Mig-21Bis Cuba 1/72 Zvezda

Clement
Hi guys,

I bought the Zvezda kit 15 years ago, way before I went on my modelling hiatus and way before Eduard's Mig-21s came on the market.

When I got back to the hobby and got myself the Eduad MF, it became clear that the Zvezda kit would have the be built first, if it was to be built at all.

The Zveda kit is well know. Back in 2006, when it was released, it was a big step up from earlier Mig-21's which had shape issues.

The kit has issues of its own though. Some panel lines are complete fantasy (the tail is the worst offender here), only the rounded windshield is provided, while so many Bis had the squared one. It pales in comparaison with Eduard's offering in terms of details and molding finesse.

I chose an early Cuban bird, which sports the classic sand/green scheme (see last picture for the real A/C)

Thanks for reading me, have great day!

Tibor Szilvai
Superb! 👍

Neuling
Good work!

Clement
Thanks guys 🙂

Marius
Very well done model, very pleasant to watch and well executed! I like that flawless satin surface finish. What product are you using?
I didn't know that also the Bis version painted in the "sand and spinach" scheme for export had also the second segment of the exhaust structure left in NMF. This was common for very early MF series (1972-1973) indeed, but it's an interesting detail for the Bis.

I also have this Zvezda kit, which I recently aquired for 9€. I am planing to convert the Eduard MF into a Bis by using only the spine from Zvezda, but just now I realized the issuse with the square windshield.

Clement
Hi Marinus, thank you for you kind words!
I used MRP-126 for my satin varnish, which I think works flawlessly.
Regarding the square windshield, it's already inclduded on the Eduard's clear sprue so you want have to worry about it. Eduard's tooling accounted for the Bis variant, it's a shame it never got released in 1/72.

Oleg Smilyk
Hi, Clement, very impressive build !

Jan Peters
Very nice indeed 👍

Clement
Thank you guys 🙂