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1973 MiG-21 ‘Project Dark Gene’ *completed*


Dansk

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Here's my placeholder for a 1973 build.

I really wanted to build a Mirage F1 or a Sepecat Jaguar for this GB (I love both aircraft) but both subjects are difficult to get good 1/48 kits. My Plan-B: An F-16 was pushing the rules a bit having only the prototype yf-16 roll out late in 1973.

So we have a hopefully exciting Plan-C: A Mig-21 with a great story from 1973:
Heres the story of the brave pilot and his aircraft ...


On November 28, 1973, a Soviet MiG-21 brought an end to the joint US-Iranian reconnaissance mission in the USSR's airspace. The Russian pilot, 35-year-old Captain Eliseev, sacrificed his own life to set up the spy operation, which was part of the Cold War-era CIA program 'Project Dark Gene'.
Captain Gennady N. Eliseev rammed into an RF-4C Phantom spy jet at supersonic speed, thus preventing it from getting away with sensitive data from the USSR's airspace.

The RF-4C Phantom plane was piloted by Imperial Iranian Air Force Major Mohamed Shokouhnia and US Air Force Colonel John Saunders in the backseat. The cover story was that it was a US instructor teaching the Iranian cadet to fly on a new type of aircraft that accidentally entered the USSR's airspace. However, in reality, this team was part of an aerial reconnaissance program, codenamed Project Dark Gene, run by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) from the 1960s to the late 1970s.

The main purpose of the joint CIA-IIAF operation was to find and exploit gaps in the USSR's air defense system along the Soviet-Iranian border, stretching from the Caucasus to Central Asia.

On November 28, 1973, Soviet ground-based air defense systems detected a border violation. Captain Gennady Eliseev, a 35-year-old deputy commander of a squadron of the 982nd Fighter Aviation Regiment, was sent to intercept an unknown aircraft from the Vaziani Airfield, located in the then Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Eliseev's MiG-21 drove up with the RF-4C Phantom when the spy plane was already leaving the USSR's airspace. At that time, the Phantom's speed was almost Mach 1.4 (1074.18 mph). Captain Eliseev made the decision to open fire since it was a combat aircraft that had to be forced to land as per instructions.

He fired off both of his Vympel K-13 short-range, infrared homing air-to-air missiles at the spy plane, but failed to shoot it down. Although the MiG-21 was equipped with a 23 mm cannon, it is believed that it jammed when Eliseev pressed the trigger. However, he could not let the Phantom go: It was unclear what task it had conducted in Soviet airspace and what kind of weapons and equipment it was carrying on board. The only option left for the Soviet pilot was to ram the recon jet.
Thus, the supersonic Soviet warplane struck the RF-4C, sending the intruding aircraft into an uncontrolled dive. As a result, the MiG-21 broke apart in the air, killing the pilot, while the Phantom's crew managed to leave the damaged aircraft.

After landing, Shokouhnia and Saunders were captured by Soviet border guards. The two pilots returned to Iran just a couple of weeks after the incident. They were exchanged for information from a Soviet satellite that had previously fallen onto Iranian territory. Shokouhnia continued to serve in the Iranian air force. In a strange twist of fate, he was shot down by a MiG aircraft operated by an Iraqi pilot in 1982, during the Iran-Iraq War.

Captain Gennady N. Eliseev was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union
(Text from web sources.)

48399442712_89080374bb_b.jpg 

 

48399252321_92cea54e26_o.jpg

The kit will be Eduards MiG-21 MF Profipack 1/48 scale

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(winging its way from ebay as I write.)
And then.. I also bought a second eduard kit MiG-21 SMT with lots of additional decal choices for good measure 🙃

Can't wait for this 🤗 and see all the other builds!


 

Paul Wilson

 

Edited by Dansk
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This is exactly what this GB is all about Paul. I've never heard of this historic story however now you will be able to tell it to all of us in 3D model form. 

Sorry you weren't able to build your Mirage F1 or Jaguar (or F-16!), however I'm sure you'll find plenty of joy building one of Eduard's finest. 

 

Cheers and warm welcome.. Dave. 

