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Russian Air Force MiG-29S 31st GIAP

The Build

Zvezda put careful thought in lessening seam lines by making the upper and lower halves of the fuselage in two parts. Man, you have no idea how great it was to see that! Sure it meant a little inscribing at the joining parts but not having multiple pieces to put together for the nose and main body was awesome. Sure you need to use some clamps on the main parts but the force used could have easily come from my own hands holding a minute or two. I did it the quick way because of other projects on the go. Attaching the wing halves was easy, but be mindful of the outer tip parts that need alignment. Now that this is done the cockpit area needs decals and assembly. When I do another of these kits I'll bring the decals for the outside control panels a bit closer on the right to the main instrument panel and back a touch on the left away from it. Easiest way it to look at the instrument panel insert notches. Then you'll know where the panel goes and then where to place the decals. Ultimately place the decals as to where the notches are and a hair back.

When attaching the jet venturis use a ruler to figure out the width and let your cement set for a few minutes. At that point you can spread or narrow the gap needed. That might sound complicated but trust me these are two long parts that really don't need much thought. I'm only elongating it to make a comprehensive article. No, they don't snap together but they fit really good. After they set I sanded and polished the surface.

You will have to put the panel lines back in along the leading edges and the nose area. Again, the plastic is soft so don't use too much force. Some other places may need a little help here as well. The elevator tips on my model were kinda weak but see what I mean as you inspect the parts. A decent gundam inscribing pen works wonders in this case.

There are aftermarket sets for this model such as cockpit upgrades, exterior detail and yes canopy masks. In this smaller scale though by the time you place them die-cut masks in the exact place you could have cut thin strips of your own. You'll really like having no center seam and there is just enough give in the plastic to make you not worry about snapping it in half. Go easy of course but feel a little more comfortable. Later they will be painted then dipped in future floor care after the masks come off. Then I hand paint some semi-gloss varnish to match the finish of the model.

After priming with AK Micro filler only a few places needed sanding. The exhausts are slide-molded and have inserts needing US light green paint (yes, you read correctly). AK Xtreme metals were used for the four colors. With the different shades you can actually see inside the exhausts so it's worth the time doing this and using an oil wash to liven it up some.

The camouflage is pretty basic for this call-out but I did make mistake that you're bound to notice after a while, oh well no one's perfect. The feathered look comes from using rolled blu-tac worms then taping it off. Spraying at a 90 degree angle can be a challenge for the stabilizers so they were painted separately. Naturally light then dark were sprayed with dark grey over gull grey and Tamiya rubber black went on in front of the wind screen.

Zvezda get high marks on their decals by printing them not too bright and using a thin carrier film. There stencils get my praise because multiple marks are on the same film. You can opt to use one or cut them individually. There was very little silvering and the places that did silver on me was my fault. I use (most of the time) a coffee mug warmer and a little metal paint cup to keep my water warm. They bed down nicely with Micro Set and conform well Micro Sol.