[admin]

Originally Posted by djjeffhall

Admin,
Hey there.

You really like the Corgi over the Hobby Master? May I ask why? I'm not intending to challenge your views, just curious on what catches your eye more in the Corgi bird? After the first few reviews came out, I had decided to drop any pf the Corgi planes that Hobby Master is also making. If you are saying they are better, I'll gladly listen and give them a second look. Thanks

Here's what I posted in another thread.

Originally Posted by admin

I like them better than the Hobby Master releases. I think they have a better box, limited production number w/ certificate, tokens, bio insert, and they're devoid of those nasty inked panel lines.

It’s no contest in my book. The limited production w/ certificate feature by itself is enough for me to throw down an extra Alexander Hamilton ($10 for you foreigners).

[ZS-VAN]

Originally Posted by Phantom Phan1200

Im waiting for the next Mig 21 by Hobby Master/Corgi.
The silver with the green spotted camo is the classic NVAF Mig in my eyes, so Im excited it's release.

As for as the other NVAF Mig I dont see a problem with it not having missiles, still a great lookig model.
Im just counfued over the air to ground load out.

LOL I try not to be a rivet counter when it comes to models.
The Air War in Vietnam is a big area of interest for me.
So the historically incorrect weapons load just stuck out to me, more so than it would on a aircraft from a war I have lesser interest in or knowledge of.

My god I hope im not turning into a rivet counter

I agree that if something is obviously wrong it can be a real eyesore. What's with Corgi? Often getting potentially great stuff nearly right.

[Berkut76]

Originally Posted by Hoverbug

I have it on good authority from someone within the Russian aerospace industry that also happends to be a historian and who goes back to the bad old days that Russian pilots were at times crewing NVAF MiG-21s.

It's not really a big secret that the Soviet advisers were in North Vietnam during the conflict. That being said, I'm not sure that the Soviet pilots flew any combat missions against the USAAF. At the same time, SA-2 missile batteries around high value targets were in fact manned by the Soviet crews until Vietnamese became proficient enough to man them.

The primary reason why the Soviet pilots didn't take direct role in the Vietnam conflict goes back to Korean War. During that conflict the Soviet pilots were prohibited by Stalin's direct order to conduct radio communications in Russian thereby greatly complicating coordination among individual planes to say nothing of even small size formations.

As the irony would have it, the Russian language was heard a plenty over the combat zone in Vietnam. The reason for this was straightforward as well. For many technical and tactical terms there were simply no words in Vietnamese language at that time. Thus, Vietnamese pilots communicated with each other and ground observers in a bizarre mix of Vietnamese and Russian.

Another not widely known fact about the Vietnam war from the Northern side is that most of the armaments were of Chinese origin rather than Soviet. Unknown to the West, the Sino-Soviet relations were very Cold War-like from the early-1960s and finally culminated in a border war in 1969. The initial supply route to North Vietnam was ground via China. However, when the first MiG-21s arrived in Vietnam, the Soviet instructors discovered that all the avionics was ripped out and replaced by Chinese equivalents. From that point on, the most advanced weapon systems like ZSU-23-4 Shilka and SA-2 batteries were delivered via ocean routes by the USSR merchant vessels, while the obsolete armaments like T-34/85 tanks very continued to be delivered via China. Because the sea freight took considerable length of time, and the Soviets couldn't supply North Vietnam with all it needed in sufficient quantities, China pretty much took over that role. It should be noted that supply routes to North Vietnam through China went uninterrupted even during the Sino-Soviet clashes.

It should be noted that even in the Soviet service, MiG-21 was rarely designated for close air support. Almost by accident, the Soviets developed an excellent series of ground attack aircrafts beginning with Su-7B and progressing into Su-17/20/22 variants. Although, the Fitter remains obscure in the West, it's probably the most successful Soviet combat aircraft of the Cold War proving its mettle for absorbing insane amount of punishment yet coming home to the base most notably during India-Pakistan war of 1971 and Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979.

As far as MiG-21 is concerned, there is a very interesting fact about this aircraft. During the brief Libya-Egypt war of 1977, Egyptian MiG-21s downed Libyan Mirage III and MiG-23 fighters using American Sidewinder missiles, which were easily mounted AND fired on the Soviet MiG-21 without any significant modifications.

Regards,

Sergey

[hworth18]

Here's what I posted in another thread.

