Hasegawa 1/72 Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-27 Flogger D

HASEGAWA 1:72 MIKOYAN GUREVICH MIG-27 FLOGGER-D

Reviewer: Paulo Ivo Teixeira (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 30 August 2008

Kit Details:

Hasegawa MiG-27 Flogger D 1/72 scale, kit # JS-143:500. No date to be found anywhere but looks late 1970s: I certainly remember seeing it in a shop around that time. Flimsy side-opening box. Got mine on e-Bay for 2.79 GB pounds + p&p.

Aircraft History:

The MiG-27 Flogger D is a variant of the MiG-23 Flogger highly optimised for the ground attack role. The most obvious difference is the downward-sloping nose, designed to give the pilot better visibility during approaches. Minor differences are the slightly larger, fixed-geometry air intakes and a shorter exhaust can. A new 30-mm GSh-6-30 six-barrel rotary cannon with 260 rounds of ammunition replaced the MiG-23's 23-mm cannon and a seventh hardpoint was added on the fuselage centreline. Visually the MiG-27 is almost identical to the MiG-23BN/BM, an earlier and less successful attempt at developing a fighter-bomber based on the MiG-23 airfame. Top speed being less of an issue than in the case of an interceptor, the MiG-27 is somewhat slower than its forebear, flying no faster than 1,885 km/h or Mach 1.7 (1,170 mph) at 8,000 m (26,250 ft). The pilot is protected from small-arms fire by armour plating on the sides of the cockpit. The first prototype flew in 1973 and the type entered service in 1975. The only operator outside the former USSR (which withdrew its MiG-27s from service in the 1990s) is India, which built it under licence as the MiG-27M or Bahadur (Valiant) (known as MiG-27L to Mikoyan). The closest Western equivalent is probably the slightly smaller and somewhat less sophisticated SEPECAT Jaguar.

Kit Parts:

57 injection-moulded parts on 3 sprues (2 large, 1 small) of light grey plastic, Hasegawa-style, plus one clear sprue containing two-piece canopy and 2 landing lights. No flash. Some ejector pin marks, but most if not all won't be visible once model is assembled. All sprues and decal sheet come together in one sealed bag. Finely raised panel lines, engraved control surfaces. All parts bar one still on sprues despite age of kit. Main fuselage split horizontally as is the norm with swing-wing aircraft; separate nose section with cockpit split vertically.

Instructions:

One 20 cm x 40 cm (8 in x 16 in) sheet folded in four, featuring: b/w photo of assembled model, short history of aircraft with some technical specifications. Painting and decalling guide showing 4-view of camouflaged aircraft and 3-view of bare metal aircraft, but only generic names of colours given (see below). General tips and hints on assembling model and applying decals. Parts listing. Seven clear construction steps with colour call-outs; separate diagrams covering assembly of main landing gear, air intakes and ventral fin.

Colour Schemes:

A camouflaged aircraft 'assigned to Leningrad Army Command' and a bare metal (silver) one 'assigned command is not known'. Camouflage colours are given in generic terms only: field grey and dark green over light blue undersides; no FS numbers or references to any paint range.

Decals:

Very small sheet with just instrument panel, red stars for wings and tail, and red or blue aircraft numbers. Choice of stars with or without red outline; apparently you can use either number, red or blue '06' or '07', with either colour option (see above). No stencilling whatsoever (as is the case with most older kits).

Cockpit/wheel bay detail:

Very spartan cockpit consisting of decent-looking (but plain) one-piece seat and floor. No side consoles; a decal is provided for the instrument panel. Raised detail in wheel bays and on the inside of bay doors.

Options:

Swing wings, operated by a sturdy-looking cog mechanism. Undercarriage up or down, if down ventral fin must be folded and minor surgery is required on a few parts (cutting off tabs). Choice of ordnance includes centreline and wing fuel tanks, 2 missiles, and either 2 bombs or 2 rocket pods. The underwing pylons for the fuel tanks don't swivel. Opening part of canopy is hinged not glued, so it can be displayed open or closed.

Construction:

I started with sanding off the moulded-on wing pylons; these don't swivel, so I was not going to use them. On the basis of photo evidence I'd say the rocket pods and centreline fuel tank should perhaps be painted aluminium rather than white or the underside colour as per the instructions. So I did: the rocket pods got aluminium (Re 99) bodies, gunmetal (Hu 53) noses with tips in another, yet darker metalliser (exact reference lost in the mists of time). The centreline fuel tank was painted aluminium (Re 99) overall. The R-3S missiles got satin white (Hu 130) bodies and gloss black (Hu 21) heads, with little gloss red (Hu 19) squares on the tips of the rear fins.

