Specialty Press

MiG-21 Fishbed (Warbird Tech #45)

Reviewed By  Dave Morrissette, IPMS# 33653

MSRP: $16.95 Web Site: www.specialtypress.com Specialty Press' latest release in their Warbird Tech series is the MiG-21. For those of you familiar with the series, these are paper bound books around 100 pages in length with lots of detail shots of the subject, lots of black and white photos, and in the center, a very nice spread of color. This book is not only for the modeler but contains the history of the plane and its development. The first three chapters cover the initial tests, engine and wing designs and the delivery of the first prototypes. Chapter 4 goes into details covering more specific details of the MiG-21. Chapters 5 and 6 cover the initial deployment and the years into the late 60's. All of these chapters have excellent and clear black and white photos. Chapter 7 through 11 starts into the upgrades, clear through to the Chinese made versions, the J-6's. At this point, placed between chapters are 8 beautiful color pages showing MiG-21's from all over the world, and in many configurations. The last two chapters include combat records for the type and the continual upgrading of the MiG-21's through the 1990's. There is some interesting reading as I found out that India's Mig-21's were upgrade by Grumman with US-made engines in the early 1990's. The upgrade information continues on into the current century with lots of details and photos. There are three appendices. The first appendix shows the country, name of the air force, type of MiG-21 flown and status for 53 countries that are or have flown a MiG-21 variant. There are pictures with these also and it is an excellent reference. Appendix II is for modelers covering the type of kits available in all scales. The last appendix covers the technical scale drawing of the plane and a few of the variants. This is an excellent general reference for one of the most prolific planes ever made. I can recommend this book without reservation to any fans of the venerable MiG. My thanks to Specialty Press for the review copy.

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