1:72 MiG-23 MF

The Flogger and its movable wing

The designers of the turn of the 1960s and 1970s wanted a machine that would manage a short runway and a fast run-in low over the terrain. The solution was a wing pivoting about a pin in three fixed positions: spread out for takeoff and landing, an intermediate position for cruise, fully swept for the highest speeds. The MF version was the export form for allied air forces and brought a better radar and a more powerful powerplant than the older variants.

What is in the envelope

One sheet covers four particular machines. Besides the national marking and unit emblems it contains a coherent set of service lettering, to which a diagram of its position on the airframe belongs. A fourteen-page booklet in A5 format adds photographs of the real aircraft and color drawings from four sides.

The mask and what it is for

The package also contains a mask for the framing of the canopy; its shape matches the kit of the Academy brand. In this scale the framing of the cockpit is tiny and the mask shortens the work from hours to minutes.

A practical note

A small scale forgives less than it seems. The carrier paper of the decals is thin, so it is advisable to cut the motifs out close and to work with a damp, not a wet base. Anyone who wants the result to look credible can soften the intensity of the service lettering once dry with a light translucent veil of paint in the base shade. A weak filter in oil paint serves just as well and moreover evens out the differences between individual panels. The fin and the nose will stand a little more wear than the underside of the fuselage, where the dirt collects differently.