Eduard Mig-21MF 1/48

[GusMac]

So, this is the next project on the bench. Got the kit at Christmas '23 from the kids and I've been itching to start it but got distracted by Ernie's seductive resin offerings. 😁

Plan is to do the Slovakian scheme shown just because it looks a little different. The kit seems to have a good reputation, so here's hoping it goes together well.

Looking in the box you are reminded just what a small airframe this is - it'll look tiny next to the F4s.

[Martinnfb]

MILKA !  YES!

 

[GusMac]

Apologies, I actually forgot I'd started a WIP for this one, so there's quite a bit of progress.

This is where we're at - progress is fast as it falls together like Lego. Very little clean up needed and no filler so far. I can see why people are desperate for Eduard to do this in 1/32 as it would beat the old Trumpeter kits hands down.

Cockpit was done with the PE included in the kit and Mr Color Interior Turquoise Green which matches the old 'Soviet Vomit Green' pretty well to my eyes.

I'll try to remember to post more updates as I progress.

[Bomber_County]

On 2/5/2025 at 9:59 PM, GusMac said:

Apologies, I actually forgot I'd started a WIP for this one, so there's quite a bit of progress.

This is where we're at - progress is fast as it falls together like Lego. Very little clean up needed and no filler so far. I can see why people are desperate for Eduard to do this in 1/32 as it would beat the old Trumpeter kits hands down.

Cockpit was done with the PE included in the kit and Mr Color Interior Turquoise Green which matches the old 'Soviet Vomit Green' pretty well to my eyes.

I'll try to remember to post more updates as I progress.

Looking good Gus, Six Nations will curtail benchtime today though , I suspect. Great game yesterday…….

[DocRob]

Following closely, Gus, I have two Eduard Mig 21 in my stash and feel the itch to build one soon. Nice job on the interior psychedelic torquoise.
 

1 hour ago, Bomber_County said:

Looking good Gus, Six Nations will curtail benchtime today though , I suspect. Great game yesterday…….

Same reason for limited benchtime today, Phil, but different cause. Today is Supebowl Sunday .

Cheers Rob

[GusMac]

Think I might be better sitting up for a late night for Mahomes and co in the Superbowl!

Didn't see the rugby live as my wife got us tickets to the cinema to see the Donmar production of Macbeth with David Tennant but just watched it back (mainly on fast forward) as Scotland were terrible. Think it might be time for Townsend to go as the tactics such as there were today made no sense whatsoever.4

Go Chiefs! Three-peat time

[DocRob]

12 hours ago, GusMac said:

Go Chiefs! Three-peat time

Didn´t happen, luckily .

Cheers Rob

[Bomber_County]

1 hour ago, DocRob said:

Didn´t happen, luckily .

Cheers Rob

Bet some people are tired after the late night viewing, 

Gus, will Townsend be following Gatland out of the door?

[GusMac]

7 hours ago, DocRob said:

Didn´t happen, luckily .

Cheers Rob

They were never in the game. Eagles dominated completely and worthy winners. The late touchdowns make the score more flattering to the Chiefs than it should have been.

[GusMac]

6 hours ago, Bomber_County said:

Bet some people are tired after the late night viewing, 

Gus, will Townsend be following Gatland out of the door?

Not sure he will be as the SRU are fairly useless at making decisions like that, but I think he should be.

We've probably got as good a player pool as we've had in the last 20 years and they've never won anything with him. Just fold under pressure every time, yet the core of the players have won the URC and other things, so you do think it's how he sets them up.

I still feel they dumped Cotter too early just to keep Townsend onside but he might have been better with more club experience before getting the top job. They could do worse than Franco Smith who's done a good job at Glasgow.

[GusMac]

Was waiting for the Master pitot tube to arrive to finish the basic construction but it arrived this morning, so I got it attached. Quite nifty that you can attach the tip with the delicate fins separately, so it'll go on right at the end to reduce the chances of me knocking it off!

So primer is now on. Went for grey as the colours are all fairly light. Just waiting for a couple of the Mr Color call outs to arrive as I didn't have anything that matched up closely enough.

[GusMac]

Got some white on today while I contemplated the masking process. The instructions make it look like a soft-edged camouflage so I was thinking of using blutac worms but I wasn't sure how to get the shapes detailed enough that way. On looking closer at pictures of the actual plane it looks more like a hard-edged scheme so masking tape is the way I'm going which should be easier to do thankfully.

[GusMac]

Felt like I was back at primary school today. Not glue and scissors but masking tape and scissors! Result was...

All the areas which will be white are now masked off. So, two hours masking for 5 minutes with the airbrush and the lighter grey will be done! 🤪

[Martinnfb]

motivational clicks

 

[GusMac]

More fun with masking tape and scissors and we're ready for the grey-black.

Hopefully get that done tomorrow and we can move on to the underside.

[GusMac]

Decent progress made today. My wife had her twin sister visiting and they were going wild swimming, so plenty of bench time as the dog took one look at the weather and thought 'stuff that'. Does make me wonder whether the dog is smarter than the wife?! 

Anyway first thing was to get the grey-black down.

Glad I went with the Mr Color as the alternative being suggested was Tamiya rubber black and I think it would just be too dark. Only a few minor touch-ups needed which was a pleasant surprise.

These pictures also show off the oopsy I made the other day when I spilt some Tamiya Extra Thin on the cutting mat and it ate straight through the rubber top. Thankfully it missed the kit completely for once.

Next up was some quick masking and on with the underside light grey.

I'm pretty happy with where it's at. Next up is some detail work with the airbrush for the exhaust, nose ring and dielectric panels.

 

[DocRob]

This camo looks great, Gus. Good the Extra Thin only hit the mat.

Cheers Rob

[GusMac]

Got all the detail painting done and a gloss coat on.

So, it's decals up next. Eduard provide a million stencils for this but given my distaste for wasting hours on them in 1/48 and looking at pictures of the real aircraft I'm only going to use a few. If I can't see it in the pics then it's not going on! Should save me a few hours and a few quid in the swear box. 😁

[GusMac]

Anyone used the 'new' Eduard decals and have any hints as to how to remove the carrier film? Specifically, how long did you leave them before trying it?

I've seen various answers from a couple of hours to a couple of days on the web and I'd rather not screw it up at this stage.

[GusMac]

Tried after 24 hours and the carrier film came off okay thankfully. Used the mineral spirit tip I'd seen first but it did nothing. Best option was just to pick up a corner with a new scalpel blade and peel from there.

[KevinM]

Cool I wonder if that was what hindered me on that P-51 new decals?I never bothered to read I know the stencils sucked and it may of been my own doing?The Mig is looking good Gus I started more taping of the panels on my F-84 waiting for stuff to dry on the George.

[GusMac]

Thanks Kevin. With a bit of experimentation I've found that the best 'tool' for removing the film from these is my thumbnail! Lift a corner with the scalpel and then use the nail to lift the rest off. Works especially well for the smaller decals and stencils. The film is big enough to catch with tweezers on the insignia, etc.

[KevinM]

I have 2/3 more of those Eduard kits in the stash will remember.