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Tamiya (manufactured by Italeri) 1:72 MiG-29 Review
By: Tomcat Model Kits
Introduction:
The Mikoyan MiG 29 is the main fighter of the Russian Air Force, alongside the Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker. The plane was originally designed as a response to the American F-16 Fighting Falcon, which rendered all previous Soviet Fighters obsolete. Its thrust to weight ratio and thrust vectoring make the aircraft extremely manoeuvrable and serves in the militaries of countries around the world.
Visit these websites for more information:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8H6mSD-S6w
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan_MiG-29
What you get:
I will only go into slight detail as I have posted an inbox review on my youtube channel. The box consists of an instruction manual, small decal sheet, two sprues of soft light grey styrene plastic and a sprue of clear parts. The softness of the plastic makes it very easy to scribe into but may melt when too much cement is applied. The clear parts weren't too thick and the frames are slightly rough, which makes it easier for the paint to stick to. The cockpit and wheel wells are nicely detailed for this scale which is highly appreciated.
Building:
As usual, I started with the cockpit, I first applied a base coat of XF-19 Sky Grey like the instructions recommended. Once the paint had dried, I picked out the details on the instrument and side panels with artist acrylic paints, I use them because their thick consistency makes it very easy to highlight buttons and other details. The ejection seat and instrument panel were painted with Gunze H-2 Gloss black, I painted the cushion with some RLM 79 and the screens on the instrument panel were picked out with phthalo green acrylic paint. The cockpit was assembled and then glued into the fuselage with some PVA glue. After letting it dry for 24 hours, I removed the fuselage halves from the sprue and glued them together with Tamiya cement. They went together very nicely without any issues. After that, I removed the wings from the sprue and attached them to the fuselage, there was quite a large gap between the wings and the fuselage which required quite a bit of filler. Finally, the vertical stabilizers were attached with Tamiya cement.
Painting:
Before painting the model, I sanded all of the filler smooth with a Tamiya 320 grit sanding sponge, I also sanded the surface of the model with the same sponge so that the paint sticks to it much more easily. After wiping away any dust with a large brush, I applied five coats of Tamiya Acrylic XF-19 Sky Grey. After letting the base coat dry for a day, I applied the camouflaged which consisted of three coats of Gunze H-71 Dark Green, the paintwork had some brush strokes so I sanded it smooth with Tamiya 1000 grit sandpaper. Because the panel lines were quite shallow, I used a pencil to define them instead of using a wash. This was because they would be obliterated after a few coats of varnish, rendering the wash useless. Finally, a layer of Tamiya X-22 enamel gloss varnish was brushed on to prepare the model for decaling.
Decaling:
The varnish was left to dry for 24 hours to ensure that no fingerprints would be left on the model. I began applying the main markings with the help of Mr Mark setter, the decals were of pretty nice quality and they weren't too thick as well. After applying the main markings, I added the stencils, they were quite simplistic and there weren't that many which was slightly disappointing. Mr Mark Setter was then applied to the decals was then applied to the decals, and they conformed to the model very nicely. After letting the decals and setting solution dry for a day, I added a final layer of X-22 acrylic gloss varnish.
Weathering:
The reason why I sealed the decals with X-22 Acrylic gloss varnish was so that I could use oil paints while weathering, the solvents used on the oil paints would dissolve the enamel varnish and ruin the model. I applied small dots of oil paint onto access panels and on some panel lines. I then took a flat paintbrush and dipped it in X-20 enamel thinner, I wiped off any excess and rubbed the paint in the direction of airflow. This makes it look like oil has leaked out of some of the panels, which gave the model a nice weathered look.
Finishing Touches:
After the oil paints dried, I applied three very thin layers of XF-86 Flat clear, to give the model a matte finish. While the varnish Dried I began painting the canopy frames with Gunze H-2 and Tamiya XF-19. After the paint had dried, I coated to canopy with a thin layer of X-22 enamel gloss varnish to make it shinier. The canopy was left out for 24 hours to let the varnish dry, and was attached to the model alongside the IRST in the nose. Finally, the nicely moulded pitot tubes, landing gear and missiles were attached, finishing the model.
Summary:
Overall, this is quite a nice kit with pretty good detail for this scale. The panel lines, however, were quite shallow and there were quite a few gaps which had to be filled with putty. I'd recommend this kit to anyone who is looking for a Fulcrum in this scale, as it is a very fun build.
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