Quote:
Originally Posted by admin
I like them better than the Hobby Master releases. I think they have a better box, limited production number w/ certificate, tokens, bio insert, and they're devoid of those nasty inked panel lines.

I agree.. I compared my Midway Dauntless's and the Corgi version looks better to me, just for the lack of inked panels.. What really sold me on the Predators was also the statement above, Nice box, limited certificate, etc..

[ZS-VAN]

Originally Posted by Berkut76

It's not really a big secret that the Soviet advisers were in North Vietnam during the conflict. That being said, I'm not sure that the Soviet pilots flew any combat missions against the USAAF. At the same time, SA-2 missile batteries around high value targets were in fact manned by the Soviet crews until Vietnamese became proficient enough to man them.

The primary reason why the Soviet pilots didn't take direct role in the Vietnam conflict goes back to Korean War. During that conflict the Soviet pilots were prohibited by Stalin's direct order to conduct radio communications in Russian thereby greatly complicating coordination among individual planes to say nothing of even small size formations.

As the irony would have it, the Russian language was heard a plenty over the combat zone in Vietnam. The reason for this was straightforward as well. For many technical and tactical terms there were simply no words in Vietnamese language at that time. Thus, Vietnamese pilots communicated with each other and ground observers in a bizarre mix of Vietnamese and Russian.

Another not widely known fact about the Vietnam war from the Northern side is that most of the armaments were of Chinese origin rather than Soviet. Unknown to the West, the Sino-Soviet relations were very Cold War-like from the early-1960s and finally culminated in a border war in 1969. The initial supply route to North Vietnam was ground via China. However, when the first MiG-21s arrived in Vietnam, the Soviet instructors discovered that all the avionics was ripped out and replaced by Chinese equivalents. From that point on, the most advanced weapon systems like ZSU-23-4 Shilka and SA-2 batteries were delivered via ocean routes by the USSR merchant vessels, while the obsolete armaments like T-34/85 tanks very continued to be delivered via China. Because the sea freight took considerable length of time, and the Soviets couldn't supply North Vietnam with all it needed in sufficient quantities, China pretty much took over that role. It should be noted that supply routes to North Vietnam through China went uninterrupted even during the Sino-Soviet clashes.

It should be noted that even in the Soviet service, MiG-21 was rarely designated for close air support. Almost by accident, the Soviets developed an excellent series of ground attack aircrafts beginning with Su-7B and progressing into Su-17/20/22 variants. Although, the Fitter remains obscure in the West, it's probably the most successful Soviet combat aircraft of the Cold War proving its mettle for absorbing insane amount of punishment yet coming home to the base most notably during India-Pakistan war of 1971 and Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979.

As far as MiG-21 is concerned, there is a very interesting fact about this aircraft. During the brief Libya-Egypt war of 1977, Egyptian MiG-21s downed Libyan Mirage III and MiG-23 fighters using American Sidewinder missiles, which were easily mounted AND fired on the Soviet MiG-21 without any significant modifications.

Regards,

Sergey

Awesome insights Sergey! Thanks a stack. There's often a serious lack of insight into the 'other' side in conficts involving western combatants.

[skysurfer808]

Just got mine and have to agree that it's a nice model, but for the rocket pods. Still, what I'm curious about is whether it will be possible to snake an Atoll with pylon and do a simple switch. I'm not too sure this is possible, but at least the offending rocket pylon isn't permanantly attached to the model. Now with Atoll's I'd be quite happy with the product. I see the Frontal Aviation Mig-21 calling my name, along with the Iraqi Tomcat Fodder.

Skysurfer808

[Tricatus]

More pic's here. Nice model, slightly let-down by the poor fit around the canopy and the join line on the nose. Main u/c strut needed a spot of glue to keep them located in place and the main wheels are a bit wobbly. The model can't be displayed on the stand with the gun pack in place (well it can if you bend the front part of the stand around the pack ).



http://www.tricatus.co.uk/pr99404a.htm

[Raven]

I got the HM MiG-21 SMT and the panel lines look great (not too much - just right). As such, the Corgi MiG-21 seems to lack the same pizzazz as the HM version (IMHO) Maybe, it just looks too factory new and I like a little weathering. Still, I will wait for the next Corgi MiG-21 release to pass final judgement.

While I am at it - I think that the Corgi F-104 has the same issue... I like the scheme, it just needs some panel lines and/or weathering...