Released just recently, the 1/72 MiG-23MLA Flogger-G sets new standards in design and moulding, says CHRIS CLIFFORD.
There have been many 1/72 kits of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 over the years and I still fondly remember tackling the Airfix kit from 1980, when I was just 12. Various kits of Floggers, though, have been problematic with their accuracy, detail and shape.
Clear Prop’s first boxing of its new-tool Flogger replicates the MLA sub-type under the label of ‘Expert’, while two subsequent ‘Advanced’ kits emulate the MLAE-2 and ML/MLA respectively. Here, we focus on the initial product, CP72030, from which you can build an MLA in markings for either Czechoslovakian, Soviet, or East German Air Forces, during the Cold War or just after.
This tooling is the most modular of all 1/72 MiG-23 kits; it comes via ten grey styrene runners plus one clear and, evident quickly, is that the fuselage will demand the utmost attention in its construction. Once the nose section is completed, there are still fuselage sides, an underside part and another for the upper fuselage with integral wing glove sections (before you even tackle the vertical stabiliser).
Above: To ensure accuracy of shape, Clear Prop has moulded the fuselage in a hig…