1/72 Fujimi MiG-21FL Type-77

Gallery Article by Ratish Nair on Aug 15 2014

India Independence Day

 

This is a model of a MiG-21FL Type-77 built using the Fujimi MiG-21PF Late 'Indian Tiger' kit.  This must be the hardest kit for me to obtain until now. I have been looking for the last 6-7 months and finally snagged one on eBay. I also wanted to do it in one of the many colorful schemes it wore during its illustrious career with the IAF. Little did I know this scheme was a little too much for my skills and I literally struggled with the masking. Its not perfect, but I am happy with the overall turnout. The obvious error in the scheme is that the stripes are also present on the horizontal stabs in my reference picture. I skipped doing it as it was not clear and I feel it looks better this way. 

 

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The kit itself is really nice as with most Fujimi offerings and goes together easily. Some updates had to be made to make the aircraft period-correct. Added the AoA vane on the port side of the intake, the deflectors under the aux intake doors and added the extra hardpoint provided in the kit. 

The kit does offer several options for Indian T-77, but I used decals from various sources to get this scheme right. I also created the '8' logo on the fin from pictures of actual 8th Sqn aircraft.

This has to be my favorite MiG-21 variant and I am happy I have one in my collection now. Hope you guys enjoy the pics!

Ratish Nair

      

Photos and text © by Ratish Nair