MIG-21bis – the USSR/ Hungarian fighter

The MIG-21 was one of many projects, created by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Construction Bureau to meet the armament needs of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries. The predecessors of this fighter were aircrafts, such as the MIG-15, MIG-17 and MIG-19. The projecting work of this aircraft began in the early 1950s and experimental specimens Ye-1, Ye-2 and Ye-4 with a delta wing was created. The MIG-21 was a successful fighter, that could serve both as a fighter and as a fighter-interceptor. It was a light fighter, capable of flying at Mach 2 with a relatively low-power turbojet engine with an afterburner. It is often compared to the American Lockheed F-104 “Starfighter” and Northrop F-5 “Freedom Fighter”, and the French Dassault “Mirage III”. The first of the new line of fighters, to enter serial production, was the MIG-21F, which, along with the MIG-21P and F-13, represented the first generation of the MIG-21 and was produced until the late 1950s and early 1960s. Subsequent versions, such as the PF, FL, PFM, R, began production in the late 1960s. The third generation of fighters began production in 1968 and included the following versions: M, SM, MF, SMT, and the Bis subtype aircraft were produced even later. Two training versions, the MIG-21U and UM, were also produced. Production ended in 1985, and the aircraft was used by the air forces of more than 50 countries. The “Fishbed” became the most mass-produced supersonic fighter - 10,645 aircraft of all versions of this brand were produced. They served on all continents except Australia. They participated in the Vietnam, India-Pakistan, Cuban wars and most wars and armed conflicts of the Arab world.

A complex, well-designed and richly detailed model of the Hungarian Air Force fighter MIG-21bis for intermediate and experienced modelers. The model details everything, that is visible on the outside: weapons, landing gear, external details, as well as excellently detailed cockpit equipment, partial engines (as far, as they are visible from the outside), beautiful spotted camouflage with a bird with spread wings, painted on the sides and bottom. Very good and detailed graphical instruction, only the images is slightly spoiled by not very clear rendering-type drawings. The textual instruction in Polish are of medium size and are more like a supplement to the graphical ones. There are a little color reserves.