The MiG-21 Fishbed followed the series of jets that began with the MiG-15. It possessed the same characteristics as its predecessors. It was small, agile, and fast. Its maximum speed was 1,385 mph, range was 981 miles, and service ceiling was 62,335 ft. It was also a simple aircraft, making it reliable and easy to maintain. These attributes combined to make the MiG-21 the most-produced supersonic aircraft in aviation history with over 11,400 manufactured worldwide. It has seen service in over 45 countries across Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. Some countries are still flying the MiG-21. Many variants were produced between 1959, when it was first introduced, and 1985, when production ended. The subject of this review is the MiG-21MF/MFN – "M" for "modernized", "F" for "upgraded engines", and "N" is the Czech Air Force designation for MiG-21MF upgraded with NATO standard avionics.

So how do you upgrade Revell’s beautiful new PV-1 Ventura? Well, one of the areas on the kit that isn’t bad but could use some love is the wheel wells and landing gear doors. Eduard has come out with two very nice PE sheets in this set to upgrade the kit.

The frets address the main gear wells with replacement parts, added sidewall detail, and improved bulkheads. There are added covers and hooks not present in the kit, and all is relief-etched for a great look. One excellent thing they did was to have the main piece slide over the kit’s normal attachment points for the landing gear so you are still attaching the plastic to plastic for a nice, firm grip. One other point to note is that there is very little sanding or part removal to do. For the wheel wells, I only needed to remove the side bulkheads and a little relief on the front of the wells.

Among the most un-Japanese looking fighters of WWII were the rather chubby J2M Raidens that were designed and built as bomber interceptors for the Imperial Japanese Navy. They were reasonably successful in defending the homeland against U.S. high-level bombers in the final year of the war. And, over the years, many kits have been offered by Hasegawa, Tamiya, and Oataki (later marketed under a number of other brand names) to build various versions of these interesting interceptors. They are appealing subjects and many of us probably have a few of these kits salted away for a rainy day.

The Fw-190A-5 was different from earlier versions in that the nose was extended forward 6 inches to help change the center of gravity. This would help with a planned addition to the armament.

The Kit

This kit is made up of 108 parts. It has 5 injection molded grey sprues and 1 clear plastic sprue. The moldings are very crisp and the clear parts are also flawless. The decal sheet is not so flawless. My copy had nicely printed decals that were semi-gloss but had spots of very high gloss over them (like something spilled on it). This worried me just a bit. Looking at the parts, I noticed that Hasegawa supplies the wrong wheels and tires for this type. Resin aftermarket parts are easily available, though.

I’ve reviewed a couple of these products before and was impressed with the quality of their workmanship. Master continues the trend with their latest release. The MiG-29 set includes the pitot tube itself and two small, photo etched strakes. On the real machine, the strakes are positioned on either side of the area where the pitot tube meets the nosecone to help direct airflow when the aircraft is at high angles of attack (AOA). As you can see from the photos, this little masterpiece is a definite improvement over the kit-supplied piece. In this case, the kit is the Italeri MiG-29. Master’s rendition accurately captures the multi-diameter shape of the original.

The pitot tube has a peg which fits neatly into the nose of the model. Though I haven’t done so, I think gluing the strakes to the pitot tube and nose will be a challenge. There just isn’t much surface area. Perhaps slicing a small groove on either side of the nosecone will offer more purchase.