1/32 Trumpeter MiG-29M

Gallery Article by David Porter on Dec 28 2010

 

MiG-29M Multi-Role Fighter (Izdeliye 9.15) Fulcrum-E

History
This kit is Trumpeter’s 1/32 scale MiG-29M prototype aircraft, sometimes called the Fulcrum-E or the Super Fulcrum. This model represents ‘156 Blue’ which was the sixth prototype of the proposed upgrade program to the MiG-29 programme. The idea behind Mikoyan’s project was to increase the range, improve the cockpit usability, upgrade the weapons, improve the engine and reliability, improving ECM and various other features to make the MiG-29 into a fourth generation aircraft. Unfortunately for Mikoyan the aircraft was not a commercial success and eventually ‘156 Blue’ was turned into the OVT demonstration aircraft to investigate vectoring thrust.

Construction
From the modeller’s perspective there are some differences between earlier versions of the aircraft. To improve the range Mikoyan deleted the intake ramps, so instead of ramps at the front of the intakes a mesh is swung down from the inside of the intake (similar to the Su-27). Unfortunately Trumpeter moulded these as one big flat piece. One option is to leave these out, but then there is no compressor face supplied to seal the other end. To get around this I fashioned some new parts from styrene and painted the interior of the intakes flat black past the screens. This was quite effective I felt and it looked much better than using the blanked off parts. 

Another change is that the new advanced IRSTs are an opaque blue colour. Trumpeter moulds this part in clear styrene, but this is easily remedied by simply painting over the top! Additionally the HUD in ‘156 Blue’ includes two glass panes in a similar fashion to the F-15 or F/A-18. For some reason Trumpeter provides a bar connecting to the top parts of the HUD but this is not correct. So I fashioned a top pane from acrylic sheet and got this to fit. Looks much better this way. The MFDs in ‘156 Blue’ where also black and white square models that are similar in size and placement to that found in the F-16A. For some reason the Eduard photo etched interior is actually for the MiG-29M2 (Izdeliye 9.61) with its nice large colour MFDs. I put them in anyway, because well... they look nice. Call it artistic license.

Other modifications I made were to the landing gear (brake lines and hydraulics etc) both front and aft and increasing the level of detail from some of the moulded on areas that Trumpeter left on the front gear by replacing with stretched sprue. Other modifications where to the kits weapons, in particular the Kh-29Ts which have no seeker detail in the nose. For these I added photo etched parts from left over etched sets and small ball bearings to give the illusion of detail. I also drilled out all the pitot tubes etc.

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Painting
The paint guide that Trumpeter provides is a handy glossy sheet separate from the instructions, a feature that I like. However the camouflage outline is incorrect on the sheet yet the colours are correct. For some funny reason the box art on the cover is correct (though the colours are not). I painted the camouflage using references as a guide. Painting was done with Tamiya acrylics preshaded in Nato Black. Sky Gray was used for the bottom of the aircraft and top. The green is a mix of 30% Field Gray and 70% Light Blue. Post-shading was then implemented by toning the colours with white. The green colour was most vexing as it is hard to say exactly what it should be from photos. Different photos show a bluer colour and some show really green. In the end I accepted Trumpeters recommendation and now having completed the model I am convinced that they got it right (as close as possible anyway). Metal parts are done with Alclad lacquers and where mostly a mix of Jet Exhaust and Aluminium with a few other shades mixed in. The model is washed with mostly Payne’s Grey oil paint and then dirtied up some with some burnt sienna and raw umber. Finally some pastel chalks added some extra worn areas to improve the realism. The decals are quite good and provide two options; ‘156 Blue’ which I chose and also ‘01’ which I believe to be an entirely fictional aircraft as I have no idea where Trumpeter got this from. The model was futured prior to decaling and then sealed with Gunze flat clear.

In the end it is nice to add something Russian to my collection and while the kit has its faults it does build into a nice model with a bit of effort. I am happy with Trumpeters current 1/32 campaign and it seems like they are getting better all the time. My camera is not spectacular so I cannot give you better pictures, sorry about that. I need to invest in a SLR with a decent lens at some point. Hope you enjoy the pics and if you have any comments/questions/criticisms then feel free to shoot me an email.

Kits Used:

  • 1/32 Trumpeter MiG-29M Fulcrum

  • 1/32 Russian Aircraft Weapons

  • Eduard MiG-29M Fulcrum Interior Detail Set

References

  • Cabos, R. H. (Ed.). (2000). MiG-29 'Fulcrum'. Osprey Modelling Manuals , 12, pp. 30-36.

  • Gordon, Y. (2006). Mikoyan MiG-29. Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing.

David Porter

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Photos and text © by David Porter