MiG-19 Soviet Fighter Concept (1954)

Scale: N/A
Initial Release: 1954
Medium: Styrene
Kit Rarity: 4

About the Design

In the early 1950s, details of Soviet aircraft were hard to come by. But that didn't stop the then-nascent Aurora Models company from kitting a so-called Russian fighter "inspired" by Nazi Germany's experimental TA-183. First released as the YAK-25 in 1953, the simple model was retooled with missiles, landing gear and surface detail and re-released in metallic green plastic as the MIG-19 a year later. Although the TA-183 did lead to the development of an actual Soviet Fighter -- the MIG 15 -- this particular design was purely fanciful.

About the Kit

Aurora's MIG-19 is a classic example of the early state of plastic hobby kits. Scale was not even an issue. The features that distinguish it from the original YAK-25 model -- specifically the landing gear and missile racks -- are literally "add-ons," pieces that fit into pre-drilled holes without the benefit of recessed gear wells. The "cockpit" is nothing more than a partial pilot figure stuck on a flat surface. The final display looks great from 10 feet away, but when viewed close-up is blatantly unrealistic. Still, for young boys building models in the early 1950s, a kit such as this was still miles ahead of the detail-starved wood-and-plastic kits that preceded it.

This model was built from the kit's 1958 release.