Eduard 1/72 MiG-21PFM Wheels
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Overview
The Eduard 1/72 MiG-21 is a gorgeous kit out the box, but even with the best of kits there is always room for aftermarket improvement. Wheels are a simple and popular aftermarket accessory, and Eduard improved on their own plastic here.
The Wheels
While the kit wheels are nice in that they have separate hubs, these wheels have their own advantages. First off, the plus of having separate hubs on the painting side is nullified with the inclusion of wheel hub masks in this set. That simplifies the finishing of these wheels, and the crisper detailing of the resin parts already give them an edge over the plastic parts.
The other nice touch on these wheels is the slight flattening and bulging, which is not an easy thing to do with the kit wheels. With this slight flattening, though, you will have to take extra care in making sure the wheels are positioned properly so that they're flat on the ground. For the main gear, at least, these are keyed to the main strut, but the nose wheel is not. The only other addition needed is a small piece of wire (not included) that fits on the main wheels. This is shown in the instructions, but you will have to bend it precisely yourself. It would have been a nice touch to have included a bending form in the resin gate, though, to make sure that the wire was formed exactly right.
Conclusion
These wheels are a simple update, but one which will add some subtle levels of realism to the finished MiG-21PFM model. My thanks to Eduard for the review sample.