Stalin's Iron Falcons

Historical Background

With the tide of war turning against the Axis Powers in 1943, Soviet engineers can now devote their work to develop an indigenous turbojet of their own design in order to catch up with the West. To help the indigenous jet engines move along, captured German BMW 003 and Jumo 004 engines were used as basis. These engines, developed under shortages in wartime Germany were unable to generate thrusts of more than 2,500 lb. While the engines (now designated RD-20 and RD-10 respectively) were used to power the Soviet's first-generation jet fighters - the Yak-15 and the MiG-9, they were more seen as developmental efforts rather than 'proper' jet fighters. Mikhail Khrunichev, the Soviet aviation minister and Alexander Yakovlev suggested to Stalin that the USSR buy the conservative but fully mature Rolls-Royce Nene from the UK to conserve development time but was rebuffed by Stalin as he did not believe anyone would sell their secrets to the Soviets. Nevertheless Stalin gave his consent to the proposal and a delegation which include Vladimir Klimov and  Artem Mikoyan travelled to London to request the engines.

To the Soviets' surprise (especially Stalin), the British Labour government of the day, specifically the Minister of Trade, Sir Stafford Cripps, was perfectly willing to provide technical information and a license to manufacture the Nene. Sample engines, together with blueprints were duly purchased and brought back home. After evaluation and adaptation to Russian conditions, the Nene was manufactured as the Klimov RD-45. To take advantage of the new engine, the Council Of Ministers ordered Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB to build two prototypes of high-altitude day interceptor. German research and experience during the war years showed that swept wings would give better performance at transonic speeds and with the wealth of German documents captured at the end of World War 2, the MiG design incorporated that particular feature, among others, for their I-310 prototypes. The I-310 has 35° wing and tail sweep with two wing fences on each wing to improve airflow over the wings. The RD-45 was fed by a split-forward air intake. It made its first flight on 30 December 1947, demonstrating excellent performance, proving itself superior to the rival Lavochkin La-15 design.

The MiG was approved for mass production and was designated MiG-15. Entering service in 1949, it was given the NATO ASCC reporting name of 'Fagot' (meant to be 'a bundle of sticks' rather than the 'other' meaning; and it was originally intended to be given the name 'Falcon'). The MiG-15 was originally intended to intercept large American bombers such as the B-29. To ensure the destruction of such a large target, the MiG-15 was armed with two 23mm and a single 37mm cannons. These weapons provided tremendous firepower in the interception role but the low rate of fire and the low muzzle velocity made it more difficult to shoot at the more maneuverable fighters. The cannons also have different ballistics trajectory making aiming difficult and subjecting the UN fighter pilots in Korea the sight of 23mm rounds passing over and the 37mm rounds passing beneath their aircraft. Although the RD-45 have excellent performance, it was quite a gas guzzler while having a short service (reputedly less than 100 hours). Klimov came up with the improved VK-1 generating 5,952 lb of thrust (legally speaking, the VJ-1 and the RD-45 were illegal copies of the Nene but the Soviets claimed that they had re-engineered the engines to the extent that they are now indigenous Soviet designs). This plus a number of small upgrades, including a more closely placed 23mm cannons resulted in the MiG-15bis ('second'), Although overall an excellent machine, the MiG-15 was not without shortcomings. Its lack of an 'all-flying' tail meant that it cannot exceed Mach 0.92 where flight controls become ineffective. Additionally, it tended to spin after a stall and the pilot was often unable to recover.

The MiG-15 first saw action during the final stages of the Chinese Civil War when the Soviets sent the 50th IAD to the Chinese Communists aid in February 1950. On 28 April 1950, a Captain Kalinikov scored the first kill for the MiG-15 - a P-38 Lightning of the Kuomintang. When the Korean War erupted about two months later, the KPAF, equipped with World War 2-era Soviet prop fighters was completely overwhelmed with the numerical and qualitative superiority of the USAF using the F-80 Shooting Star and the F-84 Thunderjet. The 50th IAD was transferred to the northeast of China and back in the Soviet Union, pilots were recruited to serve in Korea. Volunteers had to be under 27 years old and preference was given to World War 2 veterans. They formed the 29th Guards IAD. Although widely suspected by the West and constantly denied by the Soviets, the end of the Cold War finally revealed the role played by the Soviets. The pilots wore Chinese uniforms or civillian clothings. Cards with common flying terms in Korean (and spelt phonetically in Cyrillic) was issued to them. They were also prohibited from flying over enemy-held territory where they might be shot down and captured, thus revealing the Soviets' participation. The aircraft was also painted in Chinese and North Korean markings.

