Chengdu F-7-IIN - Air Force of Zimbabwe

[Mig88]

Hello everyone!

This was my attempt back in 2013 at correcting the awful Trumpeter 1:144 Chengdu F-7-II, Chinese derivative of the early MiG-21F-13.  It represents Chengdu F-7-IIN "701",  of No  5  "Arrow"  Sqn,  Air  Force of Zimbabwe, based at Thornhill-Gweru AB, in late 1980s.

I ended up using parts from a scrapped Revell MiG-21PF to correct the major flaws. The tailfin was wrong for an F-7-II being more like an F-7-III (similar to MiG-21MF). The underfuselage fin was wrong too, being too short in height. The tailplanes looked like inflated cushions and even sanding them flat was no good so I used the Revell parts instead. Besides they were somewhat undersized too.The u/c legs were so tall the kit would have ended up looking like it was on stilts!
 
The kit was fully painted and varnished with brush. The markings came from a Berna decals sheet. This represents an F-7-IIN early in AFZ service so it only had 2 wing pylons. The machines were later upgraded and had 4 pylons. These machines were quite clean so weathering was minimal.

 

Not a great result but at least I saw it through and managed something much better than what came in the box!

Thanks for looking
Miguel