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2 hours ago, Aardvark said:

Thanks Serge, you are my very own russian encyclopedia 🤓👍

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A great choice Paul and a fascinating story, I have come across it before but it never fails to amaze me that a pilot would be willing to emulate the ramming tactics used by Soviet pilots in the Great Patriotic War (WWII to us) in a jet like the Mig-21.

There are lots of great walkarounds of Mig-21's on the internet (and here on BM) so you should be able to find the detail pics you want,

Excellent that you also bought another kit for a later GB :) .

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2 hours ago, modelling minion said:

A great choice Paul and a fascinating story, I have come across it before but it never fails to amaze me that a pilot would be willing to emulate the ramming tactics used by Soviet pilots in the Great Patriotic War (WWII to us) in a jet like the Mig-21.

There are lots of great walkarounds of Mig-21's on the internet (and here on BM) so you should be able to find the detail pics you want,

Excellent that you also bought another kit for a later GB :) .

Thanks for the info craig I will take a nosey around.

I’ll be definately warmed up on MiG-21’s when the other GB comes around 😄

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4 hours ago, Dansk said:

By the way can anyone recommend me a visual reference book on the MiG-21 for this build

Best "book", as no strange, it's @ya-gabor , but he left Britmodeller. 🤗

No good monograph which would be recognized as a full-fledged research MiG-21 as book Mikheev about MiG-29, Fomin about Su-27 or Benretdinov about Su-25 e.t.c.

Because,  Russian forum's only....yeppp MiG-29 & Su-27 more research than MiG-21!

3 hours ago, modelling minion said:

I have come across it before but it never fails to amaze me that a pilot would be willing to emulate the ramming tactics used by Soviet pilots in the Great Patriotic War (WWII to us) in a jet like the Mig-21.

An incomprehensible story with this ram, because it is unclear what happened to his gun. Someone writes that his gun did not work, someone writes that he did not have the time and opportunity to use the gun .... but in any case, he died performing his military duty .... now there are few such people, soon there won't be at all ... but then there were such people, and these were other people...

 

B.R.

Serge

Edited by Aardvark
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This chap arrived today for the GB 🤗 

48425910546_15146aae2b_c.jpg

To my untrained eye the kits dark gray plastic details look great.

48426053242_747f1063f0_b.jpg

There’s some funky moulding...

48425911101_a59395f5e8_b.jpg

Some nice eduardery goodness...

 

48426053387_785f801379_h.jpg


Some really awesome schemes...

 

48425920246_6498e675ce_h.jpg

And some... well, ... theres a lot of canopies?! 

 

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And some... Oh My, this aircraft has a lot of stencil decals 😳

 

48426053367_fa22e18a57_h.jpg


All-in-all it looks really exciting. 🤩




 

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Yeah, they look like very nice kits that need very little out of the box.  I've got a couple in my stash that I snagged when they popped up on sale.

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3 minutes ago, helios16v said:

Yeah, they look like very nice kits that need very little out of the box.  I've got a couple in my stash that I snagged when they popped up on sale.

Might also have to bag a few more of them myself if eduard have an upcoming sale Chris.

The fantastic schemes alone warrant building a few. I have an smt on its way also where i will steal the decals for this build.

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That does look great and right up there with what you expect from Eduard. I recently treated myself to the Tempest Royal Class box and that’s just itching to be built. Can’t wait to see this one take shape and watch you have fun with all those stencils! 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

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I built a couple of Eduard MiG-21s a few years ago and loved them. It’s a great kit. At the time I was almost tempted to sell the stash and just build MiG-21s!

 

The one thing that I remember you need to beware of - the turquoise on the pre-painted PE isn’t a good match for the real colour. I found a mix online that matched the PE pretty well - will see if I can find it.

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10 hours ago, zebra said:

I built a couple of Eduard MiG-21s a few years ago and loved them. It’s a great kit. At the time I was almost tempted to sell the stash and just build MiG-21s!

 

The one thing that I remember you need to beware of - the turquoise on the pre-painted PE isn’t a good match for the real colour. I found a mix online that matched the PE pretty well - will see if I can find it.

Thanks. 👍 I have some russian cockpit colours from revell and vallejo but neither look like that PE colour.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wow - these eduard kits i love them.

