1:48 MiG-21 PF - Canopy and Wheel Masks (for Eduard 8236 kit)

The supersonic number one of the Eastern bloc

The MiG-21 PF was the first truly mass-built interceptor version of the MiG-21. It came with radar housed in the wide cone of the intake, without gun armament and relying on guided missiles. It entered service at the start of the 1960s and in the end took off from airfields in more than twenty countries, Czechoslovakia included.

Pilots criticized its small fuel supply and short endurance, while they praised its rate of climb, simple maintenance and the behavior of the machine in sharp maneuvers close to the ground. On a model the eye is caught above all by the front cone with its movable insert and the slim delta wing, whose outline does not forgive inaccuracies.

Why the frames are not drawn by hand

The canopy of the MiG-21 has narrow bars and several rounded surfaces where hand-cut tape never keeps the same width. Pre-cut film follows the outline of the frame exactly and comes out identically on both halves of the model. Seen from the front, when both sides of the cockpit are visible at once, that is immediately apparent. The difference also comes out in a photograph, which few builders avoid these days.

The wheels and what to do with the surplus

Circular stencils for the landing gear wheel hubs are included as well, so the rubber part of the tire gets its paint without running into the hub. The leftover pieces of film after the shapes have been pressed out come in useful for covering panels while the camouflage is sprayed. The cut matches the well-known molding from Eduard in this scale; with other moldings the frame spacing differs and the stencils need not fit.