Internet Modeler : First Look : Aviation

Trumpeter 1/32 MiG-23MF Flogger B

By Mike Millette

Introduction

This is a first look at the first of Trumpeter's MiG-23/MiG-27 series in 1/32 scale.

This is a welcome addition to Trumpeter's catalog of 1/32 jets. The kit comes with parts to build the mid series MiG-23MF, Flogger-B. The decal sheets provide markings for 2 different aircraft;

A detailed 24 page instruction booklet is included along with a two sided 11" x 16" full color markings guide. The kit includes 565 parts on 33 light gray sprues, 14 of which cover the extensive weapons selection. There are four clear sprues, nine cast metal parts for the gear, one PE fret, four rubber tires and two exhaust pieces.

History

Design of the MiG-23 began in the early 1960's as a replacement for the MiG-21 and first flew in April of 1967 and is still in service to this day in a number of Air Forces. Its initial configuration was similar to the MiG-21, though larger, and incorporated 2 lift fans. When this configuration proved less successful than hoped, the swing wing configuration with a single engine was selected. Production started in 1970 and ran until 1985, with over 5000 airframes being built.

The MiG-23 and its cousin the MiG-27 were widely exported and despite some early losses and accidents, were generally considered to be a reliable and high performance aircraft.

In fact, a number of evaluations of aircraft turned over to Israel or in German service revealed an aircraft with impressive performance, most notably in acceleration. The MiG-23 went through a number of revisions and upgrades, several of which will be featured in upcoming Trumpeter releases. Kit 03209 represents the MiG-23MF, the first heavily exported version of the MiG-23 and externally very similar to the MiG-23M, flown by the Soviet Union. The MiG-23MF was flown by Angola, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Germany (East & United), Hungary, Poland, Romania and Syria. A few were also tested by Israel and the US, so options for color schemes are extensive.

Instructions

The instructions are detailed and appear quite comprehensive, though confirmation of that will come with build portion of this review. The kit assembles in thirty steps including construction of many of the weapons provided. A weapons station chart is provided to help the modeler properly load out their Flogger.

Parts

As mentioned above, the kit features 565 parts, in gray styrene, clear styrene, metal (options for plastic parts), rubber & PE, although a number on not used for this kit release.

The parts are cleanly molded with fine panel lines and restrained fastener representation. Parts breakdown looks reasonable considering how many different versions Trumpeter will release using the basic sprue set. The kit also provides:

- A well detailed cockpit that looks like a good representation of the real thing. A number of decals are utilized to detail the interior. There is enough dimensionality in the cockpit though that the builder may need to cut them into smaller pieces to use them. Oddly it looks like there's no throttle handle. Construction will reveal if it's included in the extensive parts in the kit and accidentally omitted from the instructions.

- The multi part ejection seat includes a photo-etch piece to represent the shoulder harness. No lap harness is provided though.

- The windscreen & canopy are clear & distortion free

- The metal landing gear struts are really nice and it definitely looks like the kit could use the strength the metal gear will provide.

- A nicely detailed GSh-23 twin barreled gun pack is provided including ammunition boxes.

- The splitter plates are really nicely done and feature perforated PE parts to replicate the boundary layer holes. Good fit will be important here so as not to ruin the nice look these provide.

- The leading edge and trailing edge flaps can be positioned either up or down and the wings are keyed to swing in sync. If you want to swing the wings though, you'll need to make sure you model the TE flaps in the up position

- Speed brakes, ventral fins, spoilers, stabilators and the rudder can all be positioned.

- The intake ducts go back a little ways, but don't seem to go all the way to the engine face. There's a bit of a break between where the squarish portion of the duct comes together and the round section of the duct formed by the wheel wells. The engine mounts aft of that. Potentially, you might not be able to see further into the intake than where it ends and the transition piece may not be necessary. Only construction will tell.

- Speaking of the engine, there is a really nice looking R-29 engine included complete with a ground support cart for the aft fuselage/engine. On the down side, Trumpeter doesn't show you where the vertical tail breaks when the aft section is removed, unless the whole tail stays attached to the mid section of the fuselage when the aft fuselage/engine is removed. Optional exhausts, open or closed are also supplied.

With all of the different versions to be built out of the basic kit parts, good fit will be key. Dry fitting a few of the major kit parts, it looks like Trumpeter has done a good job with this aspect of the kit engineering. All will be revealed in the actual construction.

Markings

As mentioned above, markings are provided for two export customers:

- East German Air Force/Air Defense Bort 564, JG 9

- Czech Air Force, Bort 7183, 1st Fighter Air Regt

One decal sheet cover national markings with Bort numbers as well as a host of maintenance service markings. The second decal sheet covers an extensive array of ordnance markings. The third decal sheet covers cockpit interior decals including decals for the canopy & windscreen frame (though these are not indicated in the instructions as far as I could see). A fourth decal sheet is included which is essentially an errata sheet for the Czech markings. The Czech markings on sheet one are not handed as on real Czech aircraft. Sheet four fixes that issue. The markings for the East German aircraft could also use an update. A picture of Bort 564 appears on page 46 of World Airpower Journal, Vol 8, Spring 1992. The National markings in the photo appear to have "stencil breaks" in the white borders and the style or Bort number is more rounded, also with stencil breaks.

Conclusion

This is an impressive kit. In fact I'd go so far as to say one of Trumpeters best efforts to date, right up there with their Me 262. It's nicely detailed, with restrained surface features and a host of options that will really appeal to the large scale modeler. Once built, this will be a good sized model. I'm really looking forward to building this kit as well as some of the upcoming versions.

Thanks to Stevens International for the review sample!

Trumpeter 1/32 MiG-23MF Flogger B

By Mike Millette

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