The instructions are just beautiful and clear and leave no doubt or guesswork with clear point of join/contact on the parts, a complete antithesis to the chinese kit i'm building in a sister GB.

 

Have made initial progress on this one:

Some initial minor construction

And most cockpit parts and wheel bay areas are primed

I started priming in grey primer, and then thought i'd experiment with black primer on areas of cockpit and wheel bays as an experiment.... its a bit of a mix.

It might give deep pre-shade kind of effect if i dont totally overcoat it with too much paint. well let's see

 

48498248561_0b720717f1_b.jpg

 

This IP - apparently the only part that needs to be transparent/clear (as most is covered in PE) is the round protrusion (the radar?!?) so that had a spot of liquid mask

 

48498248376_1dd5725846_b.jpg

 

and these decals arrived so that i can make eliseev's aircraft's blue 02 numerals. 

 

48498248516_926bb3c6a7_b.jpg

 

Excited about this! - the kits lovely.

 

 

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9 hours ago, Dansk said:

mig-21 has differing colour bays from batch to batch of aircraft production

And these shades may be different, because some countries of the Warsaw Pact used their paints for repairs, then these planes went to museums, they were photographed there, and now everyone is sure that these are "real" Soviet colors!

😉😁

B.R.

Serge

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Good progress Paul. I've only recently purchased my first Eduard kit (1/48 Tempest Royal Class) and cannot wait to get stuck into them. Good to hear that this build is going nicely. 

Cheers.. Dave 

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I followed your lead Dave and bought a tempest royal class kit. Wow it looks great - have you read the accompanying book yet? I’m half way through it right now.

Amazingly the MiG has also recieved some attention despite becoming a father for another time, not sure how i managed that. (Time on the model i mean - not how to conceive offspring) 😁

After pre-shading with black and grey primers i gave the relevant parts a coat of green.

48561650382_5e01c6ab1a_b.jpg


I detailed these a little with solder wire to echo the plumbing i’ve seen in reference shots. And gave them a future coat, some weathering and dry brushing.

48561508376_9c82f9588a_b.jpg

Not a lot can be seen when installed but it was fun to do. (Note to self: matt-coat this.)

48561650467_59646c9123_b.jpg

48561650312_04e8135d98_h.jpg


The cockpit parts got a coat of ak interactive’s cockpit tuquoise and I have to say its a brilliant match to eduards PE set. Both seem a touch on the blue side to the reference material but they match each other.

48561508251_4b095736b4_c.jpg

48561650447_0a65fa9f3c_c.jpg

I detailed and weathered the cockpit parts a little.

I will continue with this, (needs a matt coat too.)

48561650422_e3e97831f3_b.jpg

48561650397_90181b0f5c_b.jpg

 

48561508461_55b948d870_h.jpg


The PE foot stirrups above the footpedals i have just mounted are tiny and really hard to photograph.

 

48561508006_64169696cf.jpg

I added weight in the cavity below the seat (old white-tack and bolts - until i buy some lead-like tungsten) and the same with the nose cone; a bolt with a bunch of nuts on surrounded by old white-tack. Doesn’t sound like much but theres no way this will be a tail-sitter its really pretty weighty now in the fore fuselage.

Painted the under seat part black as its just about visible if strain your neck the right way from the nosegear well.

48561508401_81e823dd42_c.jpg


Just gave the nose cone and engine parts a coat of primer.
Think that’s it for the moment. I’m really enjoying this kit 😄
Back to new babies... 🍼👶 and the tempest book ...👍

 

 

Edited by Dansk
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6 hours ago, Dansk said:

I followed your lead Dave and bought a tempest royal class kit. Wow it looks great - have you read the accompanying book yet? I’m half way through it right now.

Amazingly the MiG has also recieved some attention despite becoming a father for another time, not sure how i managed that. (Time on the model i mean - not how to conceive offspring) 😁

After pre-shading with black and grey primers i gave the relevant parts a coat of green.

48561650382_5e01c6ab1a_b.jpg


I detailed these a little with solder wire to echo the plumbing i’ve seen in reference shots. And gave them a future coat, some weathering and dry brushing.