Then I assembled the cockpit. Instructions say paint the cockpit dark sea grey, but I reckoned the famous Russian interior blue-green might be a safer bet. So the floor and walls were painted a turquoise blue colour (Hawk Turquoise 61-37 from the Citadel Colour range, manufactured by the Games Workshop, England) which seems a good approximation to what I've seen in photos of Soviet-era fighters, perhaps a touch too dark. The pilot's seat was painted Light Ghost Grey, with cream (Hu 103) cushions; seat belts were added, made from masking tape and painted Light Ghost Grey with silver (Hu 11) buckles. The decal for the instrument panel was applied. The control column is actually the top tip of the nose undercarriage that protrudes through a hole in the cockpit floor, doubling as the roof of the nose undercarriage bay. This was painted flat black (Hu 33) with a silver (Hu 11) grip. Some weight, in the form of lead chippings embedded in plasticine, was placed in the nose.

The rest of the construction was mostly uneventful, as most parts fitted very well and filler (white glue actually) was only required (i) around the intakes (the bane of modern jet kits) and (ii) where the rocket pod pylons attach to the wing gloves. Of course, this being a swing-wing aircraft you need to paint the wings before you assemble the fuselage, so an early choice had to be made concerning colours. Now while I'm not an expert in Soviet military aircraft, I've never seen a photo of a MiG-27 wearing a dark grey/dark green camouflage as the instructions would have you apply. On the basis of a few quick searches through the internet, I reckoned a two greens and two browns scheme over light grey would be far more likely. One that I found uses Dark Green FS34079 (Hu 116), Mid Green FS34226 (Hu 78), Mid Brown FS30215 (Hu 62) and Dark Red Brown FS30206 (Hu 113) over Light Grey FS36440 (Hu 129) for an aircraft based in East Germany in 1991. Well, it certainly doesn't look dull!

The dielectric panels on top of the fin and on the ventral stake, as well as the two pointy things protruding from the leading edges of the wing gloves (no idea what they are!) were painted dark admiralty grey (Re 71). The undercarriage legs were painted silver (Hu 11), with flat black (Hu 33) tyres, US medium green FS34102 (Hu 117) wheels, and mudguards light gull grey FS36440 (Hu 129), same colour as the underfuselage. Of course, this being a MiG-23 derivative, the undercarriage is a fiddly affair; my only real gripe is that one small piece of the bay doors is moulded onto the undercarriage legs, and so must be pained the same colours as the side fuselage; instructions don't tell you this.

The insides of the undercarriage bays and of the undercarriage bay doors were painted gunmetal (Hu 53), which I think agrees with photo evidence (it's either this or a dark grey, hard to tell really). The air intakes and the exhaust can were painted flat black (Hu 33) inside, The outer rim of the exhaust can was done in silver (Hu 11), the intake lips in aluminium (Re 99), as per the instructions. Wingtip lights were coloured green (right) and red (left) with marker pens, over a flat white (Hu 34) undercoat.

The canopy is in two parts, the windscreen is glued to the fuselage and the main part hinge on the rear so it can be displayed open, so I left it unglued. Canopy framing was painted in the upper camouflage colours, with a cream (Hu 103) sealant.

As I said, there were very few decals so applying them was a breeze.

Accuracy:

Looks ok to me! Don't ask me to measure it!!!

Conclusion:

A nice kit I had fun building, though the undercarriage and ordnance proved a bit fiddly. Pity the small decal sheet and possibly inaccurate painting guide, which probably reflect the "West's" lack of knowledge of East Bloc aircraft at the time the kit was produced. The more fastidious modeller may want to go aftermarket.

References:

Chris Chant (ed.), Concise Guide to Military Aircraft of the World (Temple Press, London, 1981).
Paul Eden and Soph Moeng (eds.), The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft (Silverdale Books, Leicester, 2002).
Michael Sharpe, Attack and Interceptor Jets (Dempsey Parr, Bristol, 1999).
Sky Corner - Virtual Aviation Reference: http://www.airwar.ru (for aircraft photos).
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com (for aftermarket decals and alternative colour schemes).

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