Zhengdefu 1/72 MiG-31 Foxhound

ZHENGDEFU 1:72 MIG-31 FOXHOUND
'INBOX Review'

Reviewer: Mark B (SMAKR Webmaster) (smakr@bigpond.com)
Fully built kit review also exists on this site

Kit: Zhengdefu 1/72 No.DF320 MIG-31 Foxhound

This is the first time I will have any exposure to this kit manufacturer, out of China. I understand most of their molds are copied from mainstream manufacturers so it will be interesting to see how this kit goes together. It comes in a big blue box, which at first glance I thought was a Revell kit - unfortunately not. On the plus side the kit was some third the price of perhaps a Revell kit of similar size (which is saying something!). What a bargain!! So no judgements on the kit really until it is made up!

Parts: 1 plastic bag contains everything within it, including instructions, decal sheet, tube of glue (yes one small tube was included) and clear parts, although thankfully the clear parts are separately bagged. There are 82 light grey injected parts on three sprues, with very minor flash in some locating holes that will be easy enough to clean up, plus one sprue of two clear parts making up the canopy.

Instructions: This is an approximately sized A3 sheet folded to make a booklet. Everything is covered in Chinese and English. Front page includes a very brief note on the aircraft, symbol explanation and sprue diagram. Half a dozen assembly steps grace the middle spread which also includes notations for colours. There is no paint range quoted, they are simply generic colour names. The arrows are pretty good but some insufficient exactness will frustrate novice modellers with regards to positioning of some of the items (like aerials etc) especially components that are butt joined but generally its easy to follow. The final page features a three view colours and marking diagram which includes missile markings.

Versions: The kit caters for only one version, an unidentified MiG-31 with red 23 as its forward fuselage serial number. Unfortunately the instructions do not even tell you what colour scheme to paint the model, but one would expect it would be finished in an aircraft grey similar to the Foxbat, and also as depicted in the picture at the bottom of this page.

Decals: A very small decal sheet is included that is remarkably similar to a Propagteam sheet, and I would anticipate of similar quality. Colour register is very good but very very slightly off (being quite picky here). As I said it is a small sheet and essentially only three categories are covered - Instrument consoles, forward fuselage red 23 and six red stars!

Detail: The kit stands up quite well as far as surface detail is concerned although panel lines are raised. Small rivet detail is provided on the forward fuselage and wingtips to good effect. The main wheel wells also contain some plumbing but the nosewheel simply has structural crossbeams. The cockpit is "Hasegawa" sparse with simply floor (with molded on rudder pedals), two seats (one with very crude seam line) and sticks. There are side panels for both pilot and rear-seater with minimal and unrealistic raised console detail - but at least it has something. A very small instrument panel is provided for the pilot only, and this has no console detail whatsoever. As stated in the decal section above, a decal is provided for each of the side panels and pilot main instrument panel (this decal is twice the size of the panel!!) consoles. The seats are basic and are simply three-piece bucket seats - you affix the sides to the seat. The cockpit would benefit from an aftermarket set. Louvre detail is provided on the intake vanes and some raised fan detail is provided for the engine exhaust.

Options: It is possible to display both canopies open but there are no struts to put in place for this. For stores options, the kit provides for the four underwing pylons to be filled, which includes a pair of large fuel tanks, a pair of AA-6 missiles and as well as four smaller AA-9 missiles for four underfuselage pylons.

Accuracy: I haven't got the measuring stick out to check out the dimensions, wait until the build up. I already spotted a few glaring inaccuracies, such as the underfuselage stores are on pylons (see the image below, they are actually embedded into the fuselage), the inner wall of the intake being straight when it should be a snaking curve, omission of small strakes on the sides of the intake, raised outlet duct on top of the intakes when they should be depressed and I am sure there will be plenty more. On this basis, one would suggest you go and buy one of the relatively newer releases.

Impressions: The parts do suffer a little from some ejector pin marks which are found mainly on the inside of parts, eg: inside of wings, inside the forward fuselage, on the landing gear and so forth, but nothing too sinister. I did test fit a couple of parts, including the forward fuselage and the inner wing portions and these went on perfectly so hopefully that is what is in store for the kit.

The parts breakdown and make up of the kit differs a bit to the other two MiG-31 kits previewed on this site (Condor and Zvezda) so one assumes this is not a copy of either of those. The forward fuselage is split vertically to house the cockpit and the nose radome being affixed to the front. The main fuselage is split horizontally into upper and lower halves. The wings are two piece, which is really just a small lower piece placed inside the main upper section. The intakes are large and I am anticipating this will be where some problems might be encountered, if any.

Other Comments: I've had no dealings with Zhengdefu in the past and the word from other modellers in rms suggest they copy molds [possibly pirated] from other manufacturers and churn out an inferior product. This cost $7 AUD which is damn cheap for a kit of this size down here leading me to think perhaps it is a copied mold. Revell are the only brand that released a MiG-31 previously, and while I have not seen that mold first hand, I am having a guess it is probably a copy of that one, as the parts breakdown do not match the other newer released kits. I DO NOT condone purchasing pirated copied kits, but in the interests of bringing you information and an unbiased review, the deed had to be done on this one. In the box, it looks great but I have some reservations, so we will wait and see how it pans out in the build. So stay tuned!

Related Reviews:-

Related INBOX reviews:-

web hosting • domain names • video sharing
free online games • photo sharing
free blog • short URLs