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1/72 - Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 "Fulcrum" by Great Wall Hobby (GWH) - MiG-29 (9.12) & SMT (9.19) released - MiG-29 (9.12) early & (9.13) in the pipe line


Homebee

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Onwards 2022, Great Wall Hobby (GWH) is to release a new tool 1/72nd Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 "Fulcrum" family.

Source: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/319406-great-wall-hobby-gwh-l4830-148-su-30sm-“flanker-h”-multi-role-fighter/&do=findComment&comment=3063658

 

Quote

Merry Christmas!

(...). The 1/72 scale MiG-29 3 variants are already under mold cutting (we already revised errors in the original 1/48 ver.), (...)

Happy holidays.

Yufei Mao

 

V.P.

 

Matt-Memory2.jpg

 

Edited by Homebee
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  • Homebee changed the title to 1/72 - Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 "Fulcrum" family by Great Wall Hobby (GWH) - release onwards 2022

Looking at the prices of the kits from GWH and comparing them with the current prices of Trumpeter and Zvezda (not to mention older and even cheaper models), it occurs to me that the new ones could cost twice as much.

 

I wonder what a new model from GWH would have to have for me to sell my Trumpeter and the set of extras for it. I can't think of anything.

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On 12/25/2021 at 9:47 PM, Piotr Mikolajski said:

Looking at the prices of the kits from GWH and comparing them with the current prices of Trumpeter and Zvezda (not to mention older and even cheaper models), it occurs to me that the new ones could cost twice as much.

 

I wonder what a new model from GWH would have to have for me to sell my Trumpeter and the set of extras for it. I can't think of anything.

There is no GWH 'or' Trumpeter, only an 'and'. :D

I'll keep them. I still have Italeri's -29 with many extras. Still fine.

I hope for early A.

And Trumpeter made the same mistake with open upper intakes and closed main intakes. Only Zvezda did it correct. Except you wanna display running engine on ground.

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10 minutes ago, MiG-Mech said:

There is no GWH 'or' Trumpeter, only an 'and'. :D

 

Most modellers, having a good enough model, will not replace it with just a slightly better one for no good reason, especially if the new one is in the high price range.

Similarly, most modellers, given a choice, will not buy a model twice as expensive just because it is marginally better.

 

This means that GWH will have to go to great lengths to reach those who already have a model from Trumpeter (sold since 2015) or who are planning to buy one.

 

10 minutes ago, MiG-Mech said:

And Trumpeter made the same mistake with open upper intakes and closed main intakes.

 

The commercial reality is that people who are concerned about such details represent a complete margin of buyers and do not affect the volume of sales.

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18 hours ago, Piotr Mikolajski said:

This means that GWH will have to go to great lengths to reach those who already have a model from Trumpeter

 

I am with you on the price issue, as most likely I won't be able to invest in more than one example. But, as sad as it may be for all of us who have purchased Trumpeter 1/72 MiG-29s, all GWH would have to do to bring out the better [looking] kit, is simply downscale their 1/48 product (!).

 

The open aux intakes, for example, don't bother me half as much in the Trumpeter kit, as the fact that when I look at the built kit, the entire cockpit and nose area seems misformed. Yes, it strongly resembles a MiG-29, whereas the GWH kit looks like a MiG-29 🙂

 

Of course, that doesn't mean that I am right and someone else is wrong. Whatever fancies each and everyone of us.

And, yes, I am also keeping my Italeri, Zvezda and Trumpeter kits 👍

 

Happy holidays, everyone!

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12 minutes ago, niki said:

all GWH would have to do to bring out the better [looking] kit, is simply downscale their 1/48 product (!)

 

In my opinion, the first problem is that downscaling doesn't really exist. There is no magic slider that will downsize the project, it all has to be done almost entirely from scratch. And this means that mistakes can be made when drawing and carving the mould, especially as you have to take into account the technological issues associated with a smaller scale design.

 

The second problem is that for most modellers these may be (and 99% will be) differences that are completely unnoticeable, whereas the difference in price is noticeable.

 

Therefore, GWH needs to do much more to make their model noticeably better and for those improvements to justify the price difference. Certainly the cockpit interior is an area that should be improved (Trumpeter is mediocre here), but it's not enough.

