Condor 1/72 MiG-31 Foxhound

CONDOR 1:72 MiG-31 FOXHOUND
'INBOX Review'

Reviewer: Paul Cotcher (taken from rec.models.scale)
Fully built kit review also available on SMAKR - see link below

Well, the MiG-31 plot thickens..... How long have we waited for a reasonably accurate MiG-31 in any scale? Well Just about a month ago the Zvesda kit finally arrived on the scene.... Those who have received it so far seem to like it. Well I just got my copy today, and I can say that it is a decent kit, typical Zvesda tooling, accurate shapes, heavy panel detail, little for the cockpit, but overall a far cry from the Revell kit that, to date, has been the only option.

Well in the same box, much to my surprise, was a second 1/72 MiG-31 from Condor. Nobody really knew this kit was coming. Aviapress just advertised it as new earlier this week, they also mentioned that in their opinion, it was better! Well, guess what? For the most part they are right.

What you get in the box are three sprues of light gray plastic with parts broken down in a somewhat unusual arrangement. Two main pieces make up the fuselage, top and bottom, from nose to right before the burner cans. The top half has the inner portion of the wings molded attached (the wing to the main wing fence). Two more parts integrating the sides of the rear fuselage and the vertical fins round out the fuselage assembly. Presumably these are molded as such to preserve panel line detail on the sides, as well as to properly align the verticals. The wings are finished with one part per side, including the whole underside of the wing and the outer portion of the upper wing.

From there the rest of the parts break down about like you'd expect. One thing I really like is the way the wing is molded, as the joint between the fuselage and the wings on the upper surface is now perfect, as it's molded together. Due to the strange curves and multilayer structures at this point, attaching the wing at the root would have been difficult. The seam at the wing fence will be MUCH easier to fill!

Where this kit really beats the Zvesda kit are the panel lines. These were shockingly good. Very petit (almost too petit) and evenly engraved, they will look very good when finished, and may even require some slight re-scribing in a couple of places. When compared to the Matchbox-esque trenches of the Zvesda kit, this ones definitely got the winning formula....

Where the Zvesda kit is better is in the details. The landing gear, wheels, missiles, tanks, and similar are all better in the Zvesda kit, as are the clear parts. The Condor canopy is cloudy with an indistinct frame.

Decals are comparable between the two kits, with the Condor kit having markings for two aircraft, red 08 and blue 51. The painting instructions don't appear to cover all the decals, as there are markings on the sheet for a more decorated aircraft with what appears to be a dedication to two-time Hero of the Soviet Union Boris Safonov. I'm sure Ken Duffy will be able to produce photos for us!

Otherwise, the shapes and features are fairly similar, both having the correct sunken missile bays on the ventral surfaces, the notched inner wall to the intake, positionable speed brakes, inlet lips and similar.

Given that both kits will be comparatively inexpensive, for my money, I'm going to bash the two together, as I think this will get the best results. I'll probably still have less money into it than any of the average Hasegawa kits.

We (here at Victory) will probably have both kits in stock soon, and will probably work out a combo deal on both, but in the meantime both are available from Tushino Aviapress (http://www.aviapress.com) and the Zvesda kit has been available (and may still be) from Linden Hill Imports (http://www.lindenhillimports.com).

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