MIG-27 Flogger D

Italeri, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Italeri's 1/48 scale MIG-27 Flogger D will be available online from Squadron.com
 

This release of Italeri's MIG-27 Flogger D is actually the welcome return of the old ESCI kit. 

The kit has a nice new set of decals included depicting two Russian aircraft.  

Italeri's 1/48 scale MIG-27 Flogger D comprises 86 light grey injection moulded styrene plastic parts and 4 clear parts included in the kit.  Two of the sprues are common to the Mig 23 Kit released by Italeri a few months ago.  One new sprue contains the parts specifically for the MIG-27.  This included the different cockpit area and flattened nose profile.  Simplified engine intakes, different exhaust nozzle and weapons load completes the sprue contents.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

When this kit was first released by Esci many years ago it was considered to have some nice detail and today the moulds are holding their age well with the detail still crisply moulded.  The surface detail is both raised and engraved and is still quite good by today’s standard.  On the down side there is some very sparse detail and this is a sign of the era when the kit was first designed.  Unfortunately I am not aware of any detail sets being available to make improve this model so it will be down to some scratch building for improvement.  The main areas that can be improved greatly are as follows;

Cockpit - This area is made up of a very crude ejection seat with very little detail to it at all.  A very crude control stick floor and instrument panel is provided.  There are no side consoles and the cockpit in no way represents that of the real aircraft.  There are no cockpit detail sets available but there are a few resin ejection seats available which will fix the lack of detail.  Eduard has also come to the rescue here with one of their latest releases being a colour etched metal cockpit detail set.

Engine exhaust nozzle - very basic and shallow in depth.  Some major detail work is needed here.  The nozzle petals need a bit of scribing work and a true length after burner needs to be added with a flame holder ring.  The work is not too difficult, but consult references.

Wheel wells - the shape is good but there is a lack of detail.  This area needs some serious detail work to represent the hydraulic pipes and wiring that is clearly visible in the aircraft.  This can be easily added using fine solder or wire.  The nose wheel dors are moulded to the fuselage and look as though they are a permanent attachment in the open position.  These need to be removed and reattached with a small gap between them and the fuselage.  The nose wheel well is the cockpit floor and lacks the depth of the real wheel well.  Some work will be required here to achieve the correct depth and realism.

I do not have accurate scale plans of the Flogger so I cannot make too many comments on the accuracy of the dimensions of the kit.

The speed brakes are moulded closed and the optional of the lower folding fin is provided as on the real aircraft.  One of my pet hates the wings come as movable swing wings.  If the wings are displayed in the open position a gaping hole is visible where the inflatable fuselage seals are positioned and some work is required to fill the inflatable seal area.

The transparencies are moulded crystal clear and these are the only parts where the moulds show their age.  The canopies will need some polishing or a dip in Future floor polish to remove the roughness of the surface.

The fit of the Flogger kit should present no major problems and some filler will be required on the fuselage seams and nose areas.

Options are provided for the underwing and fuselage drop tanks as are the two fuselage mounted air to air missiles.  The multi barrel rotary cannon is supplied as are two conventional bombs.

Decals are provided for three aircraft as follows:

• MIG-27 Flogger D Yellow 12 of the Soviet Air Force of an unknown Aviation Regiment based in East Germany 1988.  This aircraft was finished in Light Grey under surfaces and Medium Green/Dark Tan/Dark Green/Military Brown with Soviet national markings.

• MIG-27 Flogger D Yellow 24 of the Soviet Air Force of an unknown Aviation Regiment based in Russia.  This aircraft was finished in Light Grey under surfaces and Medium Green/Dark Tan/Dark Green/Military Brown with Soviet national markings.

• MIG-27 Flogger D Red 20 of the Soviet Air Force of an unknown Aviation Regiment based in East Germany 1988.  This aircraft was finished in Light Grey under surfaces and Medium Green/Military Brown with Soviet national markings.

Decals are crisp, accurate in colour and in register.  My previous experience with Italeri decals is they have been a bit stiff and have not conformed well to the surface detail, but these look very good.

I can recommend this kit for all modellers of average skill and experience.  A higher level of skill will be required if you wish to enhance the detail of the kit.

Recommended.

Thanks to Italeri for the review sample.

Review Text Copyright © 2007 by Mick Evans
 Images Copyright © 2007 by Brett Green
Page Created 21 June, 2007
Last updated 24 December, 2007

Back to HyperScale Main Page

Back to Reviews Page