I get the feeling the engineers
at the Mikoyan Design Bureau are Gerry Anderson fans as this thing looks like
it's straight out of Captain Scarlet or the Thunderbirds. The MiG 1.44 MFI
(Multifunction Fighter) is a technology and airframe/ propulsion concept
demonstrator developed in response to US projects that ultimately led to the
F-22. It was rolled out for the public on January 12, 1999 (my 34th birthday!)
and first flew on February 29, 2000 with Vladimir Gorbunov at the controls.
Powered by thrust vectoring Lyulka-Saturn AL-41 engines it has a greater range
than the Su-27 and supercruise (supersonic flight without using afterburners)
capability.
This isn't one of Revell's better
efforts I have to say. Fit left a lot to be desired and a lot of filling and
sanding was required at the wing roots, vertical stabilisers and canard
fairings. There are a few outline errors as well mainly concerning the bottom of
the air intake which should be curved when viewed from the front and more
angular to the rear between the nose and main wheel wells. It's certainly close
enough for me and hats off to Revell for producing this relatively obscure
subject anyway.
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I didn't originally intend to
open the canopy but I felt the kit item was far too thick and I needed an excuse
to finally use that Mattel Vacu-former that's been sitting around so I moulded a
new one. Three attempts gave me one good windscreen and one good canopy so I cut
them apart and glued the canopy in the open position.
My only other modification was to
stick some engine fans in that gaping air intake. 1/144th jet engines aren't
exactly thick on the ground so I had to improvise a bit. Mine were made from two
leftover 1/72nd Hasegawa Tomcat wheels with the hubs made from the lttle
generator fans from Prowler ECM pods. It's nowhere near accurate of course but
at least it doesn't look like a big empty box now.
Paint is Polly Scale British Sea
Grey Medium which looks pretty close to the few pictures I could find on the net
of this thing. The bottom is a mix of Polly Scale RLM 76 and Light Gray and the
radome and dielectric panels are a Humbrol dark green/ dark gray mix. The tops
of the fins look pretty faded and weathered in pictures (which is odd because
the aircraft was brand spanking new at the time) so I sanded these lightly to
depict that. Exhausts are done in various shades of Testors Metalizer and the
data probes on the nose are brush painted with Metalizer Stainless Steel. You're
not supposed to be able to brush Metalizer but it actually works quite well as
long as you work quickly and apply it in one pass.
I had a moment of
temporary insanity when the MiG was nearly finished: I left the door to the
modelling haven open while I went downstairs for a bite to eat. At this point my
faithful furry friend took the opportunity to have a look out the window over my
workbench, apparently unconcerned that the model he was standing on wasn't
designed to hold a 15 pound feline. I did my best to fix the broken landing gear
legs but they'll just never be quite the same. Lesson learned; never leave the
sanctuary unguarded....
For a single seat
fighter this is one large airplane. It dwarfs the other 1/144th models in my
display case and is longer than most of my 1/72nd scale WWII fighters.
Andy
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