When the Mig-15 burst on the scene above the skies of North Korea in 1950, it was an incredible shock to the UN forces fighting in the area. Here was a Russian aircraft that was in many way, superior to what the US and its allies were flying in the area. More heavily armed and able to climb faster than the F-86A Sabre that was at the time the 'king of the skies', the Mig-15 forced a switch to night bombing as B-29 formations were being decimated by this new fighter.

Developed after the Great Patriotic War, the Mig-15 used captured German technology and the stupidity of the British government, who gave the Russians several state of the art turbojets, to produce a real world class fighter. Swiftly put into production and then sent to the Korean frontier, these aircraft, though marked as Chinese, were really flown by quality Russian pilots. They not only wreaked havoc with the Superfortresses, but also got their fair share of Sabre kills as well.

The success of the Mig-15 in Korea assured that this aircraft would be exported to a number of sympathetic countries. In addition, it was built under license in Poland, Czechoslovakia and China. Though the Mig-15 is basically gone from the air forces of the world, a number of them still fly as warbirds here in the US and in other countries. It's basic construction makes it a simple aircraft to maintain and it's ruggedness means that it will be in the skies for a very long time. 

Dragon/DML was a company that hit the mainstream about 10 years ago. Producing kits that were state-of-the-art and looked absolutely gorgeous. Building them, however, has sometimes been a trial as parts don't fit as perfectly as one would hope. I have built a number of Dragon kits and can attest that they are not shake and bake models. However, with careful building, they are amongst the best on the market.

The Ji-2 comes on three sprues. One large and one small one in medium grey plastic with fine engraving, and a clear sprue holding the canopy and other clear bits. This kit is a big improvement over the other 1/72 Mig-15s, namely the horrible AIrfix kit and the much better KP kit. 

You get a well detailed cockpit tub into which a seat, control stick and instrument panel are placed. The seat looks rather weak and is best replaced by an Aeroclub or other aftermarket one. There is no full intake on this kit, just a splitter in the nose through which you can see the interior bits, very similar to the Mig-17 kit that I built a number of years ago. The canopy can be positioned open or closed.

Wheel wells are complete and have some detailing in them. The kit can be built wheels up, but there is no stand. The only underwing options are two fuel tanks. These are not the semi-conformal type as is sometimes seen, but the same ones as offered on the Mig-17 kit.

What is really nice about this kit are the number of decal options. There are six of them to choose from, three of them Korean war aircraft. All options are in natural metal except the Chinese version as shown on the box art. In addition to the North Korean and Chinese versions, there is an Albanian aircraft and one from the Egyptian Air Force from the 1956 war.

Some folks have complained about inaccuracies with this kit and you can read one of those reviews here. However, to me, it looks like a Mig-15 when done and is still the nicest one in this scale.

Review kit courtesy of me and my wallet!

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