Clear the Stash #13. MiG 23 Flogger-A

[Properjob56]

This is the 1980 issue from Airfix. Built OOB save for a homemade harness and with new decals as the kits’ were beyond help after 30+ years in the box.

 

Paints were Humbrol 116/78 for the greens, Humbrol Italian sand (Hu.118) for the light brown and Compucolour versions of AMT-7 and A11 for the underside blue and dark brown respectively. Hu.156 was used for the nose cone and di-electric panels.

 

Soviet missiles seemed to be mainly white but to provide interest the large AA-7’s were given the box illustration of red stripes using decals. The smaller AA-2s were provided with a hand painted black stripe which scheme I’d seen in a photo.

 

It’s a kit with a reputation for inaccuracy in its fuselage dimensions. Back at the height of the Cold War it wasn’t easy to get close to Soviet aircraft for measurements so I suspect some educated guesswork was used in preparing the moulds. Russian, or in this case, Polish  colours are also a nightmare to identify so, in keeping with the lack of accuracy vibe, the colours I used are ‘representative’.

 

Problems.

The wing sweep mechanism jammed after the fuselage was closed (hence the partially swept configuration when the undercarriage is deployed)

The decals from Hi Decal were far below the quality you expect from aftermarket sets. Thin, fragile with poor colour density and a propensity to silver but they were the only set available at the time.

The undercarriage snapped. I managed to get it back together but a strut went missing in the process and one of the main wheel covers is on at a strange angle.

 

I rapidly fell out of love with this kit the longer I worked on it. Inaccurate with clumsy detailing and poor decals are not a recipe for enjoyment. I’m glad to be able to move on.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 19, 2022 by Properjob56

[GiampieroSilvestri]

Fantastic Mig-23!

 

Saluti

 

Giampiero

[Wulfman]

Accurate or not, it looks like a nice build !

 

Wulfman

[The Shearwater]

I had one of these kits as a kid! Despite all the issues you describe, you’ve made a very tidy-looking model.

[Ryan Hothersall]

Nice build. 
 

I found no issues with the kit when I have built four of them over the years, although I did choose overall grey ones from Poland, Hungary, Romania and Russia.