This Matchbox Mig-21
bis is my effort to build some skill at scale modeling as I rejoin the hobby
after a long hiatus. I love
Mig-21’s with their sleek and aggressive look and decided to build this cheap
$4 kit. Except for the homemade decals, scratch built antennas and cutting the
canopy in two, this was an OOB build. The Matchbox kit is not a true
representation of a Mig-21 bis and needed a lot of work on the tail and nose
(and many other areas). This Mig-21
bis is from the Flying Lances squadron, No. 15, of the Indian Air Force that
converted to Mig-21 bis a/c in 1975. Aircraft
C2196 sports an air combat training aggressor color scheme that immediately
caught my eye.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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The
best part of the kit was the excellent wing-root fit that requiring minimal
filler. The rest of the fit was sadly Matchbox quality, and I practiced filling,
filing, sanding and polishing for hours. I also decided to cut the single-piece
canopy to pose it open because it fit poorly on the a/c. However, getting a
clean cut through the thick plastic was an effort. Pencil lead was used to prop
the canopy open and I used sheet styrene to fashion various antennae. While
painting, my airbrush failed and the finish was marred by the infamous ‘orange
peel’ effect. I stripped the paint job using EZ-Off (ARC tip) and repainted
with acrylic ghost gray, lightened with white in sections to simulate
weathering. I made most decals at home as none were available for this
particular a/c in the aftermarket. I printed my art on Experts-Choice™ laser
decal paper that was coated with Micro Liquid Decal Film. The Flying Lance
insignia, black tail stripes, and a/c serial number are all home made. I took
the IAF roundels and fin flash from a spare Super Scale Decal sheet. Finally, I
used hard pastels to create a panel wash (ARC tip) to capture the dirty, used
look of most IAF Mig-21s.
Rupesh
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