Hasegawa 1/72 MIG 29 FULCRUM

I can't exactly remember, but some 15 years ago a Russian pilot stolen a Mig 29 from a base at south east  of USSR (today's Georgia) and after a low level flight over the Black Sea, he managed to land the Trabzon airport in Turkey. Those were the days I was a teenager and surely in love for flying. That MIG 29 was an excellent surprise for me (although my home city Bursa is pretty far away from Trabzon, where the MIG landed, so I could not see it, knowing that there is a MIG in Turkey was good).

The pilot's great escape from USSR succeeded. He applied for a citizenship to one of western countries. Before sending back to USSR,the Fulcrum stayed for a few weeks in Turkey, for “military examinations.” MIG 29 was an enigma in those days even for USA, therefore, that was a good opportunity for Turkish authorities. They had the rarest and finest Russian MIG. Later that Fulcrum returned home, but I never forgot that beautiful shape of the mysterious MIG 29. Since that day MIG 29 Fulcrum has became my favorite jet fighter, right after F-14 Tomcat. 

In fact this Hasegawa kit was a birthday present from my wife in 1993. A typical Hasegawa, with its good shaped pieces, interior and exterior details. I built it straight out of the box. Unfortunately starboard rudder lost during a home moving but I replaced it with another, which has been derived from a Heller kit of Fulcrum UB. 

My real problem was camouflage green of the Fulcrum, because in those years modeling tools and paints were hard to find in Turkey. Therefore I mixed dark and light ghost grays, light blue and white. Despite my efforts to catch the exact tone of Fulcrum
, I think it is not match very well. It is not so serious problem for me, because this MIG will not participate in any competition. 

I used pastel chalks for weathering, and a silver pen for metallic effects. I suggest these pens (and pencils) for everyone. Because easy to apply and cheap.

I am looking forward to built a 1/48th  Fulcrum in the future, (with exact color scheme of course:-)) My other model; “Huey Gunship” on its way to ARC soon. Happy modelling to everyone...

Sertan Eral/TURKEY