On 1 November 1950, eight MiGs intercepted 15 F-51Ds, shooting down one of the Mustangs. On the same day, another three MiGs intercepted around 10 F-80s and 1st Lieutenant Semyon F. Khominich scored the first jet-to-jet kill when he shot down 1st Lt. Frank van Sickle's F-80. The presence of the MiGs also forced the B-29s to operate during the night. However, on 9 November, the MiGs suffered their first loss when Captain Mikhail F. Grachev was shot down by an F9F Panther piloted by Lt. Commander William T. Amen from USS Philippine Sea. To counter this threat, three squadrons of North American F-86 Sabres were rushed to the theatre. More experienced units were sent by Stalin including the 324th IAD commanded by Col. Ivan Kozhedub, the Allies' highest-scoring ace during World War 2. Records show that the 64th IAK (the parent MiG organisation in Korea) shot down 647 F-86s, 185 F-84 Thunderjets, 118 F-80s, 28 F-51s, 11 F-94s, 65 B-29s, 26 Meteors and 17 various other aircraft. 659 were lost, mainly to Sabres and with the Americans' claimed loss of 78 Sabres, the kill : loss ratio was around 6:1 in favour of the F-86. Nevertheless, the highest scoring ace of the Korean War was not Col. Joseph C. McConnell (16 victories) as previously believed but Colonel Yevgeny Pepelyaev with 22.5 kills.

Although a few damaged Sabres were salvaged for evaluation, the USAF wanted an intact example and initiated Operation Moolah, offering a reward of US$100,000 and political asylum to pilots who defected with their MiG-15. On 5 March 1953, Franciszek Jarecki brought his plane to Denmark where his plane was inspected by American specialists before the aircraft was returned to the Poles. The more celebrated defector was No Kum-Sok, who landed his MiG at the Kimpo Air Base on 21 September 1953. The plane was thoroughly inspected and tested, including by Chuck Yeager, who reported the MiG's dangerous handling faults. The MiG-15 was also used to intercept Western reconnaissance aircraft and other conflicts such as in the Middle East and between Taiwan and China where it suffered the distinction of being the first victim of the Sidewinder missile in 1958. The MiG-15 was widely exported (and license built as the S-102/S-103 (Czechoslovakia) and Poland (Lim-1/ Lim-2). Apparently over 18,000 was built, making it the most-produced jet fighter of all time.

The Kit

There have been a number of MiG-15 kits in 1/72 scale but they are either inaccurate or no longer available. The best available before the Eduard MiG-15 was Hobby Boss's. They are good but a bit simplified. Eduard came up with their family of MiG-15s in 2014, initially releasing the baseline MiG-15 and followed by the bis. As per their usual practice, the simplified 'Weekend Edition' followed not long after. Simplified it may be, but for Eduard aficionados and modellers in general, it just meant that the PE, resin (if any) and masks are not included and the choice of markings reduced to just one (or two). This allows modellers inexperienced with the said media  (or loath them) to still enjoy their kits as the basic styrene parts are well-detailed and moulded. This particular kit has 74 parts in grey plastic, 7 parts in clear plastic, Eduard's Super Fabric seat belts and a small decal sheet. Parts for the basic MiG-15 was included but one cannot be made as some bis parts were already moulded / engraved (such as the airbrakes). The decal sheet provide markings for 'Yellow 30' (ex Red 1976) in the mid-1950s.

Construction

As usual work started at the pilot's office and as usual I painted the parts while still on the sprue. They were painted according to Eduard's directions of mainly Gunze 308 Light Ghost Grey with Flat Black upholstery and the top of the control stick and blue for a detail on the cockpit floor. The cockpit details was then enhanced with a dark grey wash. My copy of the kit must be of a later batch as the instructions showed the seat belts (the ones on the internet I have seen lacked it in the instructions) although there is no mention on how to apply them - I managed to do so by checking out Eduard's website. It should be gently removed from the backing paper using a sharp blade and a pair of tweezers and sticking them using white glue. Although without PE detailing, it may be a blessing in disguise as the Profipack version have the pre-painted PE in Russian cockpit blue-green whereas MiG-15s have their cockpit painted grey. The nose wheel well was assembled and cemented to the front of the cockpit where care has to be given else it might not align with the fuselage bottom. The cockpit tub was then cemented together. I couldn't find suitable weight to fit in the designated area so I crammed as much plasticine as I can inside the cavity.

