Contents

The mixed media contents are sandwiched between two 10mm pieces of foam inside a top opening box. A gentle shake of the box reveals very little movement of the contents. For added security the resin parts for each set are packed in re-sealable bags. The masks, decals and photo etched frets are packed together in one bag. This BigSIN release for the Eduard/Trumpeter 1/48 scale MiG-23MF contains the following separate sets:

648434 – MiG 23 MF Engine Air Intakes
648433 – R-23T Missiles
648432 – R-23R Missiles
648429 – MiG-23MF/ML Ejection Seat
648105 – MiG-23 M/MF Main Wheel Bay
648104 – MiG-23 Exhaust Nozzle
648089 – MiG-23 M/MF Wheels

648434 – MiG 23 MF Engine Air Intakes
Inside the re-sealable bag you will find:
●2 x resin parts
●2 x clear resin parts
●1 x small fret of photo etched parts
●1 x small sheet of paint masks

The air intakes are replacements for the plastic kits parts. The resin intakes are joined to their casting blocks via a number of small stems, so they should not be a problem to separate. The air intakes feature cut-outs for the auxiliary intakes the doors for which are photo etched. The cut-outs need to have the very thin film of resin clearing. The instructions provide a line drawing showing the angle of the doors if you are showing them open. There are also a couple of clear resin lenses to fit into the intakes. There are paint masks for the lenses. There are more PE parts which create the strakes on the inside of the intake. A small bit of trimming is required to the plastic parts of the kit where the resin intakes fit.

648433 – R-23T Missiles & 648432 – R-23R Missiles
Inside the re-sealable bag you will find:
●22 x resin parts
●1 x small pre-coloured photo etched fret
●1 x small sheet of waterslide decals

Each set has two missiles and you can choose the R-23R semi-active radar homing [SARH] or R-23T infra-red. These two sets are basically the same; it’s just the seeker at the nose that is different. All the resin parts need to have a casting block removed. The missile bodies do have a nose fitted on them so this needs to be removed to fit either the R-23R or the R-23T seeker. The small forward and larger mid-section fins are separate. The rear fins are cast with the body, they are really thin and attached to the casting block. So extreme caution is required removing the block. The separate fins should present no problems separating them from their blocks. The photo etched includes detail such as the re-enforcing plates on the join of the warhead to the fuel and motor stage of the missile. There are Photo etched parts around the engine exhaust. I have seen images of the re-enforcing plates being painted red or just left bare metal. Eduard has pre-painted one side of the plates red and left the other side steel so you could do both. The plates for each missile are linked and not individual parts. So you need to carefully roll them so they will fit the missiles body.
The APU-23M missile pylons are handed so one will fit the left wing and the other the right, so don’t mix them up. The fit of the missile to the pylon is helped by some tabs on the missile that locate into some notches in the pylon.
Missiles are painted flat white overall and the pylons are natural metal. There are numerous decals which provide the stencil detail mainly on the pylon.

648429 – MiG-23MF/ML [KM-1] Ejection Seat
Inside the re-sealable bag you will find:
●2 x resin parts
●1 x small fret of pre-coloured photo etched parts

The bulk of the resin seat is cast with great detail. The quilted cushioning and detail on the back of the seat looks superb. The second resin part is for the head support. Both resin parts need to be cut away from their respective casting blocks. The thinness of the detail around the leg and ankle is superb. The pre-coloured photo etched fret provides the harnesses and straps attached to the seat. There is also the seat activation handle on the fret. This needs to be folded over to achieve the detail on both sides.

648105 – MiG-23 M/MF Main Wheel Bay
Inside the re-sealable bag you will find:
●13 x Resin parts
●1 x small photo etched fret

The two resin bays are superbly detailed and will call on all your painting skills to pick out the detail. There are four gear doors included. There are a couple of resin struts for the larger door and photo etched struts for the smaller doors. The large pivot joints for the base of the gear legs are included as resin parts. The plastic legs and activation arms from the kit are utilised. There are additional photo etched parts for the arms. The odd looking curved resin part [R19] is a pipe or cable. There are three small photo etched brackets to add to part R13. This looks about the most complex set of this release so follow the instructions to the letter. The instructions provide colour details of the various parts of the bays. You will find the Walkaround link below useful. There are lots more walkabouts on the web. Once completed this will be a superb bit of detailing for your MiG-23.

648104 – MiG-23 Exhaust Nozzle
Inside the re-sealable bag you will find:
●7 x resin parts

The jet pipe of the R-29-300 engine is broken down into seven resin parts. The nozzle is nicely detailed and the walls are really thin. The fuel diffuser and flame holder is fitted just aft of the final bank of compressor blades. You can just see some of the blades, but whether you will see them once the construction is finished is another thing, but good to know they are there. The inside of the jet pipe has some excellent liner detail as does the nozzle mechanism.

648089 – MiG-23 M/MF Wheels
Inside the re-sealable bag you will find:
●16 x resin parts
●1 x small photo etched fret
●1 x small sheet of paint masks

The resin parts look well cast and each one needs the resin block removing. The pair of wheel of the front undercarriage has the hubs on the inner side cast in situ. The outer hubs are separate and there is a choice of two types. There are two types of mudguard to choose from. The only difference between the two is that R5 has a little more guard area. The main wheels follow the pattern of the nose wheels in that they have the inner hubs cast with the wheel. Also there is a choice of two styles of outer hub. Eduard is not specific about which hub or mudguard to fit to any particular version of MiG-23 so check your references. Also included with the resin are the main wheel mud guards that also act as doors for the undercarriage. The photo etched fret contains items such as hydraulic pipes, linkage and cable, guards for both main undercarriage legs. The paint masks are designed to fit on the tyre allowing you to paint the hubs.

Instructions are illustrated with line drawings. All parts are numbered on the casting blocks, photo etched fret and decal sheet. The relevant plastic parts from the Eduard/Trumpeter kit are given as well. Eduard denotes areas to be removed using red and joining areas are in blue. Eduard use Gunze Sangyo paints as a guide to colours

There is a superb walk around on Youtube which covers a lot of the detail found in this BigSIN release.

Conclusions

This is set will certainly enhance the detail of the Trumpeter MiG 23MF. Eduard has focused on the area’s most modellers gaze at when running an eye over any model aircraft. The detail and finesse is quite superb and well worth considering. Also worth considering is that you save 30% if you buy this set rather than buying them individually. Or put it another way it’s like getting the wheel bay or the engine nozzle for free or both missile sets for free.