Everyone interested in jets knows the nasty surprise Allied Forces got in Korea when the MiG-15 arrived on the scene. Its nifty design gave it a high speed and snappy maneuverability, and its cannon armament packed a real punch. It was a while before the Allied Forces got the better of it, and as much because of their training as the quality of their own planes.

The country once known as Czechoslovakia flew MiG-15s and manufactured them as the S-102.

The old KP Kopro kit of the MiG-15 was all there really was for a long time. Even today it's better than nothing, and back in the day it was very respectable - raised detail, an attempt at a cockpit, and a good
overall outline and fit.

The two-seat UTI version was a very similar kit to the single-seater. You can see it reviewed right here on Modeling Madness.

Of course, by today's standards, and compared to the Airfix new release and the HobbyBoss edition, the KP kit is showing its age. But it's eminently buildable.

Well, it's easy. You build up the basic cockpit, add whatever extra detail you like, throw in some nose weight and put the plane together. There is nothing fundamentally hard about this model. Like most KP kits, the fit is actually pretty good (especially for anyone who has  built any older-generation model). The wings and tail fit together pretty well too. There is no need for abnormal amounts of filler or sanding. You'll need some effort on the leading and trailing edges of the wings and tailplanes.

The underwing tanks aren't as easy to align in construction, but some effort with the sandpaper fixes this up. I chose not to add them to my MiG-15 because I was going to do the aerobatic version. Every MiG I have ever seen, whether flying, at a museum, or in photographs, has had the tanks attached, but I was happy with my decision. For me, towards the end of a build, when I have basically finished, I often find the final touches a bit difficult to get around to. My mind has already moved on to the next project. Even so, without the tanks the MiG looks pretty cool.

The undercarriage is not up to modern standards and, in some kind of endless curse that's afflicted lots of my builds, I lost the undercarriage doors. I don't really have a permanent place to build, so often the smaller parts escape in the constant pulling-out and putting-away of my stuff. I added the undercarriage anyway, repairing the nose gear which snapped first time, and I will one day get around to fashioning some wheel-well doors out of card.

I replaced the kit's hazy canpoy with a vac-formed one, from a manufacturer long since forgotten. I bought it mail order in 1992.

The kit came with three options, including this fetching Czechoslovakian aerobatic team. I used hardware-store spray cans on this - silver underneath and red on top. I quite like the shiny effect they had. These days, I prefer the Tamiya range of silver shaded spray cans, but I have to admit the hardware store cans are pretty good value.

The decals on my edition of this kit were long since dead. I scrounged these Czech decals from another kit. A generic nose number 05 made sense, given that an aerobatic team often has its aircraft numbered. The kit decals had the letters EP before the number.

There are better MiG-15s out there now. HobbyBoss and Airfix both have relatively new ones on the market with engraved panel lines and cleaner detail than the old KP kit. But if you have one handy, it's a worthwhile build.