Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 UB by Art Model
1/72 scale
Kit No. AM7210
Price: $28.00
Decals: Sixteen versions – Two Russian, two Polish, and one each for the Air Forces of Angola, Algeria, Cuba, Czech Republic, East Germany, Ethiopia, Hungary, India, Iraq, Libya, Romania, and the Ukraine
Comments: Engraved panel lines and flush rivet detail; one-piece canopy, separately mounted dive brakes (4)
History
The Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-23 UB (NATO reporting name “Flogger-C”) is a two-seat trainer version of the variable geometry MiG-23 fighter, the first “swing wing” aircraft built in the former Soviet Union. The UB took its maiden flight on April 10, 1970, with production starting later that year at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant (the first flight of the basic MiG-23 prototype was in June 1967). It is similar to its predecessor, the MiG-23U, the key difference being that the UB’s R-29 turbojet engine replaced the older R-27 fitted to the U. Although primarily a trainer, it has also been effectively employed as a strike aircraft, most notably by Cubans flying in support of Angola in its war against South Africa during the late 1980’s. It is a third-generation Soviet jet fighter, a contemporary of aircraft such as the MiG-25 Foxbat.
The MiG-23 was the first attempt by the Soviet Union to design look-down/shoot-down radar and one of the first to be armed with beyond visual range missiles. Its variable geometry wings were not fully variable, but could be swept to one of three angles. It formed the backbone of the former Soviet Union’s air defense squadrons in the 1970’s and 1980’s, but by the early 1980’s it was becoming outmoded by the fly-by-wire technology being incorporated into many Western fighter designs such as the General Dynamics F-16 which entered service in 1979.
Production of the MiG-23 UB began in 1970 and reached large numbers with over 5,000 aircraft built. Like previous versions of the MiG-23, it was widely exported to Warsaw Pact and other communist nations as well as non-aligned countries such as India. It was equipped with the SAU-23UB flight control system and Polyot-11-23 navigation system, consisting of a RSBN-6S tactical aid to navigation, a SKV-2N2 reference gyro and a DV-30 and DV-10 air data system. While early production aircraft featured the Sapfir-21M radar, since its primary role was that of a trainer, the radar unit was soon replaced with ballast blocks under a conical metal fairing.
Starting in 1971 production MiG-23UBs received the Edition 3 wing, and from 1979 onward those delivered to MiG-23M/ML regiments received the SOUA limiter, a device to constrain angle of attack to within 28 degrees. Production of the MiG-23UB for the VVS and PVO continued until 1978, and until 1985 for export customers. More than 1,000 MiG-23UBs were produced, with 760 of these for the VVS and PVO. Today it is increasingly rare to find the MiG-23 in active service, given that it represents outdated technology, but it remains in limited service with a few Russian export customers.
The Kit
Art Models’ MiG-23UB is injection molded in grey and consists of 108 plastic parts, including two clear parts for the one-piece windshield and the gunsight, as well as three pale green resin parts: one for the jet engine exhaust/burner can, and one part each — both exquisitely molded — for the ejection seats of the instructor and pilot-trainee, both integrally molded with a highly detailed tub and rear bulkhead, including rudder pedals and side instrumentation. A small amount of sidewall detail for the cockpit has been molded into the two fuselage halves. There are separately mounted control yokes and main instrument panels. The latter parts are smooth and devoid of detail, but decals are provided to represent the flight instruments. Modelers should note that the instructions call out the need for a nose weight.
The airframe is full of engraved panel lines and recessed rivet detail. A key point, since the MiG-23 was a variable geometry aircraft, is that the right and left wings, which are each a single part, appear as though they will be able to move once the kit is complete — however, the wing parts have no interlocking gears to ensure they will move in unison, and the instructions do not call out any cautionary reminders about where not to put glue when you attach the wings to the fuselage. It may be that modelers will have to select an angle for the wings in advance, and be prepared to live with it. The internal detail for the main landing gear wells, which are housed in the fuselage, is above average for this scale.
Parts are provided for the MiG-23’s main armament, a twin-barreled 23mm cannon in a fairing under the nose just aft of the nose gear doors. The landing gear are fairly detailed, as are the separately mounted two-part air intakes on each side of the fuselage, roughly similar to the layout of the McDonnell F-4 Phantom. There are also four heat-seeking air-to-air missiles, either AA-2 “Atoll” or AA-8 “Aphid,” complete with separate pylons. One note about the missiles is that half of their fins will have to be individually mounted. Finally there is a belly-mounted auxiliary fuel tank. While the MiG-23 was capable of carrying a much larger variety of ordnance for the ground attack role, including rockets, rocket packs, and either conventional or tactical nuclear bombs, no other weapons are provided, so modelers will have to look to aftermarket sources if they want something more.
