1/48 Eduard MIG-21 PFM - Polish Air Force - FineScale Modeler - Essential magazine for scale model builders, model kit reviews, how-to scale modeling, and scale modeling products

Wolfman_63

Member since
April 2015

1/48 Eduard MIG-21 PFM - Polish Air Force

Posted by Wolfman_63 on Friday, March 1, 2019 2:22 PM

Starting the Eduard 1/48 MIG-21 PFM. I will be using the decal scheme for the Polish Air Force. The scheme represents the aircraft as it appeared in 1996. The kit includes photo etch details so no extra accessories were added.

To begin I started with the cockpit and the engine exhaust. For the interior color, Vallejo makes a Model Color (70.838) which is a match to the interior color used on the actual aircraft. The cockpit section also has the nose gear bay attached. I detailed the bay walls and assembled them. The dash was multiple layers of photo etch and looks great. The exhaust was detailed with photo etch and then weathered with pastel chalk to add a level of realism. The main landing gear bay was assembled and detailed. I added some 32 awg wire for details. I added some weight to the nose cone so the aircraft would not drag the tail once fully assembled. All of these sections needed to be built so that the fuselage can be built up. Assembling the fuselage was a little tricky for the area around the cockpit. I had to trim the sides of the cockpit floor by removing about 1mm from each side to get the fuselage to meet together.

You can see all the build photos in my build log https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-mig-21-pfm/

Website:

David's Scale Models - https://www.davidsscalemodels.com

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Pawel

Member since
May 2009
From: Poland

Posted by Pawel on Friday, March 1, 2019 4:58 PM

Hello!

I'd love to see more of this - the MiG-21 is the only jet fighter that I've been actually sitting in. And it must have been around 1996 or 1997. What unit does your MiG-21 belongs to? The boys around my home town were the 62th Fighter Regiment.

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

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Devil Dawg

Member since
March 2005
From: Lancaster, South Carolina

Posted by Devil Dawg on Saturday, March 2, 2019 1:46 AM

Lookin' great, David! Gotta ask - what does "PFM" mean? Pure Freakin' Magic?? Propeller

Gary Mason

Devil Dawg

On The Bench: Tamiya 1/32nd Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52 Zeke For Japanese Group Build

Build one at a time? Hah! That'll be the day!!

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keavdog

Member since
April 2003
From: USA

Posted by keavdog on Saturday, March 2, 2019 2:22 AM

Wow that looks great. The IP looks really nice. looking forward to the build

Thanks,

John

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Wolfman_63

Member since
April 2015

Posted by Wolfman_63 on Saturday, March 2, 2019 3:53 AM

Pawel

Hello!

I'd love to see more of this - the MiG-21 is the only jet fighter that I've been actually sitting in. And it must have been around 1996 or 1997. What unit does your MiG-21 belongs to? The boys around my home town were the 62th Fighter Regiment.

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

This will represent the Polish Air Force of the 1st squadron 62nd fighter regiment at Krzesiny Air Base.

My build build log is updated (and this thread) are updated weekly. So you will be able to follow along from start to finish.

Build Log https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-mig-21-pfm/

Website:

David's Scale Models - https://www.davidsscalemodels.com

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Wolfman_63

Member since
April 2015

Posted by Wolfman_63 on Saturday, March 2, 2019 3:56 AM

Devil Dawg

Lookin' great, David! Gotta ask - what does "PFM" mean? Pure Freakin' Magic??

Gary Mason

Smile Burger

PFM means:

P = Perekhvatchik ("Interceptor"), F = Forsirovannyy ("Uprated"), M = Modernizirovannyy ("Modernised")

Website:

David's Scale Models - https://www.davidsscalemodels.com

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Pawel

Member since
May 2009
From: Poland

Posted by Pawel on Saturday, March 2, 2019 2:03 PM

Wolfman - so I have definitely seen that baby in the air sometime, Krzesiny is the air base of Poznań, my home town. And good job on the PFM designation - I just wanted to look it up myself, now I don't have to. Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

Reply

Wolfman_63

Member since
April 2015

Posted by Wolfman_63 on Friday, March 8, 2019 7:17 AM

Progress on the MIG-21 is coming along nicely. Detailed the wings and fuselage with photo etch details they moved to the ejection seat. The photo etch details really highlight the seat. I then started to paint the aircraft. I used Model Master Aluminum buffing metalizer. The process is you spray the model and let it dry. It looks like a very dull and grainy appearance. Using an old cotton T-shirt I then buffed the paint to a shiny aluminum finish. You will need gloves as while buffing you can inadvertently leave fingerprints in the surface. I then painted the highlight areas like the engine exhaust cone, intake trim and the ventral fin on the bottom.

Next I went to apply the decals. There are over 155 tine stencil decals that needed to be placed. While tedious (took two evenings to do just them), they went on nicely. I then added the Polish Air Force decals. They went on very well and with a little Microsol came out great! Starting work on the R-3S missiles and then the canopy needs to be polished, detailed and painted. Should be completely done in a few days.

You can see all the build photos from the start at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-mig-21-pfm/

Website:

David's Scale Models - https://www.davidsscalemodels.com

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Pawel

Member since
May 2009
From: Poland

Posted by Pawel on Friday, March 8, 2019 10:40 AM

Hello!

Lookin' beautiful! The seat is very nice, too! Got to tell you, that the original machines weren't quite as shiny, though:

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

Reply

Wolfman_63

Member since
April 2015

Posted by Wolfman_63 on Friday, March 8, 2019 12:01 PM

It will dull down when I spray the sealer over it.

Website:

David's Scale Models - https://www.davidsscalemodels.com

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Wolfman_63

Member since
April 2015

Posted by Wolfman_63 on Sunday, March 10, 2019 4:21 PM

The MIG-21 PFM is now complete. I detailed the canopy and opted to leave it open to show the details of the cockpit. After reviewing some photos on line I dulled the finish a little. I then detailed the R-3S missiles by making the sensors look realistic. The method used is in my Tips and Tricks section.

https://davidsscalemodels.com/tips-and-tricks/how-to-make-laser-and-ir-sensor-heads/

The missiles were then mounted as the final step. This was a very nice model to build. The fit was very good with very minor work required to line up the parts. Aside from the numerous decals they all went on nicely. Thanks for following along. Here are the final photos.

To see all the photos from start to finish check out my build log.

https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-mig-21-pfm/

Website:

David's Scale Models - https://www.davidsscalemodels.com

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Pawel

Member since
May 2009
From: Poland

Posted by Pawel on Sunday, March 10, 2019 5:34 PM

Hello!

Looking good! It turned out really nice and the finish is much more realistic now. It's good to see an aircraft from my home town every now and then! Thanks for sharing and have a nice day

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

Reply

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1/48 Eduard MIG-21 PFM - Polish Air Force