I've polished off my first build of the new year, in this case Trumpeter's MiG-23ML Flogger-G.
This is not an aircraft that I knew anything about, but the boxart was appealing so I added it to my stash some time in the last few years. The kit is typical of Trumpeter - good fit for the most part, aggravating omissions in the instructions or paint call-outs, and a glossy color printed sheet depicting the paint scheme and where to place the various and numerous decals. The problem with the last item is that they print the airplane as if it is an actual airplane with shadows that obscure certain details, such as where to place some of the stencil decals or what color is actually under all that shadow.
Fit on this kit is pretty good, although the pilot's seat did sit too tall in the cockpit. I ended up shaving off some of the bottom portion of the seatback just to get it to sit low enough to allow for the canopy to fit properly (and even then, it appears in the photos that I didn't get the rear of the canopy totally flush).
The kit comes with a bunch of PE details. I ended up not using all of it, as some was destined for the interior surfaces of the airbrakes, which I opted to depict in the closed position (previous experience has things like airbrakes, open canopies, and antennas as far too easily broken off, so I just close them up).
Painted with mostly Vallejo Russian colors - dark brown, beige, dark green, and faded underside blue. I used AK Interactive XTreme Metals for the engine nozzle (jet exhaust, burnt metal, and gun metal), and duraluminum for the landing gear and the various sensors that line this airplane. Emerald Green from Mr. Hobby for many of the interior surfaces.
I figured the Flogger would be an airplane that didn't necessarily get a lot of cleaning, so I gobbed on a bunch of Flory dark dirt wash then removed most of that, and hit it with Tamiya weathering compounds and various AK Interactive washes.
One big complaint for this kit, however, is with the decals. Now I readily admit to not knowing much about Russian aircraft outside of the MiG-15, but the color paint sheet clearly indicates there is a Russian Red Star on both wings, upper and lower, as well as one both sides of the tail. By my count, that is 6. The decal sheet includes only 5. I'm not sure why a detail like that had to be so difficult to deal with on Trumpeter's part. If these aircraft truly did carry all those Red Stars, then it should be a simple task to ensure that you provide the correct number of decals. Quality control. I ended up using a set of Red Stars that were a good bit larger than the 5 included in this kit from an Accurate Miniatures sheet, I believe for a Yak that I did recently. The Red Stars are not a match for those in the Trumpeter kit, as they lack a white outline, but at the end of the day, I was not chomping at the bit to spend any $$ on a decal sheet that might come several days later and I figured, these are Red Stars, close enough.
Next up, a pair of F-86D Dog Sabres.