Eduard 1/72 MiG-15bis

While most of us are rather 'western-centric', it has been shown over the last 100 years, that the Soviets/Russians have been able to produce military equipment that is either equal or superior to  western technology. In the 1930s it was the I-16, in the 1940s it was the T-34 and during the Korean war it was the MiG-15.

Here was an airplane that took the US and western nations completely by surprise when it appeared in the skies over Korea. It was fast, climbed like an angel, was equipped with powerful cannon armament and was able to reach altitudes that the Sabre pilots could not reach. It was also easy to fly, easy to maintain and in the hands of an experienced pilot, was a deadly adversary. It did have its issues in that it could not dive all that well and at high speed tended to 'snake' and fall off on the left wing (not a good thing), making it less than a stable platform. However, in a dogfight, it was able to generally outmaneuver the heavier F-86. It also had rather short range.

The type knocked down more US/UN planes than the official histories care to admit and went on to be the standard day fighter of many Soviet friendly nations. Even today, Czech, Soviet and Chinese built MiG-15s are flying as war birds. 

Though Eduard usually does a 1/48 kit of a subject before producing a 1/72 kit, in this case, the larger kit has not yet appeared. Many of the sprues are used with the two seat MiG-15UTI kit though this kit is just for the single seat version. The dates on the decals and p.e. imply that this isn't the first time this suite has been released. Not surprising is that most of the p.e. is for the interior. This includes seat harness, instrument panel, side panel instruments and rudder pedals. As usual with Eduard, matching the interior grey to the grey on the p.e. will be a bit of a challenge. The cockpit sidewall pieces help to form part of the intake trunking.

The nose gear well attaches to the cockpit assembly. Once that and the tailpipe assembly is built, it can be put into the fuselage halves. Weight is needed, but no specific weight is provided. There is some room above the nose gear well, but if that is enough I'm not sure. There is room under the cockpit assembly and that is where I'd put most of the weight. When closing the fuselage halves the rudder needs to e installed. Wings will need to have holes opened in the lower piece if one is going to use drop tanks. Three designs are provided and the instructions state which markings option uses which tanks. Wings and tailplanes can then be attached.

Next the lower forward fuselage piece can be installed along with the nose gear and the forward cowling. Gear and guns can then be attached along with the aft fuselage inserts. Then the main wheels and landing gear can be built up and installed. Last pieces to install are the windscreen, canopy, radio masts, and the drop tanks of your choice. The canopy can be posed open and Eduard provides masks.

The fairly large decal sheet provides five markings options. First is the box art option in brown, green, and sand over light blue during the Korean War. Next is a Czech display plane in bare metal with blue trim. The large blue lightning bolt is also provided on the masking sheet if you want to paint it. In fact, that would be a good idea as you'll have to paint the upper wing and nose areas. Third is a Hungarian plane in a brown, green, sand over blue grey camo scheme. An Egyptian plane with a green nose is next and finally, a Soviet plane with roundels that have a faint North Korean insignia background. A full stencil suite in two colors is provided along with four pages of stencil placement.

A very nice kit and the use of the photo etch will be a draw for many folks.

Scott Van Aken

September 2022