by [b]Erik Kidd[/b]
It seemed standard by the way most Revell kits go, not that bad and not that good. A spartan cockpit, fit problems and inaccuracies are typical of almost every offering from an American model company in the late 80's and early 90's. Not a complaint however because when dealing with a big scale like this you can purchase or scratchbuild just about anything you need. 32nd scale typically lets you tackle many fit and warp problems in order to make it work, just know that it takes more glue, sandpaper and arm strength to hold the model.
The kit itself sat on the shelf for the prerequisite minimum of 5-10 years before I realized what I wanted to make. For a long time, the Indian Air Force aggressor squadrons and markings appealed to me as exotic and fancy. After research I decided to try to build a 47 Squadron 'Black Archers' with the bright blue tail. After more research I realized I was on my own as far as the markings went. The only good photos I obtained of the aircraft were from this website and so I went about making the markings.
After acquiring a 3-view drawing of the MiG, I went about scaling it to 1/32. I used Illustrator and Photoshop for the camouflage and layout of the markings. I redrew the squadron badge (which ended up not being used because ALPS printers won't print orange on decal film apparently). I laid out the stars and circles based on the photos I had. I work for a sign company and got lucky in that I was able to plot the tail section markings in vinyl. I painted the tails white, peeled the vinyl and carefully applied it to the tail. I then painted the tail section Conrail blue, let it dry and peeled the vinyl. A warning with vinyl: It is extremely high tack, so you must work quickly in order to not let the vinyl leave sticker residue and/or peel the paint.
I wanted to make this a show model so I purchased the CAM Decals 32-009 MiG-29 cockpit set. The set is a model in and of itself and after the typical research, it was painted, weathered and put in. This set is well worth the money and emphasizes the fact that 32nd scale kits beg for super detailing.
Knowing I couldn't print the decals I wanted, I had to find IAF roundels and a fin flash that were the approximate size. I purchased the Albatros 3201 'Weird MiG-21' sheet and the roundels seem to be the right size. I planned to have roundels on the tops of the wings, but after losing a battle with Solvaset I only had 2 roundels left. I don't know if the Solvaset was old or new decals don't require it anymore (the aircraft was gloss coated before application). I still don't know, just a warning as decals are not as cheap as they once were.
The rest of the kit was painted with an undercoat of 36495 Light Gray, a camouflage of 36375 Light Ghost Gray and a nose of 36118 Gunship Gray. The wheel hubs were painted with and old Floquil Medium Green (the copy wore off the bottle) and the tail is Floquil Railroad Conrail Blue. I weathered the surfaces with a darker shade gray pastel chalks.
I added just a few wires/lines to the landing gear and rebuilt the R-73 missile to make it look like the electronic/practice rounds carried on training excercises. I think it turned out okay and I hope you enjoy checking it out as much as I enjoy showing it off!
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