1:72

Eduard

MiG-15 ProfiPACK

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posted on 2 years ago — updated on 1 year ago

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Eduard has re-released their 1:72 scale MiG-15 as a ProfiPACK, Tim takes a look at this diminutive fighter

Background

Mikoyan-Gurevich first turbo jet fighter: the MiG-15 is the most produced jet fighters with more than 13,000 manufactured. If you take into account Czechoslovakian and Polish licence-built MiG-15’s then the total number produced is around 18,000. The Czech built aircraft were designated S-102 [MiG-15], S-103 [MiG-15bis] and the two seat CS-102 [MiG-15UTI]. In Poland the Lim-1 [MiG-15] and Lim-2 [MiG-15bis] were built, but not the two-seat variant. The single seater was rather unkindly designated ‘Fagot’ by NATO. While the two-seat variant fared little better name wise being known as ‘Midget’. The swept winged MiG-15 was something of a wakeup call to western aircraft designers, who were still heavily reliant on straight winged jets fighters. The first prototypes designated I-310 first flew 30th December 1947. The first production example flew on 31st December 1948 and entered service with the Soviet Air Force the following year. It was originally designed to counter the threat of the Boeing B-29 and this is reflected in the armament. The MiG-15 carried autocannons including 2 x 23 mm and a single 37 mm. The slow firing rate made it unsuitable for dogfighting, but its manoeuvrability and of course its speed was a match for most fighters of its era. The MiG-15 power unit, the Klimov RD-45 turbo jet was basically a Russian version of the Rolls-Royce Nene. The improved MiG-15 bis entered service in early 1950 with the uprated Klimov VK-1 engine.

Its baptism in combat occurred during the latter stages of the Chinese Civil War in the Spring of 1950. It would be more employed during the Korean War not just taking on the bombers, but also involved in combat with UN fighters. It was initially flown by Soviet VVS and PVO who were the primary users of the MiG-15. Later PLAAF and KPAF pilots would take part in the conflict. In China the Soviet supplied MiG-15 was designated the J-2. China went on to build the two seat MiG-15 UTI , designated JJ-2 by the Chinese.

There was a great deal of interest in the MiG-15 on the UN side. So much so that there was an offer of a reward and asylum in the US for any MiG-15 pilots defecting to the West. During the Cold War the MiG-15 was involved in many interceptions and shoot downs, most notably against the Boeing RB-29

The MiG-15 became the first operational jet fighter for many Air Forces around the world. It was flown by the Egyptians during the Suez Canal Crisis 1956. Initially making its mark against RAF and Israeli aircraft. Throughout the 1950’s the PLAAF flown MiG-15’s resumed its rivalry with the ROC and USAF flown F-86 during the Taiwan Straits Crisis.

The Kit

Well its almost ten years since Eduards 1:72 scale Mig-15 first hit the shelves. For this ProfiPACK Edition contents include:

Contents include:

3 x plastic sprues
1 x clear plastic sprue
1 x pre-painted photo etched fret
1 x kubuka mask set
2 x decal sheets
5 x marking options
1 x instruction guide

A look over the plastic detail reveals plenty of superb recessed detail. Should look good with the five natural metal marking options that come with this release. There are no obvious blemishes or sink marks visible. There are locating pins if you feel happier using them for joining the sub-assemblies. You will need to take some care removing some of the parts from the sprue as the attachment points are fairly large.

For such a small 1:72 scale kit, the cockpit has plenty of detail. Parts for the cockpit number sixteen PE and eleven plastic. Two plastic parts and four PE seat belts forms the ejector seat. The representation of the lumbar and back cushioning on the seat is excellent. As always with ProfiPACK kits Eduard provide three options to realise the instrument panel: raised plastic detail, pre-coloured PE or decals. Detail in the cockpit include many instruments and levers represented as PE. Plastic control stick and PE rudder pedals with straps. There is also a clear plastic gunsight.

