My Build: Revell 1:48 MiG-29 Fulcrum

I purchased this Revell 1:48 scale MiG-29 Fulcrum with a 55% coupon at AC Moore Craft and Hobby store and walked away with it for just under $10 USD. So the kit would have to be pretty bad to not be worth the purchase (While AC Moore sells Revell kits in their physical store locations It doesn't appear that they sell this or any kits on the web site but you can find coupons there). It was worth every dime. I am not sure I would have paid too much more ... but for $10 ... yeah ... I'm in.

OK ... Typically intimidated by the amazing results I see of other model builders efforts, I tend to regard my own builds as something akin to the pasta art my children bring home from kindergarten. Thusly, I swore it would be a a long time before I had the cajones to post any of my personal build photos. In doing so now, howecer I am not suggesting for even a moment that this final reveal is anything on par with what I see on the various forums and sites that I frequent, but despite all that is wrong with it I was, overall, fairly pleased with the outcome of my 1:48 MiG-29 Fulcrum and decided I would share it with any who might be interested. 

The Plan ... 

I fell immediately in love with the design of the MiG-29 Fulcrum the moment I saw it. Even standing still, it was the fastest plane I had ever seen! Gorgeous

Inspired by the Discovery Wings "Red October" where German Luftwaffe 73rd Fighter Wing MiG-29's performed as an aggressor squadron against a couple of USAF F-18 squadrons (VFA-106 Replacement Air Group & VFC-12 Adversary Squadron) I decided to keep it all in the NATO family. I would build a German MiG-29 and follow up with a Revell 1:48 F-18 Super Hornet that I also purchased for $10 USD as one of the F/A-18 Squadron aircraft.. "Red October" for $20! Awesome!!

Kit Impressions

Keep in mind that I do not pay enough attention to details to concern myself with "rivet counting" or subtle profile changes in the noses or whatever. At this point in the hobby I limit myself to OOB builds focusing on construction and painting/weathering techniques. I did, however want to point out some of the more obvious "features" and quirks with the kit resonated poorly, even with me.

Panel Lines

The first thing that struck me was the stark detail. Hardly existent at all. Only a few raised panel lines on the fuselage and control surfaces but not much else.  I typically hate raised panel lines as they tend to disappear when filling and sanding the kit and are not as easily weathered. The lack of panel detail, however, freed me to scribe detail to my own specifications.  I had found a "blueprint" drawing online of the MiG-29 and used that as well as other model build references to determine where my panel lines should go and was able to "easily" scribe them in. It still sucked having to do it  but at least I wasn't sanding away existing panel lines then having to start all over. 

"Blueprint" showing panel lines.

Scale Details

One of the things that did not become apparent to me until I was nearly completed with the build was how out of scale some of the details were. For example there were several protrusions sticking out of the rear vertical stabilizers and on the front fuselage.  

In the image above; the left image is from the real MiG-29 while the right image is from my final model. I am not sure what the function of these protrusions are but notice how much larger they are in relation to the rest of the surface on the model versus the real ones, which are considerably smaller, not to mention shaped completely different.

Also the antennae or whatever they are, just in front of the canopy was also mind-numbingly out of scale. 

In the image of the real MiG-29 above you almost have to strain to see three thin, short rods rising vertically from the fuselage in front of the pilot. On the model you have to wonder if the pilot would even be able to see around them!! They are HUGE!

The rest of the "issues" with the model didn't bother me too much, but perhaps may be worth noting. There was no "mud guard" on the front landing gear, and also noticeable in the above photograph, the shielding on the gun was truncated considerably compared to the original.

It's only fair to point out however that the mold for this kit dates back to 1988 (according to Scalemates.com) with no changes other than packaging and decals over the past 30 years. This means that the mold was released during the height of the cold war when details of the MiG-29 may have still been somewhat hush-hush and details about it not available.  While that excuses THIS kit it does leave me wondering why a newer tool of this beautiful air-frame has not been released. It certainly seems popular enough with many other manufacturers offering more current alternatives.

The Build

All things considered the build was fine. I am one of those who subscribes to the notion that a kit doesn't have to have that perfect BanDai snap together engineering in order to be good. This kit had it's share of challenges but that's what model building is supposed to be all about right? I think the worst fit issues I had were some stepping between halves of the engine modules and the join between the upper and lower fuselage near the nose; both requiring a fair amount of filler and sanding but neither was insurmountable. That and of course the panel line scribing, which I generally loathe for the tedious and boring-ness of the task. Otherwise it went together fairly well. 

Since I don't have a whole lot of photos to show regarding the actual build I'll leave it at that.

Results

I snapped off a handful of photos of the final result. While there is plenty to find wrong with the results, I felt that there was a lot accomplished that represented forward progress in my overall model building skills, so I am all-in-all pretty pleased with it. Been struggling with the color scheme. Not a whole lot out there for the German Luftwaffe MiG-29 squadron, so I had to wing it as best as I could. I think I came close though ... I hope.

Model Photos

Inspiration Photos