTI

1:72 Eduard - Weekend Edition


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The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 was one of the most famous fighter from the early Cold War period. Although a Soviet design, the MiG-15 famously made use of captured German research on the aerodynamic properties of swept wings, and was powered by a reverse-engineered Rolls Royce Nene turbojet. The resulting aircraft was a triumph, easily outclassing straight wing jet fighters when in the hands of an experienced pilot. In order to ensure it could fulfil its intended role as a bomber destroyer, it packed a formidable punch in the shape of two 23mm cannons and a single 37mm cannon mounted in a pack under the nose. The MiG-15bis was the second major variant. It featured a range of small improvements, including an improved engine, revised arrangement for the 23mm cannon, redesigned airbrakes and, in some models, underwing hardpoints for unguided rockets or bombs. The MiG-15 made its combat début during the Korean War, where it proved a nasty shock for UN forces. It wasn't until the North American F-86 Sabre became available that the American forces had anything able to hold its own against the new Soviet fighter. The MiG-15 went on to become one of the most widely produced jet fighters in history and saw service with air forces around the world. The UTI is the dual seat trainer version of the MiG-15.

The Kit
Despite a lengthy delay caused by a problem with the mould which necessitated the re-tooling of the whole kit, Eduard's MiG-15 was warmly received when it was released last year. When it did finally emerge, it helped to cement Eduard's reputation for producing high-quality models which feature exquisite detail and superb engineering. Thanks to the way the kit has been engineered, all of the parts for the UTI version are provided on three new sprues, two grey and one clear; with sprue holding the flying surfaces carried over from the previous releases.


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Construction starts with the cockpit (shock!). The ejection seats are made up from two parts each with the seat belts being supplied as decals. Once these are complete they are added to the cockpit floor along with the front, middle, and rear bulkheads. The instrument panels are added to the front and middle panels, with the instruments being supplied as decals. The cockpit sidewalls also form the inside of the intake which curves around the cockpit. Decal again being used for the panels here. The front wheel well is added at the front of the cockpit at this point also. The instructions indicate nose weight to be added here as well.


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The rear jet pipe is built up, and when done this and the completed cockpit assembly can be sandwiched between the main fuselage halves. The rudder is then added. The main wings (conventional upper and lower construction) are then added, along with the one piece tailplanes.


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Next on the construction list the nose ring and intake parts are added to the front of the complete fuselage. The front wheel is added and the front gear bay doors are also attached. Panels are then added to the underside of the nose along with the cannon pod. Next up the main wheels are built up and added. Two different styles of hubs are provided with no indication of which to be used for either marking option (the modeller will need to check their references here). The wheels and outer gear doors both attach to the main gear legs. The inner gear door and the main retraction strut then need to be attached.

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The canopy is the next area to get attention. This is a four part affair which can be posed open or closed. As it is a bit complicated a one part closed canopy would have been a nice option to keep everything lined up, but it is not. You have the front screen, front canopy, middle pat, and lastly the rear canopy. Some of these parts are small and I can see problems getting it all lined up.


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Lastly to finish of the model the under wing fuel tanks and wing mounted pitot tube are added. Two different styles of wing tanks are included, but again there is no reference as to which to use, so the modeller is back to their references.

Decals
As with all Weekend releases it seems now Eduard supply two decal options;

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  • Iraqi Air Force, 1980 (as per box art)
  • USSR as flown by Yuri Gagarin / Vladimir Seryogin 1968
In addition to the national markings a separate sheet of stencil decals is provided.


Conclusion
This is a great kit from Eduard and it is good to see it in the Weekend boxing. Highly recommended.

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Review sample courtesy of logo.gif

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