Anigrand 1/72 'MiG-31 Firefox' , by Peter Burstow

KIT #:	AA-6014
PRICE:	$78,00
DECALS:	A bunch of red stars
REVIEWER:	Peter Burstow
NOTES:	Short run resin kit

Co-starring in the 1982 Clint Eastwood film 'Firefox' was the “Mig-31” stealth fighter. Based on the novel of the same name by Craig Thomas, it is described as an action film, but probably more a comedy, at least for an aircraft nut. The mock up aircraft was quite impressive, obviously a lot of work went in to building it, allegedly from a radio tower.

The aircraft is delta winged, with small canard fore-planes, and truly massive twin fins, apparently inspired by the XB-70. The nose section is faceted like a F-117, blending smoothly into the curved main fuselage.

Being a fan of aircraft movies, I was tempted by Anigrand's release of this kit in their Sci-Fi Dynamics series. Definitely a potential wiffer, and a good “er.. what's that?” for the display case.

Coming in Anigrand's usual top opening box, there are around 40 resin parts including a clear resin canopy, enclosed in a segmented bag. Moulded in a custard coloured resin, the first thing that strikes when opening the bags is the smell. There is a lot of resin in this kit, the box being packed full. The model is not small, the box describes the length as 10½ inches. There is a spare tailpipe included, not sure why.

The parts have a slightly rough surface finish, and there is some fine line detailing. A small amount of flash is present, and there are a few bubbles that need repaired. The resin canopy, coming in a separate zip bag, is clear and has well defined framing lines. It also has a few distortions and ripples, but certainly is usable.

The decal sheet has 14 white outlined red stars of various sizes, so a good addition to the spares stash. The instructions consist of three photos of sub-assemblies from various angles, and a painting and decalling guide. There is no construction guide.

Oh, and the smell, seems to me to be just like the construction adhesive 'Liquid Nails', not much like the normal resin smell. Maybe Anigrand are tinkering with the resin brew.

Started as usual for resin kits, removal of pouring lugs and flash and a wash in soapy water to remove any release agent. Next step was a dry fit of the complicated fuselage, wing centre section and engine nacelle assembly. It was not at all clear where the various parts went. I numbered each joint as I went, and eventually figured it all out. The instructions were only of limited help here.

The cockpit tub is moulded into the top front fuselage part, and has just a seat and control column. I left these bits for the final construction phase. There is a cavity moulded just behind the cockpit, which I packed with lead, as this looked to be a bad tail-sitter, with most of the wing, engine nacelles and those massive fins behind the main gear. I also managed to cram a wheel balance weight in the cavity between the wing leading edge and the lower fuselage. It turned out to be enough weight as the balance point of the completed kit is about 1 cm ahead of the main gear.

The fuselage assembly went together well, with the only fit problem being inside the nacelles. I had to grind out a channel for the compressor faces and the tailpipes to get the nacelle to close up. I painted the inside of the intakes aluminium, and the compressor faces iron, using Mr. Metal Colour, part way through the construction as there was no way I could get at this area once it was closed up.

At this point I had a fill and sand session. Most joints had small gaps which were filled with superglue, and there were some steps between parts that needed sanding flush. I then went over the joints with Mr Surfacer, and tidied up a few places. I also repaired a few bubbles, and a divot on the wing centre section.

Next step was adding the flying surfaces, outer wings, fins, fore-planes and ventral fins. These all had lugs to match moulded holes in the fuselage, not a great success, the lugs were not cast well, and some were not aligned correctly. Still it was an attempt to improve on the usual resin butt joint. There were some gaps that I filled with a bead of superglue, and a small step on the wings which needed sanding. I then added the under-fuselage cannon and cannon bay, another gap to fill and sand, then it was ready to paint.

Looking through the spare decals, I found some Syrian markings, from a Hasegawa MiG 21. The Hasegawa instructions called them Egyptian, but they have the two green stars of Syria. I decided on an overall tan, with random squiggles and patches of white, green, red and black on the upper surfaces, picking up the colours of the roundels and fin flash.

I sprayed overall white, then added a lot of blue-tack sausages, then, red, some blue-tack balls, then green and more balls, then black along the leading edges. I covered the leading edges with a long ribbons of blue-tack, and added a few more balls. Finally an overall coat of tan. I used about half a packet of blue-tack on this model.

The problem I have with complicated paint schemes, with days of masking and spraying is doubts whether it will work, so it was with much anticipation I started removing the layers of masking to reveal the final result. I then added the Syrian roundels and fin flashes, and some Arabic numbers to the nose. Then an overall coat of floor polish to seal the decals.

The topcoat crackled in patches, so I took advantage and gave it a wash with a very diluted red-brown paint, three or four drops of paint in a puddle of floor polish, to highlight the cracks. Then a wash of light grey to dull it all down a little. Umm... judge for yourself from the photos, it is different. Then a coat of Mr. Hobby satin topcoat.

Time for the cockpit, nearly the last step. Painted it overall dark grey, then added a seat and control stick. Picked out a few highlights in silver. The seat supplied looked like a WW2 fighter seat, so I shoe-horned in a resin ejector seat from the reject resin pile, it was badly bubbled and under cast. Can't see much of it through the closed canopy. I didn't think the resin U/C would hold up the weight for long, a few hot days (hit 47C here last summer) and it would sag, so I replaced the main legs with brass tube, the nosewheel leg was much thicker so I kept it. Added the canopy and wheels and it was done.

Something different, a long way from my usual WW2 and earlier subjects, a bit of fun. It was an easy build for a resin kit, needing less than usual parts clean-up, good parts fit, and only a little filling and sanding. Still not sure about the paint job, maybe it will grow on me, for the moment it's going to the back of the display case.

Recommended for all but beginners, due to the lack of assembly instructions.

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