The fuselage is split left and right. Before assembling the cockpit tub, jet pipe and one-piece rudder need adding. The jet pipe is split lengthways in two. The end of the engine is represented and fitted at the start of the jet pipe. At the other end there are three separate parts representing the two 23 mm and a single 37 mm canons. Quite a punch for a small fighter. There are locating pins for all three canons, so you wont have any doubts where to place them.

The canopy is two part and can be displayed open or closed. The plastic is pretty thin and crystal clear. The detail around the frame is worth noting.

The wings are made up from four parts, the control surfaces are moulded in. There are two locating stubs for each wing going into the fuselage. The eagle eyed will notice there are three wing lower surfaces. One is for the MiG-15 bis as it has a landing light housing moulded into it. The four wing fences are moulded into the wing. Although they are a little thicker than they should be, I think most modellers will appreciate them being moulded rather than having separate PE parts. On options ‘D’ and ‘E’ a small notch must be made half way along the inner wing fence. The notch was put in to give the pilot a better view of the undercarriage down and locked indicator on the wing. The early production MiG-15 had a tendency to yaw either to the left or right. The test pilot was never quite show which way the yaw would happen. The fences were re-aligned after the test flight to counter the yaw. The walls of the main undercarriage bay are formed on both the upper and lower wing. So, there will be a seam when the wing halves are joined. The detail in the roof of the undercarriage bay is very, though the tooling marks between the raised detail is a slight irration. There are partial holes on the inside of the lower wing giving away the location of the pylons for the fuel tanks.

There are two types of underwing fuel tank that can be fitted, though you will need to drill out a 0.8mm hole in the lower wing. The longer more streamlined tank has separate pylon and bracing. The smaller conformal tank fits straight onto the wing.

The undercarriage has a choice of hubs for the main wheels: spoked or disc. The front undercarriage unit and wheel is one piece and looks superb. The ribbed detail on all the tyres side walls is really well done. The inside of the undercarriage doors is nicely executed with some lovely fin detail.

There are around thirty photo etched parts most of which are pre-painted. They are principally to detail the cockpit, although there are some parts for the legs of the main undercarriage.

The Kubaka paint mask set covers the windscreen and canopy as well as the inspection window in underneath the jet pipe and the landing light in the air inlet splitter which is a clear part. The hubs for the wheels are separate so don’t need masks.

There are two small sheets of decals produced by Eduard themselves. Colour and definition looks first class. Red can be troublesome, particularly on tiny stencils. No problems here, even the smallest of the script gives the impression that they could be read. The decals for the instrument panel and other cockpit detail looks very usable. The red rudder stripes for option ‘A’ are included on the decal sheet. The decal carrier film can be carefully pulled off once the decals are in situ, to give a more painted on look.

Marking Options:

MiG-15, c/n ****** 29th GIAP, The Dachung AB [?], Korea, April 1951
MiG-15, c/n 108023, 176th IAP, Antung AB, Korea, April 1951
MiG-15, c/n 120077, flown by Major Alexi A. Mikoyan, deputy CO 274th IAP, Kubinka AR, early 1950’s
MiG-15, Polish AF, 1st PLM, Warsaw – Babice AB, 1951
MiG-15, c/n 231767, Romanian AF, Deveselu AB, 1962

All the marking options are finished in natural metal. There is a duplication in the painting guide of the identities of the first two options [A&B] so I have taken the details from the short history of the first option.

The instructions come in the form of a twenty-page A4 format booklet. It’s not the most complex of builds so the diagrams are not complicated to follow. The scrap drawings are really usefull showing such things as the wing anhedral, position of the open canopy and extended undercarriage. The five marking options have full upper and lower plan colour drawings as well as side profiles. There are two sections of stencils placement guide for Russian and Czech built MiGs

Conclusion

It’s good to see once again Eduard’s diminutive 1:72 scale MiG-15. I have the Airfix 1:72 scale MiG-15 and the Eduard is far superior in every way. So, if you are looking for an excellent 1:72 scale MiG-15, look no further than Eduard. If budget is a consideration or you dislike PE parts, then try a Weekend Edition. Which ever edition you buy, you will have a very good representation of this Cold War warrior.