MiG 15bis

I bought this Tamiya model on my mission in Russia in '98 and just completed it last spring. My father is quite jealous because the only release of this mold curently is the clear version. I certainly enjoyed this model; the fit was superb, the detail was excellent, and I love the subject.

I quickly decided that I wanted to be able to display the VK-1 engine, which meant that I would have to do some work and add some detail. First, I opened the visual blocks on the intakes and added some ducting. Then I had to research the engine. I found a good picture of the VK-1 on the internet which I used to reference colors, wiring and plumbing, etc.

The bare-metal paint scheme was daunting to me because it would be only the second time I have attempted it. First I masked the bare metal areas to prevent overspray onto those surfaces and painted the Italian Red nose and tail. Once that dried, I removed the masking, masked the red, and painted the bare metal surfaces. This seemed to work pretty well but I still have some practice to do. (I'll try again on my P-51D.)

The decals gave me huge problems however. I don't know if it was due to age or something else, but the decals were extremely brittle. It got so bad that I was not able to use the blue "4115" number on the nose because they disintegrated in the water. Instead I had to use the red "384" decal. I know that it is not accurate (I have seen the photos of Blue 4115) but I don't care - I'm the one that looks at it everyday and I'm fine with it. Needless to say, however, that I was glad this model only had 6 decals (the numbers and national insignias).

I love this model and it was a big hit at my ward talent show last spring. It was also a good investment, because it will be included in my Military Channel's Top-10 Fighters collection.