Bilek 1/72 MiG-19 Farmer E

BILEK 1:72 MIG-19PM FARMER E

Reviewer: Simon Skinner (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 20 May 2003

Kit Details:

Bilek MiG-19PM "Farmer E"

Aircraft History:

The MiG-19 Farmer was the first Russian supersonic aircraft in mass production and was first seen by the West in mid-1955. It was the Soviet equivalent of the North American F-100 Super Sabre although in most areas it outperformed the F-100, especially in maximum level speed, climb rate and landing.

The MiG-19PM Farmer E stemmed from the Farmer B which was designated the MiG-19P. Specifically the earlier version housed a new radar in the nose section and then this model was improved with air to air missiles. The MiG-19PM Farmer E was used by several air forces including the USSR, East Germany, China, Czechoslavakia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Albania.

The Kit:

The kit comes with two sprues of medium grey injection molded parts, a sprue for the two-piece clear canopy part and a resin plug representing the radar inside the intake. The parts are reasonably nicely molded and are of medium thickness with fairly thick sprue gates to detach them from. There was no flash on any parts but there are some small mold imperfections and ejector pin marks which need cleaning up. Panel lines and the like are engraved and the surface detail is quite reasonable.

The breakdown of the parts is done in such a way that several other variants can be produced, which of course we now know about with the company releasing other versions including the MiG-19P; MiG-19PFM; and MiG-19S amongst others.

Construction:

Assembly starts in the cockpit that the kit provides the essentials for, including a basic instrument panel with some engraved generic dials. Everything fitted nicely on the cockpit sub assembly but when I test fitted into the fuselage halves I found it was too big, particularly at the top section, and I think the seat is slightly overscale. With some careful yet judicious trimming, and subsequent test fits the cockpit eventually fitted. It might also pay to install something in the rear of the fuselage so that the jet pipe have something to attach to. Don't forget some nose weight also to prevent tail sitting, and this needs to be small (in order to fit) and crammed forward of the cockpit.

The fuselage halves can then be closed but seam lines need cleaning up and some filler was needed near the front of the nose - not sure if that was a carry over of the attempt on trimming the cockpit. The tail section also needed some sanding, and bearing in mind that this aircraft was later going to be finished in natural metal I spent some time ensuring there were no blemishes with the filler.

The main wings are broken into upper and lower halves with the upper piece overhanging the lower half (ie: control surfaces included with upper half). There are no alignment tabs for insertion into the fuselage so the wings have to be butt joined and left to dry carefully. A quick sanding of the mating points and test fit will benefit adhesion in this step and counteract the need for any filler at the roots. Overwing fences are provided and should be carefully test fitted and sanded appropriately to aid in adhesion.

Underwing stores are provided in the form of a pair of fuel tanks and two pairs of the ungainly AA-1 missiles which this aircraft carried, but be careful removing the missile rails from the sprue as they are easy to ruin. There are also some rocket pods included but to my knowledge were not carried on the Farmer E version (more likely to be carried on the MiG-19P Farmer B).

The tail fin is a separate sub assembly split into halves, like the main wings. It does not fit flush onto the top of the rear fuselage, test fitting revealed some sanding and filing at the mating point wouldn't go astray, but a dab of filler was still needed to blend it into the fuselage upper surface as well as the spine.

The main undercarriage bays provide some moderate structural and plumbing detail but nothing really to write home about, while the nose gear bay has no detail and is quite shallow. The undercarriage is quite fragile although quite detailed as well. I ended up cutting off some of the plastic and adding small parts of wire, plus drilling out the location holes and securing the undercarriage parts with super glue. I figured this would strengthen the bond and ensure the undercarriage didn't later come apart or collapse. The gear bay doors are provided as one-piece which means they need to be cut in the appropriate places for an open well.

Then in the final stages the canopy was attached and fits okay although best to test fit first so you can tell where the tiny gaps are that need filling. I found it better to attach the windscreen first then the main canopy. It is medium thickness and reasonably clear, without anything to write home about.

Decals:

Printed by Tallyho the decals on the sheet look excellent and although I have heard of Tallyho before as aftermarket decal providers, I have never actually used them. These went on quite well and adhered nicely with setting solution but are also very thin and need careful handling. The green rings inside the stars for the Bulgarian insignia are provided separately.

There are a number of examples to choose from which the kit and decal sheet cover. These include USSR (Red 3 from PVO air defence unit), Czechoslavakia (Black 1113, Czech air force, 1965), Poland (Red 917, 28th Fighter regiment, 1971), East Germany (Red 391 Jagdfliegergeschwader 3) and Bulgaria (wearing red 1974 code). The Bulgarian is an overall matt grey colour whilst all the others in natural metal finish.

Overall Recommendation:

Having only the KP, Heller and limited run Aeroteam kits to choose from in the past this comes as a very welcome addition to any early-jet Soviet collection. It captures the look of the MiG-19PM very well when compared to photo references. It needs some intermediate skills to get a really good result but overall would highly recommend it otherwise.

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