Begemont 7220 1/72 MiG-21 part 3
PRICE: HK$60.00
KIT: Various 1/72 MiG-21s.
REVIEWER: Richard F
UNITS: 12 aircraft options

 

The MiG-21 needs no introduction, right? Supersonic Soviet interceptor, manufactured in huge numbers, operated in huge numbers, shot down in huge numbers. Also managed to wreak havoc on its enemies when flown by people who knew what they were doing. A capable jet, unless flown by numpties.

This Begemot sheet is Part Three in a series of decal sheets for the MiG-21 from that company. This sheet covers the later variants of the jet, namely the SM, MF, R, bis, and UM. 

The instruction sheet isn't in colour but it is fairly comprehensive. Read it all, because it has little clues here and there about painting the cockpits, for example. 

In all you get 12 options, as follows:

1. Overall aluminium, USSR Moscow Military District, MiG-21SM, 1974
2. Overall ghost grey, with gunship grey stripes on the tail, Czech Republic AF, MiG-21SM, 2005
3. Four tone camo of two browns and two greens, USSR Vladivostok region, Mig-21SM, 1984
4. Overall aluminium, Yugoslavia AF, MiG-21R, 1991 - this is the aircraft Rudolf Veresin used to defect to Croatia via Klagenfurt, Austria. You can read my review of the KP kit with these markings right here on MM: {http://www.modelingmadness.com/review/viet/russian/rf21r.htm}
5. Three tone sand, green, brown camo, USSR, MiG-21R, Afghanistan, 1983
6. Overall grey, Croatian AF, MiG-21bis, 1993
7. Overall grey, USSR, MiG-21bis, probably a training regiment, 1991
8. Overall yellow, with shark mouth, Hungary, MiG-21bis,  display team aircraft, 1993
9. Overall aluminium, USSR Moscow Military District, MiG-21bis,  1983
10. Flat white and flat red chequerboard pattern (good luck masking that!), Croatian AF, MiG-21UM, 1996
11. Four tone camo, greens and browns, USSR Volgograd District, MiG-21UM, 1986
12. Sand yellow and dark green two tone scheme with sharks mouth, Croatian AF, MiG-21UM, display team aircraft, 1998

It's important to note that it seems like you cannot build all of these. For example, the sheet comes with 12 red stars. Generally, Russian jets had six (two on fuselage, two top wings, two bottom). So that's 2 Soviet jets worth of stars but there are six Soviet options on the sheet. For the Croatian aircraft, you need to choose one of the three options. 

Other than that, I think you can do all the other ones - meaning you could, in theory, build six complete aircraft from this sheet and a few more if you (like most people) can rustle up a few spare red stars.

At HK$60 - under ten USD - that's pretty good value really. About HK$10 per model or a little over a buck a throw.

I have bought a Kondor single seater and UM two seater and plan to build #3 (with the shark's mouth from #8 as artistic licence) and #12. Yes, I like complex camo and I like shark's mouths!

You can download the black and white PDF of the camo schemes and aircraft notes here from the website where I bought the decals: 
http://www.kitshobby.com/begemot/be_product/doc/72-020_MiG21p3.pdf
Richard F

June 2015

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