Italeri MiG-23 MF/BN Flogger
MF Version | Option A

Jason
So, its been thirty years since I last built a model. Over the last few months, I built a couple of 1/72 scale planes for practice before moving onto my preferred 1/48 scale. The Italeri Flogger in 1/48 seems like a reasonably priced kit for NZD$60. I see that there is Trumpeter kit but I couldn't easily source it in my location. Besides, these are early days in my return to modelling so I expect plenty of mistakes along the way. I might also try a few techniques that are new to me.

I chose the MF version and began the build. Almost immediately I'm disappointed in the lack of detail in the cockpit and particularly the completely inaccurate ejection seat. I did a little research and it seems that the MF version had the KM-1 ejection seat. I'm not a stickler for complete authenticity in my models, but surely it would have been easy to make it look a little more authentic? Take a look at the stock photo of a real KM-1. There is no comparison.

I'm not sure how much of the seat will be visible in the closed cockpit but I'll try to make it look a little better. Not pretending to know much about adding details, I add a small square of Tamiya tape to the top of seat during painting and will try to make it look a little like a parachute covering.

Panel lines are raised. I can still recall painfully trying to shade raised panel lines with a HB pencil thirty years ago. I'll try sanding them down and re-scribing them. That's something new for me. I make a mess of one of the lines as I'm rescribing. I'm using a small steel ruler, blobs of Blu-tack to steady it, and the tip of my exacto knife. No proper scribing tool here yet. Oh well, I do have some Tamiya putty....