This brand from Czechia issued a series of very good MiG-15 kits in 1/72. They are the best of kits and came in different packages such as the Combo series with more kits, Profipacks and as "Weekend" editions.   

 
Eduard Profipack set 7057 has a single early MiG-15 FAGOT-A kit with about 60 parts. Some of the general parts are seen here.

In the box you will also see spare parts of other kit releases: the lower wing part with the landing light (for the "bis") as well as various pylons for the MiG-15bs (SB) with some bombs. 

Decals in the Profipack are for:
- PLA China , 29th GIAP, Dachang Air Base, Shanghai, 1950;
- Romania based at Deveselu Air Base, 1962;
- Poland, 1st PLM, Warsaw - Babice Air Base, 1951;
- Korea, Antung Air Base, Korea, April 1951;
- Soviet VVS of 274th IAP, Kubinka Air Base, early nineteen-fifties;

The Eduard "weekend" edition 7423 is the simplest package without resin parts, some etched metal, paint masks and less decals, but what is in the box is still very good. And, often you don't needs the extra's depending on the desired model to be made. But fabric seat straps and belts are there! 
Marking decals are for :
- Czech AF 47th pzlp at Mlada AFB, Czechoslowakia 1955;
- North Korean MiG-15 at Antung, Korea 1951.

Eduard Profipack 7056 has a MiG-15 bis so a slightly different version, see page 1 what the differences are. The Eduard kit has some other parts to cater for the bis. Decals are for 4 schemes: Soviet VVS, Cuba, Egypt, DDR (old style) and North Korea. 

Note that here the MiG-15 bis fuselage halves are seen, an part with a wing halve with the landing light in front of the left gear bay, other tailpipe parts for the slightly bigger tail pipe and stores are presented as well for a bis(SB) ...

Eduard MiG-15bis "Weekend edition" 7424


This package has not the etched coloured fret of the Profipack but indeed a fabric patch for the seat straps. Decals are for a Soviet VVS and North Korean scheme. 

There are also a few Eduard Combo sets with 2 kits and extra's in package. 

General remarks on the EDUARD MiG-15 
OK, these Eduard kits are very good and most sprues with parts are found in the different packages. Colour instructions are well provided.

Interior
The interiors are nicely done with air intake funnel as well. The main cockpit interior for the MiG-15 colour is medium grey.
There is a nice detailed seat with black cushions and parapack. But it sits a bit "too high" so I reduced its length at the base at part C10.
The instrument panel can be made with a decal or painted as desired. In the more extensive packages there are also colured etched metal fret for the instruments.
The clear glass panel A5 is also provided for the sliding canopy.

Fuselage
The nose intake separator has 2 options: with clear part A9 or without landing light C28. 
In the rear lower fuselage the transparant panel A3 is a bit too large.
A little bit filler and sanding is needed at the nose intake ring. I recommend doing this before installing the cannon fairings.

Very many decals are now there and as seen previously also I had additional after market decals for the MiG-15 such as from Hi-Decal Line and Kanga. Some of these were from very old Microscale and also I found a Neomega set for a resin seat and another unclear resin seat...

.. ...

MiG-15 
The Eduard kit assembly is simple using also the General Remarks above for the kits. 

.
Painted and finished with the etched fret parts in the Profipack or Combo packages. The cockpit interior colour for the MiG-15 is mid-grey with black details. (so NOT later Soviet style Emerald Green as for later MiGs like the MiG-21 or other Sukhois). 

 

MiG-15
Some photos of the assembly.... Note the part numbers set with a permanent marker inside to avoid mistakes

.
A lot of filler is seen but this is only to close very tiny gaps.... This is a neat kit. 

.
The upper view. Note that I posed the ailerons at an angle after there sides were sawed in with a TIGER razor saw and the ailerons' hinge lines was inscribed deeper. 

The differences between the jet exhaust pipes of the old MiG-15 and later slightly bigger diameter MiG-15bis ...

The lower aft fuselage of the MiG-15bis has a rectangular doppler ? recess. Correction Note: I should have used the lower left wing part with the landing light!   
  

Sanding in progess. As many models would get a metallic finish it is crucial to remove all scratches. A nail polishing block is handy here with the different polishing surfaces.

... and a nice comparison of the Hobbyboss MiG-15 kit (described on page 2) and the Eduard MiG-15. The shapes are very the same. 

 

... 

> For more information about Cuba look on the MiG-21 page here...

This Eduard model was finished as a Cuban MiG-15bis and a photo is shown in the OKB book (see references) page 145. The very nice decals were sourced from the kit package 7056. But I used another buzz number "23" which was slightly different. (May be I should have installed the small radio antenna on the fuselage spine as well). 

 MiG-15bis CUBA of the "Defensa Anti-Aérea Y Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria" 

A nice model in the World Air Force model collection. 

MiG-15 "FAGOT-A" Soviet Union  (U.S.S.R)
This Eduard model was made RED 532 in a Soviet demonstration scheme as seen at Tushino Air Show in the beginning fifties. An very old Tushino Air Show film at YouTube showed it to be regular MiG-15 (so not a Bis). 

The radio antenna on the early FAGOT-A is a flat plate on the spine (so not a blade antenna). This is correctly done as per kit. 




The Eduard model of the MiG-15 first got the upper RED colour using Revell Aqua acrylic 31. Next after masking it got a metal lower finish using the Alclad II system and using some special tricks. 

Note that the number styles on the nose varied between demonstration aircraft or the number was even absent. On the upper wing no Stars were ever applied. 

Also note that some drawings are on internet that suggest a low light blue finish but the film clearly shows these demo MiGs had metallic lower surfaces.




The RED MiG-15 from the Soviet demonstration team Tushino beginning fifties.

<later style "squared" insignia
DDR  ("Deutsche Demokratische Republik" / East Germany) in orange red on the map. On the left is West Germany ("Bundes Republik") 

This Eastern block country was separated from West Germany by the Soviet union mid 1945 , the German Democratic Republic (DDR). It later became part of the Warsaw Pact and got over 150 aircraft of the MiG-15 during the Cold War. Remember also the Berlin blockade and the tensions at the time. 

This very nice Eduard MiG-15bis "FAGOT-B" kit (in package 7056) was simply assembled with also using the kit decals of this kit package 7056. These still has the old style DDR squares (without hammer and compass that were later used). This MiG-15bis was of JAG 11 that was a school unit.

I could not find photos with black walkways so these were not applied. Also it was not clear if the radio blade antenna was fitted on the fuselage spine. 

Note the fueltanks on the braces installed here and the large antenna as seen on all MiG-15 aircraft. The canons are also well seen. 

  MiG-15bis DDR nineteen sixties

On to next MiG-15 [ Page 6... ]

Back to 1/72 Models.......