The R-33E missile is a long range air-to-air missile similar to the US Navy’s AIM-54 Phoenix. It is one of the primary weapons of the MiG-31 Foxhound and is believed to have been intended originally for use against the SR-71 Blackbird, the B-1B Lancer and other high-flying targets, but is capable of attacking other targets at long range as well. The MiG-31 can carry 4 R-33’s and its weapon’s system allows it to attack 4 separate targets at once with the R-33s.

I’ll be honest – I’ve always had a thing for AA mounts. When Dragon decided to release this, it struck an immediate chord with me.

Germans in World War 2 certainly had a propensity for creating makeshift anti-aircraft installations on various vehicles. Surprisingly, this particular Hetzer modification, which apparently never made it beyond the prototype stage, was not actually designed to provide air cover at all, but to serve as a reconnaissance vehicle.

Often the kit manufacturers produce wheels for the kits which aren’t as accurate as some modelers demand. The term AMS comes to mind here. Anyway, Res-Im has produced improved resin wheels for the late model 1/144 MiG-21.

Only the main wheels are done for this set, as all of the 1/144 MiGs I found had the gear leg molded onto the nose wheel. This shows up in the photo below which shows the Airfix wheels and the Res-Im wheels, with the nose wheel firmly molded onto the gear leg.

There’s no real assembly to this set, you just paint the wheels. Additionally, there are no instructions, but they aren’t needed. I painted the wheels first before I removed them from the pour sprue. Then I cut the wheels off the sprue, cleaned up the attachment points, and finished painting the tires.