A glossy pull-out is included in the instructions, providing a paint guide in the form of three-view color plates for each of the 16 versions of the MiG-23UB for which markings are provided. However, individual colors are identified by Humbrol number only, not by name. The descriptions of colors in this preview are based on what they look like in the color schematics provided — the actual Humbrol color may differ significantly, in part because some of the indicated colors are actually a blend of two colors.
Example: The Cuban Air Force version appears to be a camouflage scheme of Olive Green and either Medium Blue or Ocean Grey over Light Grey. However, the Humbrol colors listed are as follows:
What appears in the color plate as Olive Green is actually a mix of Humbrol 48 (Mediterranean Blue) and Humbrol 14 (French Blue Gloss) – ratio not specified.
What appears as Medium Blue/Ocean Grey is actually Humbrol 155 = Olive Grey Matt
Light Grey is actually a mix of Humbrol 127 (Ghost Grey) and Humbrol 34 (White Matt) – again, ratio not specified.
Markings
Given that decals from kit manufacturers located in the former Soviet Union have historically been sub-standard, the markings included with the MiG-23UB by Print Decograph are of surprisingly good quality. They come on three individual sheets and are completely, sharply in register with good color and an understated but nicely done semi-gloss finish. The third sheet is reserved for extensive stencils, painstakingly printed in Russian. A three-view schematic providing views of the right, left and under surface of the aircraft is provided offering guidance as to the placement of the stencils. Perhaps most impressive is that the roundels and other national markings for no fewer than 14 nations were researched and are accurately represented by the kit markings.
Specific units within the respective air forces are not identified in all cases, but eleven of them are:
Two versions for the Russian Air Force
Red 210, FGUP Corporation’s MiG-23, based at Moscow as of August 10, 2002 (camouflaged in shades of blue and grey)
White 210, a MiG-23 of 120 IAP of the VVS, based at Bagram, Afghanistan, November 1988 (bearing a camouflage scheme of tan and brown with shades of green)
Two versions of the Polish Air Force
Red 845, a machine of the 28th Fighter Regiment in overall natural metal
Red 842, also a machine of the 28th Fighter Regiment in a camouflage scheme of green, grey and pale brown over light grey
Iraqi Air Force
MiG-23 of the 84th Fighter Squadron, bearing a camouflage scheme of tan, brown, and olive green, no distinguishing numbers
East German Air Force
Black 104, a machine of JBG 37, bearing a camouflage scheme of green, pale green and tan over grey
(There is a subsequent version for the German Air Force post-reunification, Black 20 62, with an identical paint scheme)
Algerian Air Force
MiG-23 of the 28/9th Fighter Squadron, bearing a camouflage scheme of tan and light green over grey, no distinguishing numbers
Romanian Air Force
White 135, a MiG-23 with the 1st – 93rd Fighter Bomber Air Base, bearing a mottled camouflage scheme of green-grey with tan spots over grey, also with a white nose cone
Indian Air Force
MiG-23 of the 10th Fighter Squadron, bearing a camouflage scheme of pale tan, brown, and green over grey, no distinguishing numbers
Czech Air Force
Black 8325, bearing a camouflage scheme of pale tan, light green, pale green and light brown over grey,
Hungarian Air Force
Red 15, a MiG-23 of the 47th PTFR (the true meaning of this acronym is unknown, but a partial English equivalent could translate to “Tactical Fighter Regiment”), bearing a camouflage scheme of tan, and light green over grey, with a white nose.
Conclusion
This is a highly detailed kit that provides the material for an excellent model of the MiG-23UB. Art Model is based in the Ukraine and its molds are created using low-pressure casting, with the result that its kits are of a little softer plastic that may be somewhat more pliable than some modelers are accustomed to. That said, this kit does not lack for detail, has been painstakingly researched, and is devoid of any of the defects seen in years past from kits coming out of Eastern Europe or Russia. The only caveat is that there may be minor fit issues, since the kit has no locator pins. Highly recommended.
References
- citizensnip.artstation.com
- https://www.laahs.com/the-cuban-migs/ ~ Latin American Aviation Historical Society
- Jet Fighters Inside Out by Jim Winchester; Copyright 2010 by Amber Books, Ltd., London