Reviews : Academy Mig21 Fishbed Fighter

Likely a reboxing/retooling of the old Hasegawa/Minicraft kit, it has all the tells of Hase's 1/72 releases: simplified (almost non-existant) cockpit with partially molded-in seat, undetailed wheel wells, etc. There are several deficiencies with this particular model. The window behind the canopy is molded solid with the fuselage. The wheel wells are not scale depth. For some reason, the exhaust cone was NOT included on the sprue! There is only a flanged spot in the rear where one would go. A curious omission... You only get the single Finnish natural metal paint scheme in the box, but aftermarket will give you plenty of options (that's the route I'm going). Stores include a pair of Sidewinder? missiles and the distinctive drop tank. I bought an Eduard MiG weapons set for some other options. If you demand impeccable detail and accuracy, Revell's more modern offering is worth the extra dollars. However, despite all of these points, if you just need a MiG-21 F-13 on the shelf, it passes the 3 Foot Rule just fine.

The kit is very basic but can be built into a reasonable representation of a MiG 21F. External stores include K-13A (AA-2-2) Radar Atoll missile, and a 130gal drop tank. The cockpit interior and landing gear are detailed decently. It comes with a pilot. The clear canopy is Ok but could be much better. The decals are for a single option: an all metal Finnish Air Force. That's a minus to me, I would like to finish it in USSR or N. Vietnam colors (or even a Warsaw pact nation), so to do that I have to buy that decals separately. The kit when finished looks more like a toy than a model. If you want a cheap decent Mig-21 its ok, if you want something more, there are other better options.

A fun little quick build. One can't beat the price at under $10, either. This is a model of an older Mig 19 before the Soviets added extra fuel tanks, etc, to the dorsal area and made it look much tougher. One drawback is the lack of any sort of exhaust detail. Another for me was the nipple intake cone. It was modeled after some real-life early cones but for me it did not look right so I made one myself. Decals are for a Finnish Air Force Mig. I liked it enough to order a second one.

Very basic kit. Detail is ok, but could be a lot better. Pros: -recessed panel lines -low cost -went together without many issues Cons: -very few decals -scale and dimensions seem off -not very detailed -some flash Overall this is a decent cheap kit for beginners (like me), but there is better out there for a similar price (Airfix, Hasegawa).

The good thing for this kit is it doesn't have too many parts, it is an easy build. After glue, I can spend more time on the painting part. The bad part is its lack of details and accuracy. I did not use the decal in this kit. I actually have some left over decal from my other PLA models, so I painted it as China PLA J7.

The kit fits together very well. Recessed panel lines are nice. The cockpit and landing gear have very little detail though. Very easy build.

Good product. Rich details. Decent quality. Looks easy to build.

CLASSIC RUSSIAN FIGHTER THIS KIT HAS A LOT OF POSSIBILITIES.

This was a very easy kit. Would be great for beginners.

really nice kit, nice detail and very easy to assemble