Review by: Andy Goodwin
N.B. Before you start building, it’s well worth taking a look at the hugely-detailed ‘Here Now’ review of this wonderful kit.
References Used
- Squadron Signal – In Action 112 – MiG29 Fulcrum
- Verlinden – Lock On 19 – Mig-29 A-C – Fulcrum
- 4+ Publications – MiG-29 all variants
All paints used are Vallejo Model Air unless otherwise specified.
Just to get you in the mood…
First things first…
All of these lovely resin parts need to be removed from their pour blocks.
The instructions do not clearly show where to cut, but it is pretty easy to see where the component ends and the pour block begins. Make sure that you do this in such a way as to minimise any inhalation of the resin dust. You should at least wear a dust mask and do it all away from family and pets.
I did the majority of the sawing outside on a windy day (most days are in flat Lincolnshire!) and all sanding of the resin was done in a bowl of water.
Once this was all done, the pieces were washed and dried and it was time for a test fit. Slight modifications are required to the plastic parts around the forward fuselage; these are clearly called out in the instructions.
The cockpit tub simply clicks into place and looks really nice, even before any painting. I think I may well have been a little over-zealous with my sanding down of the ejection seat. It seems to sit a little low in the cockpit tub and if this is truly the case, a simple plastic card shim will raise it up to the required height. We shall see later on in the build.
All of the resin was primed with a coat of Alclad black primer and microfiller. This lacquer based primer will provide a perfect base coat for subsequent colour coats and is also the first stage in my weathering of the cockpit area.
From my references, it was apparent that there is a high degree of wear in the cockpit, especially on the floor in front of the seat. I replicated this by first brushing on a fairly thick coat of Gunze-Sangyo Mr Metal Color Aluminium.