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So, maybe GHW should do the part better than Trumpeter, for that you bought aftermarket parts.

Gear, wheels, engine nozzles, cockpit, seat, antenna, probes & tubes, ground support equipment, decals.

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  • Homebee changed the title to 1/72 - Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 "Fulcrum" family by Great Wall Hobby (GWH) - MiG-29 (9-12) box art+schemes+test model -release onwards 2022
3 hours ago, Giorgio N said:

Now I don't really know what differences exist between an early and late 9.12, I see that among the markings are users that received the type quite early.. would these be already "late" aircraft?

Early 9.12 had different shape rudders, ventral fins, different mudguard on nose wheel and I think they lacked the flare launchers in front of vertical tails. 

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  • Homebee changed the title to 1/72 - Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 "Fulcrum" family by Great Wall Hobby (GWH) - MiG-29 (9-12) box art+schemes+test model - release onwards 2022
On 9/30/2022 at 9:38 AM, Giorgio N said:

Now I don't really know what differences exist between an early and late 9.12, I see that among the markings are users that received the type quite early.. would these be already "late" aircraft?

 

On 9/30/2022 at 1:28 PM, Ryan Hothersall said:

Early 9.12 had different shape rudders, ventral fins, different mudguard on nose wheel and I think they lacked the flare launchers in front of vertical tails. 

 

AFAIK, the early 9.12s, like the German ones that become Polish ones later have right and left jet engines, the later ones have interchangeable.

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On 9/30/2022 at 2:28 PM, Ryan Hothersall said:

Early 9.12 had different shape rudders, ventral fins, different mudguard on nose wheel and I think they lacked the flare launchers in front of vertical tails. 

When the MiG-29 was first time publishly unveiled at Rissala AFB, Finland, June 1986 the aircraft were fitted with flare launchers and narrow rudders. Three years later the courtesy visit to the same place had early (without launchers and ventral fins) and late/middle examples all were fitted with wide chord rudders. So replacing the rudders with larger ones was done to all variants built before uncertain time. At least Fulcrums visiting at the Farnborough 1988 show were fitted with new rudders.

 

Cheers,

 

AaCee 

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11 minutes ago, Borisz said:

AFAIK, the early 9.12s, like the German ones

 

Well... here is "early" MiG-29, as Ryan said earlier, with smaller rudders - kit has larger ones. IIRC change was made in 1987, older aircraft have received a riveted extension.

 

spacer.png

 

Short summary of production variants in the 1980s:

9.12 variant was introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1983 and first one was delivered in July 1983.

9.12B export variant for less trusted countries (Iraq, Yugoslavia and so on) and with worse equipment, in production since 1986.

9.12A export variant for Warsaw Pact countries (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, GDR, Poland and Romania), built since 1988 and was only slightly modified Soviet version. It's clear that it's hard to call any 9.12A an "early" version MiG-29.

 

 

Export 9.12As were factory fresh and were delivered to East Germany between May 1988 and May 1989, first batch of Czechoslovak ones was delivered in April 1989 and first batch of Polish MiG-29s was delivered in July 1989. Looking at the construction numbers it is apparent that this was one production series to the extent that the Polish aircraft were delivered later than the "younger" Czechoslovakian ones:

  • 2960526319 - the penultimate one delivered to East Germany in January 1989 (ex 29+21)
  • 2960526365 - first delivered to Poland in July 1989 (65)
  • 2960526375 - first delivered to Czechoslovakia in April 1989 (7501)
  • 2960526377 - lowest c/n number among the ex-Czechoslovak machines that were handed over to Poland (ex 7702)

Markings proposed by GWH are a mixture of versions, all with larger rudders. I don't know the construction numbers of the Soviet machines, but it can be assumed that this is version 9.12. The others are as follows:

  • 2960525100 - 9.12B - Yugoslavian 18108
  • 2960526314 - 9.12A - 778 [the last one delivered to East Germany in May 1989] → German 29+19 → Polish 4109
  • 2960632359 - 9.12A - 5918 [delivered to Czechoslovakia in September 1989]  → Polish 59

 

By the way - if you want to take a sneak peek at the serial numbers, here is a list, although certainly incomplete.

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