48561508376_9c82f9588a_b.jpg

Not a lot can be seen when installed but it was fun to do. (Note to self: matt-coat this.)

48561650467_59646c9123_b.jpg

48561650312_04e8135d98_h.jpg


The cockpit parts got a coat of ak interactive’s cockpit tuquoise and I have to say its a brilliant match to eduards PE set. Both seem a touch on the blue side to the reference material but they match each other.

48561508251_4b095736b4_c.jpg

48561650447_0a65fa9f3c_c.jpg

I detailed and weathered the cockpit parts a little.

I will continue with this, (needs a matt coat too.)

48561650422_e3e97831f3_b.jpg

48561650397_90181b0f5c_b.jpg

 

48561508461_55b948d870_h.jpg


The PE foot stirrups above the footpedals i have just mounted are tiny and really hard to photograph.

 

48561508006_64169696cf.jpg

I added weight in the cavity below the seat (old white-tack and bolts - until i buy some lead-like tungsten) and the same with the nose cone; a bolt with a bunch of nuts on surrounded by old white-tack. Doesn’t sound like much but theres no way this will be a tail-sitter its really pretty weighty now in the fore fuselage.

Painted the under seat part black as its just about visible if strain your neck the right way from the nosegear well.

48561508401_81e823dd42_c.jpg


Just gave the nose cone and engine parts a coat of primer.
Think that’s it for the moment. I’m really enjoying this kit 😄
Back to new babies... 🍼👶 and the tempest book ...👍

 

 

Paul, cocpit look at good!

But with interior wheel bay colour I don't know. You are guided some from this photo:

48498371691_0abd5648b2_k.jpg

but as I see on the right in the third photo above, black stencil I can’t read at all, but the red stencil ones on the pylon, I read as  "Pozor!". It's "Attention" ....but on Poland language, which is highly likely to indicate that this aircraft was repainted by Polish standards. B.w. inside gear main wheel bay You see many  black rectangle. It's stencil too. Just it's aluminum table where the letters are stamped then covered with black paint, polished protruding letters become the color of aluminum and the recesses remain black.

These dies on the edges in poor condition are stripped to aluminum, which means that they are inaccurately painted over the edges and then cleaned from the main paint.  This is possible with inaccurate repainting.

I warned:

On 8/10/2019 at 9:25 AM, Aardvark said:

And these shades may be different, because some countries of the Warsaw Pact used their paints for repairs, then these planes went to museums, they were photographed there, and now everyone is sure that these are "real" Soviet colors!

😉😁

But what color were the wheel bays of the Soviet MiG-21?

Silver, Grey different shadow and less Yellow from yellow-sand  to sand-greenish. There could be combinations. Modelsvit in their MiG-21F show nose fuselage & main fuselage wheel bay as silver, but wing wheel bay Modelsvit show as sand, and this true! Because Modelsvit model based on MiG-21F from KhAI which has natural, no repainted colors.

So, what do you do?

There are the following options:

- leave everything as it is, because there is always the possibility that some party of Soviet MiG-21 could have such a color wheel bay.

- slightly semi-clear spray yellow sand and after dry brush yellow.

- repainted wheel bay in grey or silver  completely.

- repainted only nose & main fuselage wheel bay in silver but wing wheel bay leave as is.

Also was combination grey wheel bay + silver gear.

What grey  shadow?

I use Tamiya XF-66 or XF-25. It's no MiG-21....but also MiG....older brother - loser:

20180114-182928.jpg

20180114-182955.jpg

20180223-180137.jpg

20180223-180150.jpg

20180225-210841.jpg

20180225-210851.jpg

20180303-202128.jpg

20180303-210302.jpg

20180303-210332.jpg

20180303-210353.jpg

Some scratchbuilding on motives MiG-21 but colour close to reality.

 

B.R.

Serge

 

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8 hours ago, Aardvark said:

Paul, cocpit look at good!

