Soviet Air Force MiG-25 "Foxbat" 'Red 31'/Lt. Viktor Belenko, Hakodate Airport, Japan 1976 1/144 Revell

Right after Soviet Air Force Lt. Belenko defected to Japan in 1976 there were MiG-25 scale model kits available too, and I recall I built one in 1/72nd scale at the end of 1970's. Later I thought it might be fun to have a Revell Foxbat model again, so picked up this in 1/144 scale this time. The kit is quite simple but captures the brutal style of MiG-25 very well. The motion-blur runway background is an A3-sized color print I made after real Hakodate runway dimensions and it should be at least roughly in 1/144 scale too.

Real Asahi Shimbun pictures of Belenko's MiG-25 at Hakodate

Soviet Air Forces MiG-21 MF 1/32 Revell

Big 1/32 scale "Fishbed-J" kit from Revell isn't bad for such an oldie, but there are serious issues with some parts like canopy or tail part: they just don't fit. This model was just something to tinker with between more serious projects and looks adequate when finished. Original kit decals were for Luftwaffe "shark" special or East German Air Force camouflage, but I wanted the Red Stars and used Strike Eagle MiG-17 aftermarket decals instead. This model represents one of six MiG-21 MFs which made an official visit to Rheims, France in September 1971. There was an illustration in Aircraft in Profile about Marshal P.S. Kutakhov's "Blue 30", but I figured it would have been possible if one of the planes was a "Blue 40" like this.

From Künnapuu, Ants: 100 Ōhusōidukit. Illusteerinud V.Tōnisson (Valgus, Tallinn, 1975)

The canopy is a mess, tried already twice to fix it.