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Malian Airforce MiG-21MF circa 2005-2012***FINISHED 30/05/2021***


DaveyGair

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I'm really enjoying building these Eduard MiG's and thought I would be able to start and finish this MF before next months deadline.

The camo scheme looks like it'll take some doing and I'm not even sure I have appropriate colours but we'll see when the time comes.

Initial sprue shots, etc.

(I did glue together the cockpit/nose-gear bay assembly before stopping for the day, I get a sore neck after a few hours in the man-cave!).

 

More soon, Davey.

 

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Been busy with the MF today, got the cockpit together, along with the jet-pipe and wheel-bays. The AK Turquoise Green wasn't a bad match for the PE panels. The airframe, as the PFM, went together really quickly. The main wing went in Ok but not quite as well as the PFM leaving a slight gap on the front lower fuselage but that was easily fettled with a bit of filler. I forgot to take many photos but there's not much to see anyway.

Not much more to add then I'll get both of the '21's primed and ready for paint.

More soon.

Davey.

 

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You said you were going to do it and now you are! Fantastic ;). I love the Malian machines and, as you know, I have a Malian MiG-17F in this GB, following my MiG-21UM and UTI MiG-15. I want to build a Malian Bis but need a bit of “kit confidence” first. I may convert an Eduard MF :)

 

Martin

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11 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

You said you were going to do it and now you are! Fantastic ;). I love the Malian machines and, as you know, I have a Malian MiG-17F in this GB, following my MiG-21UM and UTI MiG-15. I want to build a Malian Bis but need a bit of “kit confidence” first. I may convert an Eduard MF :)

 

Martin

 

Did they not do a Bis? Sure I saw one a while back or was that 1/48th?

Davey.

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So here we are with paint on.  The usual Vallejo Grey primer dries to a super smooth finish which shows all the bad bits. There are a couple of minor blemishes or slightly bad joins but nothing that bothers me too much.

After the undercoats (both '21's done at the same time) I did the lower camo colour. In this case I opted for RLM 65 which is a light Blue/Grey colour which will do me after looking at various photos on the internet.

Now leaving it overnight to dry before masking for the upper colours.

More soon.

Davey.

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Differences between the PFM (left) and MF. The light isn't particularly good so the colours aren't as they are in real life!

 

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2 minutes ago, lasermonkey said:

@RidgeRunnerevery time I see that photo it makes me cringe. How on earth did they manage to bork it so quickly?

It is really sad, as are most of the photos from Mali at that time. It looks like everything in the inventory had an axe taken it :(.  

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47 minutes ago, RidgeRunner said:

Back to TZ-356, this was painted in Czech paints. It was one of two MFs supplied and one UM, all ex-CzAF.

I'm not too far off painting my TZ-356. I did a few swatches a while back, trying to get close to the base pinkish-tan. It's an odd colour, as is the lime green. I'd love to know the actual paint names. I wonder if anyone knows?

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On 5/14/2021 at 3:37 PM, RidgeRunner said:

You may have this, Davey. Its a good colour reference 

MiG-21MF TZ-356 c/n N96005512 ex Mali Air Force. Stored/ Wreck, Gao, Mali. October2014.

What a sad end :(

 

Martin

 

 

 

 

Yeah, there's a few photo's of Mali Airforce jets on the web, been trying to see paints what I have to suit.

 

23 hours ago, lasermonkey said:

I'm not too far off painting my TZ-356. I did a few swatches a while back, trying to get close to the base pinkish-tan. It's an odd colour, as is the lime green. I'd love to know the actual paint names. I wonder if anyone knows?

 

I haven't been able to find out, so I've just gone with the 'best I can do, it'll do me' kind of thing! 🤔

 

First of all for the tan Base colour I used (all Vallejo ModelAir) Light Brown #027 which is from a German WW2 vehicle Sand colour set I got a while back, not much of a match for photo's but I'm always a bit wary about colour reproduction anyway, I'm not gonna obsess over it.  The light Lime Green colour I did with Pale Green with a touch of Yellow, seems Ok to me.  The Brown is RLM81 which maybe looks a bit dark but I'm hoping it will lighten up with a couple of coats of matt. I still have to do the darker Green, sure to find something that'll come close but I'm done airbrushing for the day!

More soon.

Davey.

 

 

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Quick update. Got the painting done, a few little touch ups to do but almost good to start the decals.

First photo shows how I mask up the different colours, sausages of Blu-Tack than lots of tape to prevent any overspray, which still finds its way through!

More soon.

Davey.

 

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After having a few days hiatus from model-making I've got back into getting the two MiG-21's into the Gallery.

The first photo shows various parts from both builds being made ready to paint and install onto their respective airframes.  I haven't decided whether to put anything on this one or not, the fuel tank and AA rockets are for the PFM.

 

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The next couple of photos show the airframe finished and decalled, with a final coat of Vallejo Matt Varnish airbrushed on.  A couple of the decals broke up when handling, something that happened to both the '21's but not the two '15's I did earlier. I will apply a light wash later to bring out the panel lines.

More soon.

Davey.

 

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  • DaveyGair changed the title to Malian Airforce MiG-21MF circa 2005-2012***FINISHED 30/05/2021***
On 5/29/2021 at 8:26 AM, stevehnz said:

That has come along really well Davey, I'm starting to think of options for a Mig-21MF, I love a good colour scheme & you're making this look very tempting. :)

Steve.

 

Cheers Steve. When I looked at the schemes before buying this kit it was this one that sold it to me. A bit of a chore masking each colour, there was no way I could get a fine feathered edge freehand, I'm not that competent with an airbrush!

Thanks for all the comments along the way with this, these Eduard MiG's have been a pleasure to build, if a bit fiddly at times.

 

I have added a weapon load-out to this even though I'm certain they were never used in action, but I didn't want to leave those pylons empty.

See you in the Gallery.

Davey.

 

 

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Great model Davey, you chose a really interesting and unusual scheme, this one would make a highlight in any display cabinet :goodjob:

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turned out great!

 

I am sure Mali had some weapons for it... so loading it with them for a drill with live rounds or an live exercise is always a possibility!

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