1/48 Academy Mig-21PF Fishbed 

VPAF (Vietnamese People Air Force)

by Le Thanh Tung

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  Vietnam Independence Day 2005 

 

This bird was built almost 4 years ago and was my second Fishbed. I built it straight out of the box and followed photos of an actual aircraft to simulate the weathering on the model.  I painted it overall with Testors Flat Aluminum from (not Silver as per the instructions in the kit) and applied pastel chalk for weathering.

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Some panels on the fuselage were painted with Gun metal and Chrome Silver from Tamiya with various ratios of mixing in order to make different shades. These simulate the panels which were replaced without antioxidant during war time, so they would oxidize very quickly.

With small details, washing is the best way to make those come out.

As usual, I applied the last layer with Testors Gloss Finish.

This aircraft is from the VPAF, Vietnamese People Airforce.  You can see 13 stars on her upper fuselage near the cockpit which represent 13 aerial victories over US air power during the Vietnam War.  However, these victories were scored by 9 pilots because the aircraft was not designated to just 1 pilot, North Vietnamese pilots would fly any aircraft that was ready....regardless of designation. This 4326 is very well known as a Phantom Killer and almost every scale from many hobby manufacturers depict this one. The actual aircraft is now displayed at Air Defense Museum in HANOI.

With best regards to all modellers,

Tung

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Photos and text © by Le Thanh Tung