MiG-3 in service of the Romanian Royal Air Force
The MiG-3 was the first MiG in Romanian colors. It was 1942. The war’s end was far, and the defeat of the Axis forces even further. Nobody was thinking about MiG’s. Although, at that time, no one knew it, it would be the first in a long line of planes produced by the MiG design bureau that would fly under the colors of the Romanian Air Force. The MiG-3 entered Romanian service accidentally when in 1942, a Soviet pilot with Ukrainian origins deserted and landed on Melitopol (Ukraine) airfield. The Germans immediately insisted on taking the MiG-3 for flight assessments. The Romanian Air Force stepped up and sent the MiG-3 to Brasov. At the aircraft factory – I.A.R. Brasov, it was damaged, repaired, repainted, flown and evaluated. Today no one seems to know what happened to the MiG-3. Either it was destroyed during the U.S.A.F. bombing of the Brasov plane factory or recovered by the Russians at the war’s end.
MiG-3 Early – Trumpeter scale model kit in 1:48
There are many things to be said about the MiG-3 history. Still, I will cut directly to presenting the model made by Trumpeter on a 1:48 scale. There is enough information about this plane on the web.
The parts are encased in 5 frames, are very detailed, with engraved panel lines. Also, the rivets are positioned in the same places as the real plane. The highly detailed canopy allows it to be set in a closed or open position. The only improvement to this model would be adding the safety belts to the pilot’s seat. The frames are packed in a solid cardboard box that ensures the model’s safety during transportation.
Trumpeter offers decals and painting instructions for 3 variants of the MiG-3. Among these, there is a winter camouflage. Trumpeter doesn’t mention the unit, historical time frame, or geographical area of operations. Only one version is identifiable. A MiG-3 that participated in the Battle for Moscow. The Instruction sheet offers 8 pages of minute description of every step of assembling process. It can be improved with aftermarkets, but it’s unnecessary. One minus, though, is that the painting indications could be more accurate. The model is accessible to everyone in terms of assembly difficulty and price, which is reasonable.
MiG-3 kit details: code – Trumpeter 02830; the total number of parts – 80; the number of transparent parts – 6; length ~ 17.2 cm; wing span ~ 21.2 cm; no photo-etched or resin parts.
MiG-3. Assembly and painting
The model has a reasonable number of parts, so it is not a nightmare for modelers. The parts fit together well. The work requires some patience and putty. There are slight problems with joining the wings with the fuselage but nothing complicated. Otherwise, nothing serious. For painting, I used Revell enamel colors applied with an airbrush. The decals I used are those produced by Avalon for the Romanian MiG-3, 1:48 scale. Avalon decals are qualitative and fit well on the model. Ultimately, it is a good-looking MiG-3 on a 1:48 scale.
