Mikoyan MiG-21F-13, Syria, 1967

And so, ubiquitous MiG-21. I've started from the first generation of it - F-13, which has the afterburner but still has no radar at all.

Initially, MiG-21 was very slim. So slim that most of its systems and wirings were put on top of its tube-like fuselage and covered with fairings. And it has plenty of weird engineering solutions, like long rod with AOA sensors under the air intake, double windscreen, transparent back of the canopy, etc.

The kit from Modelsvit is not quite fresh and of a high quality. It is very accurate, has quite interesting engineering, requires patience and time to assemble everything - if you like such things, it will excite you. Moving on to the downsides - the edges are not quite clean, big parts are bended a little, and surface details are crisp only in some places, the canopy is not very clear and too thick (but there is no good replacement). I struggled to lock down two fuselage halves around the cockpit assembly, and the result is quite visible. The journey was not easy at all: there are definitely better short-run kits than this one.

The kit offers only schemes in natural metal. Quick research revealed that initially at the factory the planes were painted with transparent varnish, and only later, after maintenance, were re-painted with varnish mixed with aluminum powder that gave them such a silky silver look. Unfortunately, for the bare metal option, the kit does not have enough details such as rivets, so the silver-painted look was the only option for me.

I've chosen this "Syrian" fighter without knowing its history. It wears unusual green roundes that are fake and only imitate Syrian. The actual aircraft has been defected from Iraqi Air Force and used by Israelis for research and DACT training.