The development of the MiG-15 was based on captured Luftwaffe documents.
Since the Soviets did not develop their own jet engine, they officially
copied the British Rolls-Royce Nene power plant. At that time the two countries,
the Soviet Union and Great Britain still had good relations. The first prototype
took to the air at the end of 1947 and two year later it became operational
and could be delivered to communist allies.
During the Korean War it became apparent that the MiG-15 was superior to
all American aircraft which were operational at that time. The American
bomber units suffered such a heavy price that night operations had to be
initiated. The only aircraft technically comparable was the F-86 Sabre and
was able to meet the MiG on equal terms. During 1953 the USA offered a $
100.000 bounty to any pilot who would defect with an intact aircraft. 17
years later on April 7, 1970 a Hungarian air force officer flew his MiG-15
to Italy. The MiG always provided headlines. On March 10, 1953 an American
F-84 was shot by two MiG-15’s over Regensburg. On March 12, 1953 a
MiG-15 shot down a British military aircraft near the DDR border. Cosmonaut
Yuri Gagarin was killed during a training flight on March 27, 1968 in a
MiG-15 UTI. Further development with stronger engines, higher speeds and
ceiling came to naught because stability and maneuverability suffered. The
“bis” after the 15 means freely translated “one more time”.
The NATO code name was “fagot” (bundle of fire wood).
The
model
The model I built could be called a hybrid. The Trumpeter kit served as
the basis and the details come from the Aires resin kit for the MiG-15.
I added the photo etch set from Part. The paint scheme and the painting
of the pilot figure were suggested by the Revell-Monogram kit. All together
this project required a lot o planning because of the 500 parts. It is easy
to loose oversight. Although so many parts were used there were hardly any
assembly problems. On the contrary, everything fit together very well. There
are only a few small errors in the Trumpeter kit. A few visible ejection
marks and a few uneven recessed details had to be corrected. In order not
to destroy the silhouette of the aircraft the fuselage of the aircraft was
affixed as if it was floating to the engine. That this is impossible in
realty is understood.
Painting
There were air shows during the cold war and the participation of Soviet
aerobatic teams was common. !950, the “red” MiGs demonstrated
their flying characteristics much to the chagrin of NATO observers. This
version appears on the Revell box top. There is not much information or
pictures on this particular team. Well, if the model is not totally true
to the original I have to live with it. Painting with Alclad II colors is
a pleasure and opens all kinds of possibilities for weathering and the representation
of paint flaws. For instance the paints painted on top of Alclad II can
be scratched off easily and a natural damaged look can be represented. Engines
and other metal parts look very realistic with Alclad.
Mikoyan Gurevich MiG 15-bis (1:48)
Model built by Christian Jakl, photos taken
by Wolfram Bradac
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Image 7
Image 8
Image 9
Image 10
Image 11
Image 12
(click the images to
enlarge - the images are shown on a new page)
Conclusion
Many parts, a lot of work. However an interesting variant of the MiG-15bis,
one that is usually seen in camouflage. Trumpeter must improve small engraved
details and the accuracy could be better. On a few parts there is no detail
at all and a few parts are unnecessarily divided up into smaller parts (front
landing gear recess) despite this it is still the best MiG-15 model and
looks good without detailing. A lot of praise for Part -the photo etched
parts are easy to work with and the detailing is fairly perfect. Aires also
provides a good set with cleanly cast parts with excellent fit.
meet the modeler
Christian Jakl
I live with my charming wife and daughter on the outskirts of Vienna. I was born in 1971 and studied to be a typographical engineer. Since childhood I have always been interested in modeling. From model ships and cars I have gradually shifted to aircraft models of WW II. with a heavy emphasis on the German Luftwaffe. My real interest however is in the creation of dioramas in 1/48 scale. I enjoy the scratch building and can let my creative energies come to the fore. I have devoted my time to thedeveloping of new techniques; to enhance model kits with added accessories and above all to try out new tools to get better results.
The learning curve is constant. I am never satisfied and am constantly trying to make models as lifelike as possible. The only problem is the time factor. There is never enough of it as you all well know. I hope you enjoy these webpages and I would like to have you critique my work in a constructive manner.
This page: GALLERY: Mikoyan Gurevich MiG 15-bis
(1:48) - built by Christian Jakl
was last modified on: Nov 06, 2006
The URL of the page is: http://www.rlm.at/cont/gal01_e.htm
Translation into English by Werner
Stocker (Ft. Myers, FL USA).
Terms of use: All material within this site is protected under copyright
and may only be reproduced for personal use. You must contact the Author(s)
and/or Editor for permission to use any material on this site for any purpose
other than private use!
The
model
christian.jakl@oeamtc.at