But with interior wheel bay colour I don't know. You are guided some from this photo:

48498371691_0abd5648b2_k.jpg

but as I see on the right in the third photo above, black stencil I can’t read at all, but the red stencil ones on the pylon, I read as  "Pozor!". It's "Attention" ....but on Poland language, which is highly likely to indicate that this aircraft was repainted by Polish standards. B.w. inside gear main wheel bay You see many  black rectangle. It's stencil too. Just it's aluminum table where the letters are stamped then covered with black paint, polished protruding letters become the color of aluminum and the recesses remain black.

These dies on the edges in poor condition are stripped to aluminum, which means that they are inaccurately painted over the edges and then cleaned from the main paint.  This is possible with inaccurate repainting.

I warned:

But what color were the wheel bays of the Soviet MiG-21?

Silver, Grey different shadow and less Yellow from yellow-sand  to sand-greenish. There could be combinations. Modelsvit in their MiG-21F show nose fuselage & main fuselage wheel bay as silver, but wing wheel bay Modelsvit show as sand, and this true! Because Modelsvit model based on MiG-21F from KhAI which has natural, no repainted colors.

So, what do you do?

There are the following options:

- leave everything as it is, because there is always the possibility that some party of Soviet MiG-21 could have such a color wheel bay.

- slightly semi-clear spray yellow sand and after dry brush yellow.

- repainted wheel bay in grey or silver  completely.

- repainted only nose & main fuselage wheel bay in silver but wing wheel bay leave as is.

Also was combination grey wheel bay + silver gear.

What grey  shadow?

I use Tamiya XF-66 or XF-25. It's no MiG-21....but also MiG....older brother - loser:

20180114-182928.jpg

20180114-182955.jpg

20180223-180137.jpg

20180223-180150.jpg

20180225-210841.jpg

20180225-210851.jpg

20180303-202128.jpg

20180303-210302.jpg

20180303-210332.jpg

20180303-210353.jpg

Some scratchbuilding on motives MiG-21 but colour close to reality.

 

B.R.

Serge

 

Hey serge thanks so much for the info you are a real expert on this.

 

I think i will leave it as it is, its a little tricky to change now - lets me and you say its painted in the field 😉

I love the green it just adds a depth.

 

Some of the references i was using are here below, one being serviced (think its polish mrkkings on the wing) and a well used non-restored other, definately a russian one with russian stencilling, that one has differing door and main bay colour on this example. But i do admit theres a lot of references showing grey fore and main bays, seems the most common as you write.

 

48566956862_bf12c82458_o.jpg

48566956847_069404312f_o.jpg

Edited by Dansk
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By the way serge while we’re talking colour: the overall outer finish of the aircraft should be bare metal right (not painted silver) 

- and do you have a recommendation for a good colour match for the green on the nosecone? (Acrylic)

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2 hours ago, Dansk said:

Some of the references i was using are here below, one being serviced (think its polish mrkkings on the wing) and a well used non-restored other, definately a russian one with russian stencilling, that one has differing door and main bay colour on this example. But i do admit theres a lot of references showing grey fore and main bays, seems the most common as you write.

Yes, second  bottom photo have Russian stencil, on top photo stencil not reading.But the presence of inscriptions in Russian does not mean anything; in the Warsaw Pact, the Russian language was the language of international communication.

On photo strange colour close to RLM 02...

1 hour ago, Dansk said:

By the way serge while we’re talking colour: the overall outer finish of the aircraft should be bare metal right (not painted silver) 

Not understand.

MiG-21 was naturall metal or painted aluminum enamel? It's You question?

1 hour ago, Dansk said:

and do you have a recommendation for a good colour match for the green on the nosecone? (Acrylic)

Yes, I see You mention me in topic about Su-17M4.

I have recommendation only for Su-15:

But "Russian Radome Green" have differences shadow, I don't guarantee what my recommendation 10500% true! 😁

Just one version from many shadow!

 

B.R.

Serge 

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Paul, those internal bits look fantastic and I love the very effective weathering techniques, that's awesome stuff. 

Glad you decided to purchase Eduard's Tempest set and yes, I have read the book. I was so tempted to crack one open and make a start, however really need to finish off a number of started and stalled GB projects.  If you love Mustangs, then hopefully Eduard will treat us with another Royal Class boxing of that great new kit too! 

 

Cheers and lovely progress... Dave  

 

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