At the back of the plane, Eduard provided a two-piece exhaust shaft  with a bulkhead already moulded with a rear end of a jet turbine (to avoid the see-through effect while having some detail). They were painted Burnt Iron although I shouldn't have bothered painting the whole length of the thing. before the fuselage halves were jointed, the interior walls were painted Gunze 8 Silver. The cockpit assembly and the exhaust assembly was cemented to the right half (and I think the exhaust assembly was handed). Caution: the rudder need to be cemented to either fuselage half before closing up (ask me how I found that). The fuselage fitted beautifully except at the front but it was nothing a clamp can't overcome. The instrument panel was then inserted into place. I used the flat face and decals option than the raised details as they looked way oversized while not having instrument face details. (As a matter of interest, the instrument face decal included a vertical white line slightly off centre - the line is there on the real aircraft as it was a reference point for pilots to shove their control stick against, should they got themselves into a spin)

The lower half of the nose is a separate piece to allow Eduard to mould the original and bis cannon arrangements separately and accurately and before it was cemented to the fuselage, more plasticine were crammed into the cavity. After the piece was securely in place, the nose / intake lip was assembled and cemented. Holes for the external fuel tank were drilled and the wing halves cemented together. The wings were then joined to the fuselage where I found that the fit was not good. Well, it's time for the filler then. The tailplanes however went on without any problems. I was thinking of cementing the cannons at this time but seeing how close they would be to the landing gears and that they may interfere while I work the gear and the doors, I left it for later. The two clear parts for the bottom of the fuselage was dry fitted at first, showing that the round one (the cover for the ARK-5 radio compass) having a rather poor fit and needed some sanding before it can fit in the recess.

Painting and Decaling

Although it was clearly stated in the diagram that the MiG is painted overall silver (specifically Mr. Color Super Metallic 'Super Fine Silver'), I suddenly had doubts whether it was actually silver, or bare metal or painted aluminium. After consulting various sources, I concluded that the MiGs were left in bare metal. However, I have run out of Tamiya AS-12 and so with a heavy heart, I sprayed Tamiya TS-30 Silver Leaf. The lower portion of the extreme nose is painted SM 04 Super Stainless - another colour I did not have at the time. However I believe that portion of the nose was reinforced to withstand the cannon blasts. I thus looked to photo references of MiG-19s, which have reinforced skin next to the cannon muzzles, for ideas and came up with my own concoction for that colour (which may or may not be accurate). There is no mention about the clear parts underneath the fuselage. So after hunting down pics on the internet, the clear rectangular part was painted over while the ARK-5 radio compass cover was left off as it is.

As mentioned before, there is just one marking scheme, a Korean War veteran back in Mother Russia in the mid-1950s. The scheme feature faded original Bort number 1976 and the North Korean insignia overlaid with the Soviet Red Star and new Bort number 30. Ideally, the original markings should be printed with lower colour density but Eduard have them in full colour and instructed the modeller to lightly overspray them before applying the newer markings. After giving some thoughts, I decided to have the model in the original markings only. After the decals have recovered from their setting solution bath, the panel lines were enhanced with AK Interactive Paneliner (I used the 'for blue and grey camouflage'). At this time I sort of have an idea of transforming the all-silver paint job into something that mimicked, more or less, a natural metal finish. Random panels were given washes or maybe something akin to a filter layer of aluminium, metallic grey, smoke (Tamiya X-19). It wasn't perfect of course but at least it gave that natural metal-ish look.

Finishing

As usual I started by fitting the landing gears first so that the model can stand on its own. It ended up with the tail on the worktable - not enough ballast in the nose! Thankfully the rear cockpit decking was not yet in place so I can fit some more plasticine in the cavity behind the cockpit. I also realized that the left wing have more anhedral than the right wing and the same goes with the right tail plane! The wing is not much of an issue as the model look balanced on its landing gear but the same cannot be said for the tail plane! Anyway, the finishing stage goes on and I drilled holes into Part B12 as photos of the real aircraft show it to be perforated. The final, more fragile parts were cemented after the drop tanks have been fitted - although the kit also provide slip-on style external tanks, only the finned type were used with different attachment pylons for variety.

Conclusion

The Eduard MiG-15 family definitely filled the void in 1/72 scale. While the Airfix and Hobby Boss kits are still available, the former still retain some inaccuracies while the latter was a bit simplified (although still accurate). The Eduard kit is well moulded with very nice surface detailing and although lacking the extras such as PE parts and paint masks, it still represents a value for money. Fit is generally very good although the hiccups I encountered may be purely as the result from my clumsiness. A must if you build and collect 1/72 jets due to its place in history. Now I'm off looking for its adversary, the Sabre.....