Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-15 by Dragon/DML
1/72 scale
Kit No. 2510
Cost: $20.00
Decals: Six versions – USSR, Czechoslovakia, German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Hungary, Poland, Romania
Comments: Engraved panel lines, recessed rivet detail, detailed cockpit and wheels wells, two-piece canopy
History
The MiG-15 was a single-seat, single-engine Soviet jet fighter, built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau and first flown on December 30, 1947. Work began on the MiG-15 in 1946 with the goal of developing a Mach 0.9 fighter capable of operating above 36,000 ft, a rugged, well-armed interceptor that would see extensive combat during the Korean War (1950–53). The MiG-15 was the first “new” Soviet jet aircraft, in that its design went beyond merely adding a jet engine onto a piston-engine airframe, instead focusing on modern aerodynamics. Incorporating German aerospace engineering data captured at the end of World War II, the MiG-15 employed swept-back wings and tail surfaces to reduce drag as the plane approached the speed of sound. It was powered by a centrifugal-flow Rolls Royce Nene jet engine that had been license-built and upgraded by the Soviet manufacturer Klimov. Deliveries to the Soviet Air Force began in 1948. Designed as a bomber interceptor, the MiG-15 carried a formidable armament of two 23mm and one 37mm cannon firing exploding shells.
In November 1950 the appearance over North Korea of MiG-15s, bearing Chinese markings but flown by Soviet pilots, delivered an unpleasant shock to American and United Nations forces and marked a major turning point in the Korean War — indeed in all of aerial warfare. Stunned by the speed, superior climb rate, and high service ceiling of the Soviet fighter, the United States rushed delivery of the new F-86 Sabre to Korea. The F-86, though less heavily armed, managed to re-establish U.S. air supremacy in part because of a superior pilot-training system instituted by the U.S. Air Force. A key element of performance which had to be factored into American dogfighting tactics was the MiG’s tighter turning radius compared to the F-86. The MiG-15 virtually ended daylight bombing runs by huge, slow, World War II-era B-29 Superfortresses, and Soviet pilots continued to engage in combat with U.S. and allied planes even as they trained Chinese and North Koreans to fly in the new jet age.
Initially, MiG-15s outclassed Navy, Air Force and British fighters in combat, but that changed in late-1950 with the appearance of the Air Force’s F-86 Sabre, which met the MiG-15 on equal terms. The Navy’s first combat against the MiG-15 occurred in November 1950, when Lieutenant Commander William T. Amen shot one down while he was flying a Grumman F9F Panther. In September 1952, Marine Captain Jesse G. Folmar claimed the distinction of shooting down a MiG-15 while flying a propeller-driven F4U Corsair. Marine Aviators flying F-86’s on exchange duty with the Air Force scored MiG-15 kills also, including future astronauts John Glenn and Wally Schirra, as well as Marine pilot Major John Bolt, who became Naval Aviation’s first jet ace by shooting down six MiG-15s.
Some 12,000 MiG-15s were Soviet-built, with another 6,000 in foreign production, flying in the air forces of the Soviet Union, China, North Korea and 41 other countries. The MiG-15 design served as a template for the development of the MiG-17 which remained an effective threat to American aircraft over North Vietnam into the 1960’s. In Korea, it did what the Luftwaffe and Imperial Japanese Army and Navy air arms had been unable to do during World War II: Sweep the skies of Allied bombers, at least during daylight hours.
The Kit
DML’s MiG-15 is injection molded in grey plastic and consists of 40 parts, including two clear parts for the canopy. Its exterior surfaces are covered with recessed rivet detail, interspersed with engraved panel lines. No MiG-15 would be accurate without wing fences, and thankfully DML chose to provide these as an integral part of the mold of the upper wing surfaces — if molded as separate parts, wing fences can be difficult to align properly. The lower wings similarly feature integral wheel wells, and the interior surfaces of the landing gear doors include an unusual degree of raised detail.
The cockpit is likewise unusually detailed for the scale, as the tub and the main instrument panel feature raised detail for the instruments and dials. The pilot’s seat is surprisingly small, and in contrast to the detailed instrument panel and seat, the control yoke looks rather plain, more like a strut that might be attached to the landing gear. For exterior detail this kit cannot be beat; there is an intake splitter that helps provide a reasonably accurate depiction of the head-on view of this fighter.
The landing gear are only average in their level of detail, but the kit provides separate fairings for the 23mm and 37mm cannon that comprised the MiG-15’s devastating armament. Two slipper tanks are also provided for the wings outboard of the landing gear, and as these come in two halves they will require some seam hiding if modelers choose to use them (although one-piece aftermarket examples are manufactured by Eduard). The only complaint about this kit is despite the fact that the box art calls attention to the MiG-15’s dive brakes, no effort was made to provide separate parts for them, and the rear fuselage is a marked by a seamless, unbroken surface. For the more intrepid modelers, aftermarket dive brakes are available that will require cutting into each fuselage half.
Markings
The kit markings appear to be produced in-house by DML and are perfectly in register, with good if not dazzling color. They include decals for the former Soviet Union and her then Eastern Bloc allies: Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Romania, Poland and Hungary.
Conclusion
An excellent kit of the MiG-15 in 1/72 scale with a surprising level of detail packed into just 40 parts, that may trigger thoughts of how beautiful a 1/48 scale version would have been. Highly recommended.
References
- www.britannica.com
- http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org