I have always been interested in the different commemorative paint schemes on aircraft. While doing research for another model I came across some MIG-29’s from the Polish Air Force that commemorates the hero’s of Kosciuszko. The Kosciuszko squadron (also known as the 303 Polish Fighter Squadron) was a squadron of Polish pilots who escaped Poland after Germany invaded it in 1939 and flew Hawker Hurricanes and later Spitfires out of England. They attained fame during the Battle of Britain with 126 kills for the squadron. The MIG-29’s were painted for the 2012 Royal International Air Tattoo.
I Built this in February of 2015. I chose the Academy MIG-29A Fulcrum and Caracal Models (CD48029) Hero’s of Kosciuszko Part 1 decal set honoring Flight Office Miroslaw Feric. The kit comes with six sprue trees molded in light gray and on clear. To start with the cockpit has basic details and seat. I opted to use the Ares (4074) MIG-29 Resin Cockpit Set to replace the kit cockpit. The seat and the cockpit tub were detailed and painted. The cockpit fit very well into the fuselage.
The front of the fuselage has three main parts and two louver panels. You can choose to have the upper intake louvers open or closed. I chose the open louvers but I needed to cut open the back of them. Once installed the forward sections of the fuselage were assembled. Putty was required between the cockpit and nose to fill minor gaps. The other issue I had with the nose was the forward looking IR camera/sensor. This was molded in gray as part of the nose section. After some careful surgery the gray lens area was removed. I cut a section from the clear sprue tree and shaped it to fit. Once sanded and polished the backside was coated with Jacquard pearl green pigment and gloss clear to give it the chromatic green hue. Finally weight was added inside the nose cone to keep the aircraft sitting on the landing gear.
The rest of the fuselage was assembled and the rear speed brakes were positioned open. The color scheme for the upper surfaces was done with Model Master Gunship Gray (FS36118) and Dark Gull Gray (FS36270). The lower surfaces and nose cone were then painted with Light Ghost Gray (FS36375). The exhaust nozzles were painted with Model Master Jet Exhaust and the dry brushed with brown, black, and light gray pastel chalk then dull coated to seal them. The canopy was detailed with mirrors and hooks the the trim was painted.
Next came applying the decals. Caracal did a very good job on the logo on the spine. I had very little trouble getting it aligned and to lay flat across the various curves along the spine. On the inside of the rear tails are portraits of Flight Officer Feric. Again the large size decals aligned and laid down evenly across the surface. Once the decal were in place the entire plane was dull coated with a fine mist. The spine light was painted with Tamiya clear red and installed on top.
In conclusion, aside from the minor fit issues on the forward fuselage sections, the model went together very well. The instructions are in a good logical order. The Caracal decals were very good. The Ares resin cockpit was easy to work with and fit into the fuselage with no issues. This was a decent kit and with a few accessories it presents very well.
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