We've
been asked a lot of questions about these kits - the earlier MiG-21 MF and Two
Seater kits have been widely reviewed, but not a lot has been published about
these birds.
It goes
without saying that we've bought at least on of each of the Trumpeter MiG-21
family - so we're able to publish the following kit contents and a few notes
on construction of the F13 variant.
MiG-21
F13
As you
can see, I've started work on the first of the two F13 kits I have. First
warning - I broke the rear canopy section first time around - the second has a
tiny hairline crack in the same place - so be careful!
The
model goes together pretty well, apart from the fit of the tail section to the
fuselage, and the fitment of the wings... To cure the rear joint the easiest
method is to remove a triangular dart of plastic from the top joint of the
rear fuselage section - in effect narrowing it. The wing joint needs a few
minutes with some Milliput - just make sure you remove any excess with a damp
cloth to avoid any sanding.
The
worst area is the under-fuselage 'gun panels' - the fit here is not good. I
also had concerns over the shape of the Port fairing - spent a lot of time
studying pictures of service F13s and came to the conclusion it should be more
pointed in shape (I suspect the shape is correct for the F7 variants). Easy
answer - the missiles included in the kit are almost exactly the same shape,
so with a little surgery and gap filling super glue the problem was cured. The
photo above shows the work.
Another
area of inaccuracy is the position of the ventral strake - too far back.
Simply move the mounting holes forward so that the strake aligns with the
fuselage joint.
No one
produces an aftermarket cockpit yet, but the kit supplied one is pretty good.
So,
what's in the kit:
Note
the two tyres - the one on the left is the smaller diameter mainwheel supplied
with these kits - that on the right that supplied with the MiG-21 MF kit -
yes, Trumpeter have done their homework!
Chinese
F-7 II
This is
very similar to the F13 kit, with the new canopy and parachute housing being
the main differences.
Chinese
F-7EB
Just
look at that wing! If you want a '21 with a difference - this is it!
Please
don't forget to mention that you read about them here! ;-)
