Mikoyan MiG-21 UM "Mongol"
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designer

MiG-21 UM in 1/32 scale by Trumpeter
 
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Well.... yep, got another fine 1/32 scale Trumpeter kit of the MiG-21, the 21 UM with NATO codename "Mongol-B" , the two seater trainer variant. The kit (no. 2219) was issued at the same period as the F13 and other MIG kits of Trumpeter and is of the same high quality as these kits. The parts and overall engineering is very impressive! As with the other Trumpeter kits of the MiG-21...

 
This is the two seater trainer, so what do you get?
- A. new fuselage parts with the correct small style intake (small intake similar to MiG-21 F13 type)

- B. double cockpit with two seats of the later KM-1M variant (as used also in the MF kit)

- C. larger tail unit as of later MIG variants:

The wing parts are as typical:

Very nice are the decals; 

1- you get a demo aircraft (as seen in the box art) of a CZECH "stress team" demoteam no.3756; 

stress tema

I saw this aircraft at an air show and made a photo. 

Observations about the kit decals and scheme:

    - the orange colored panel below the cockpit should be "red"; 
    - the wall bricks details at the doors should be "red" and not orange; can be corrected as extra white decals are included ; 
    - this is a spectacular scheme and the wood pattern is partly done with decals! Alternative decals have been coming from "TIGER WINGS" for this kit.
2- decals for a Finish MiG-21 UM, camo version (they forgot to put the extra green pattern on the markings- instructions )

3- decals for a Czech camouflaged MiG-21 UM; the Czech national insignia are not correct (they should be mirrored and are too small in size; you may use a spare decal from a Revell 1/32 kit...)

 decals 

Other tips on this kit:
- The cockpit protection "glass" screen between the two cockpit tubs is missing from the kit!! 
- the bulkheads (parts E33 and E32) are OK but I added some new rods and tubes for extra realism, with the original parts:....

.....and the updated detailed parts...

- the seats are OK, but add some more details! 
The parts of one ejection seat (type KM-1M) of the kit are shown here:

 the quite good kit parts for the cockpit tub:

... 

Extra details may be added under the windscreen and if you leave the avionics bay open, also in part C17.
The real plane is quite roughly put together, so don't make your model plane really clean! Some small gaps and rough filling can be left as is!  The interior of the canopies may benefit from some extra detail (to be added later on). 

A nice touch is the parachute housing that can be set open at the rear of the tail (parts G2 G1 etc).

General other tips and tricks are the same as for MiG-21 F13 and other MiG-21 kits that are seen on previous MIG-21 pages.....

A few parts were already detailed and "pre-painted" of the cockpit section. This will easy later adding details as the base color is there...

 


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The excellent Trumpeter kit of the two seater MiG-21 is very good indeed.
Nice touches are the special lower fuselage air brake that can be set opened, the correct larger wheels as of the MF, the correct large vertical fin, the correct wing and the correct ejection seats.

It was decided that the kit would be assembled with rear fuselage attached, closed avionics bay and no further opened panels. this was done on many of the other kits, so this is a bit of a relief.


The kit assembly is no problem but assure that the rear fuselage parts are assembled flush (I had to do some sanding and filling).

The intake has the correct smaller intake bullet with no radar; make sure to remove the various edges and alignment pins to get a good seam.

  Note the cockpit area, obviously a long way from being completed...

The lower fuselage area with the rear brake and main undercarriage bays is quite nice. I has some problems with the fit of the bay parts but used white glue to close gaps.


  The forward lower air brake


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Created this page May  6, 2003