Eduard Eduard MiG-21MF Royal Class - 1:72 Eduard

[Paul A H]

Eduard MiG-21MF Royal Class

1:72 Eduard

 

 

The Mig 21 has the distinction of having been produced in greater numbers than any other supersonic jet fighter aircraft in the world. It has seen service with dozens of counties globally and has seen action in Vietnam, the Middle East, Yugoslavia, Cuba and during numerous conflicts in Africa. The design was even copied by the Chinese, where it is known as the Chengdu J-7. The MF is the export version of the SM (itself an upgraded version of the MiG-21S) with modernised radar and avionics and an upgraded R13-300 turbojet engine. This particular variant has seen service with many Soviet states and their post-Cold War descendants. Czechoslovakia had a substantial quantity that were split between the Czech Republic and Slovakia following the Velvet Divorce, eventually to be replaced by Saab Gripens and Mig-29s respectively.

 

This is the first 'Royal Class' boxing of Eduard's all-new 1:72 MiG-21 kit. Inside the large, regal box you get two complete kits (one interceptor and one fighter-bomber), as well as photo etched parts, pre-cut masks, resin seats and wheels, a limited edition poster and an unfathomable sticker game. Unlike the previous Royal Class kits such as the Spitfire, FW-190 or the MiG-15, you don't get a little drinking glass or a piece of a real airframe to display. Those editions all included four kits instead of two. Although this kit is a little bit cheaper than the aforementioned, I can't help but feel it doesn't represent quite such good value. Still, you do get no fewer than a dozen decal options.

 

 

 

 

 

I shan't go into a great deal of detail about the plastic as, if you are interested, you can read our detailed review here. Suffice to say that the kit is excellent. The addition of resin wheels and seats improves the kit in two important and visible areas. The resin seats are particularly impressive and well worth having. As this particular boxing contains both interceptor and fighter bomber versions, you get an even more comprehensive selection of ordnance. This includes:

• 2 x 800L external fuel tank
• 4 x 490L external fuel tank
• 4 x RS-2US missiles
• 4 x R-3S missiles
• 4 x R-13 missiles
• 8 x FAB-100 bombs
• 4 x FAB-250 bombs
• 4 x S-24 rockets
• 4 x UB-16 rocket pods
• 2 x UB-32 rocket pods
• 4 x RATO units. 

 

 

 

 

 

A generous twelve options are included on the decal sheet:

• Czechoslovakian Air Force: Aircraft number 4175, 1st Flight Regiment, České Budějovice, Czechoslovakia, 1979. This aircraft is finished in overall grey with red and yellow bands on the upper wing and fuselage;
• Bulgarian Air Force: Aircraft number 177, 26th Reconnaissance Air Regiment, Dobrich, Bulgaria, early 1990s. This aircraft is finished in a dark green/light green/sand camouflage over light blue.
• Soviet Air Force: Aircraft number 03, Krasnodar Military Flying Academy, Soviet Union, 1979. This aircraft (which the instructions note was probably an SM rather than an MF) is finished in a disruptive dark green and sand over light blue scheme.
• Angolan Air Force: Aircraft number C41, flown by General Rafael del Pino (Cuban Air Force), Angola, 1976. This aircraft is finished in a disruptive green and sand over light blue scheme.
• Iraqi Air Force: Aircraft number 1019, flown by 1st Lieutenant Sadik, 11 Squadron, Al Rasheed Air Base, Iraq, 1980. This aircraft is finished in a disruptive green and sand over light blue scheme.
• Egyptian Air Force: Aircraft number 7628, Tanta Air Base, 1988. This aircraft is finished in a disruptive grey, green and sand over light grey scheme with orange panels on the outer wings, dorsal spine and fin.
• German Air Force: Aircraft number 23+15, Jagdgeschwader 1, Holzdorf, Germany, 1990. This aircraft is finished in a dark green/light green camouflage over light grey.
• Indian Air Force: Aircraft number C1531, No. 101 Squadron "Falcons", Sirsa Air Base, early 1990s. This aircraft is finished in overall silver with large black and yellow dots.
• Slovakian Air Force: Aircraft number 4312, 3rd Fighter Bomber Regiment, Malacky, Slovakia, 1993. This aircraft is finished in overall silver.
• Czech Air Force: Aircraft number 9414 43rd Fighter Squadron, Czech Republic, 1996. This aircraft is finished in red-brown and dark green over light blue;
• Polish Air Force: Aircraft number 9107, flown by Major Dariusz Pacek, Commanding Officer of 10. Pułk Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego, Łask, Poland, 2000. This aircraft is finished in gold over silver.
• Libyan Air Force: Aircraft number F-03, Tobruk, Libya, 2017. This aircraft is finished in a disruptive two-tone grey scheme.
• The decals are well printed and a full set of stencils is included. I expect it will take a considerable amount of time and patience to apply all of them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

There is no questioning the quality of Eduard's new MiG-21MF. The kit is accurate, well detailed and well made. The Royal Class edition of the kit is desirable, but seems difficult to justify at around £20 more than the cost of two Profipacks, given the only extras are two sets of resin seats and a set of wheels. There's nothing wrong with the kit per se, but in my opinion it doesn't quite live up to previous Royal Class releases. Other than that, the kit itself is beyond superb and can be highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of 

[jrlx]

I bought this one when it was announced in June (or was it July?) and have just bought an additional overtrees box for a third fighter-bomber.

 

It should be noted that scheme C (the Soviet aircraft) used the bomber wings and the interceptor fuselage. So, if this scheme is chosen, the box only really allows for the building of one model. To get two models from the box, one should be chosen between schemes A and B (interceptors) and the other from schemes D and above (fighter-bombers). As there are still a lot of schemes to choose from, it shouldn't be a problem. I've confirmed this with Eduard support.

 

If you buy overtrees, you should also be careful with scheme choice due to the stencils. There are two complete stencils sheets. I believe each has the black and blue variants as they seem to be similar but I haven't checked carefully. Anyway, if this is right, the two sheets should provide two sets of black and blue stencils. Most schemes use the blue stencils, a few use the black stencils and a few use no stencils at all. Beware of this when planning for additional builds with overtrees. Otherwise, buy additional stencils sheets.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime