Eduard has come out with two double kits of the MiG-15. This one is the Czechoslovakian MiGs. There are two differences between the kits. First is markings. This one is for Eduard’s “home team”, with 7 different Czech MiGs. The second difference is that one of the MiGs in this kit has three guns in the nose instead of two. This is the build with three guns.

Since this is a double kit, you get two of everything. I used the other kit to do the Eduard PE upgrade. I was also gratified to see that there are two slightly different sets of main wheels per kit. There’s also the usual canopy mask and wheel masks, which are top quality.

The Cockpit

The cockpit is basic, but if you really want to upgrade, get the PE set. There’s a decal for the instrument panel, which fits well. The interior is painted light gray, I used 36375, and the seat is black. The intake splitter glues to the back of the instrument panel, and this all goes into the fuselage. I also put some small pieces of lead in the top of the splitter. This is just enough to keep the model from being a tail sitter.

The Main Assemblies

The fuselage top and wings are all one part. The bottom of the fuselage glues to the top with the cockpit inside. The instructions show putting the nose wheel in before putting the cockpit/splitter. I didn’t do this. I was sorry later, as getting this part in there after the fuselage is closed up is a pain.

I also had to use a bit of putty on the front of the fuselage, as the lead pieces I put in there interfered slightly with the fit. My fault. The other three MiGs fit so nicely.

The vertical and horizontal stabilizers are added after the fuselage is assembled. And it was ready to paint.

Painting

There are several colorful schemes for this kit, but I had to do the middle one. It is one that shot down an F-84G which allegedly strayed across the border.

And since this plane was all aluminum, it was pretty easy to paint. I used Testors Metallizer non-buffing aluminum. I used part of a cosmetic sponge inside the cockpit opening as a mask. I also painted the small parts, which were still on the sprues.

I put Future on the whole plane, as it gives a smooth surface for the decals and protects the aluminum, which tends to rub off easily.

I also painted the area around the cockpit with 36375, cockpit interior color after the Future set.

Decals

I am very happy with the quality of Eduard’s decals. I learned that Czech national markings on the wings go “blue forward, white outboard”, and so the left and right markings are different. The decals went on nicely. I have grown to judge the quality of the decals by how long it takes for the decal to be ready to slide off the backing paper. These took about 15 seconds. That’s about as fast as Cartograf. Maybe a bit faster.

The decals went in place easily, and pretty much stayed put. The one that didn’t was the victory marking on the nose, which is so small that the water surface tension made it float around. Carefully blotting the area with a tissue took care of that.

Final Assembly

I always put the landing gear and other fiddly bits on after the decals, because I get so focused putting the markings on that I forget to handle the model carefully.

The canopy went on with no problems. The landing gear main doors went onto the gear legs and aligned well because Eduard put a little channel in the inside of the door, and they fit together with almost no possibility of error. The inner gear doors fit tightly, and in fact you have to be careful to get all the sprue nubs off or there will be a fit problem.

The nose gear doors have a certain degree of difficulty, as those guns are close to the opening. And I was finished.

Overall Evaluation

Highly recommended. This is a well-engineered kit. I had no fit problems except the one I made myself. The assembly is easy, the decals are great, and I was very happy with the result.

Many thanks to Eduard for this great kit, and to IPMS/USA for letting me build it.