MiG-9 F Fargo by MPM

1/72 scale
Kit No. 72052
Cost: $12.00 (retails up to $22.00)
Decals: One version
Comments: Limited run kit with engraved panel lines, photo etch detail, and vacuform canopy

History

Shortly before the end of World War II the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau was ordered to design a jet fighter at the earliest possible date.  The specification called for a twin-engine aircraft and received the designation I-300. The search for the best airframe at one point considered the possibility of wing-mounted engines. Eventually a side-by-side configuration directly beneath the cockpit was selected. Due to a shortage of suitable Soviet-made engines, the German BMW 003 turbojet was chosen. At that time (late 1945) these engines were being manufactured in the Soviet Union under the designation RD-20 after several examples were recovered by the Red Army and shipped East from Germany just after the war. The exhaust nozzles of the engines were below the fuselage, which required special heat-resistant material to be used on the underside of the rear fuselage and tail. The aircraft had a tricycle undercarriage, an innovation since the competing Yak-15 had a tail skid. The MiG-9’s powerful armament consisted of two NS-23 23mm cannon (160 rounds each) and one H-37 37mm cannon in the nose (40 rounds ammunition). The prototype flew for the first time on April 24, 1946, with test pilot A.N. Grinshik at the controls. At the annual air show in Moscow on August 19, 1946, the MiG-9 was presented to the world.

Specifications

Length: 31.98 feet
Span: 32.80 feet
Weight, Empty: 7,716 lbs.
Weight, Loaded: 11,111 lbs.
Service Ceiling: 44,291 feet
Range: 497 miles
Maximum speed: 566 mph at 16,404 feet

The Kit

The MiG-9 is molded in grey and sports delicate engraved panel lines. It consists of 46 injection molded parts on a single sprue, one vacuform canopy, and a photo-etch fret for cockpit sidewalls, instruments, seat straps, engine turbofans and landing gear components. Like many limited run kits, the MiG-9 is devoid of locator pins, but does have engraved slots in the fuselage for the wing and elevators that look as if they may require some careful cutting with an Xacto blade for a proper fit. There is molded detail on the instrument panel as well as within the wheel wells, and separate parts for the three cannon that protrude from the nose.

Conclusion

Being a limited run kit, the MiG-9 will require a bit more work, but should build up into a relatively detailed kit of any early Soviet jet fighter. Highly recommended.

Reference

• www.wikipedia.org