JBr Decals 1/48 MiG-21MFN Booklet and Decals
By Matt Bittner
When Czechoslovakia was split apart in the early 1990s it meant the Czech Air Force would lose a good portion of its aviation fleet, both to the split and to the 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. To compensate for those losses, the Czech MiG-21MFs were slated to be modified mainly to go from Western Block standards to NATO standards by replacing the older, internal systems with their "Western" counterparts, and would become MiG-21MFNs.
There were ten MiG-21MFs converted into MiG-21MFN standards. This exceptional booklet and decal set from JBr Decals covers all of those aircraft in 1/48. Not only does the booklet contain information about each MiG-21MFN but also an overall account of the Czech Air Force in the past (especially in terms of MiG-21s), and where it has headed today (replacing all the MiG-21MFNs with JAS 39 Gripens). The narrative includes everything that was done to the MiG-21MF, in detail, to create the MiG-21MFN. If you ever were a student of the MiG-21MFN this is a must, regardless of the decals.
The decals are just the icing on the cake and there are decals to create all MiG-21MFNs, except for the "Tiger-striped" aircraft that was catered for in Eduard's MiG-21MF in Czechoslovak Service release. Since this initial release is for 1/48, JBr Decals includes an extremely helpful insert on the two Eduard 1/48 MiG-21MF releases (ProfiPACK and Weekend) and what parts (that ARE included in the kits) to leave off or add to create a MiG-21MFN. Very comprehensive.
It's important to pay attention to the book when building your MiG-21MFN. In almost every case each MiG-21MFN was unique in one way or another. For example, while they were all painted "grey", there is a definite difference in the types of greys for certain airframes. The booklet points all this out, which is why it's important to study it in detail.
There is one sad part to this book, though, and that's reading how most of the airframes were destroyed. Thankfully, though, there are two full-airframes still in existence in museums and one nose-section as well. But still, it's always a shame to read of the demise of an excellent aircraft.
Many, many thanks to JBr Decals for supplying this review set.