Dogfight diorama: VPAF MiG-21 vs USAF B-52, Vietnam War

Modeling Subjects Dioramas
1

Hello friends,

Here is my first completed diorama. This is a dogfight diorama of a Vietnamese Peoples Air Force (VPAF) MiG-21 vs a USAF B-52 during the Vietnam War.

The MiG-21 was made from an Eduards 1/144 set and was done in the all-silver paint scheme of the VPAF 921st fighter regiment and is the S.No.5112, as flown by Lt.Gen. (then Capt.) Pham Tuan.

Pham Tuan was the first Vietnamese fighter pilot to have shot down an American B-52 bomber during Operation Linebacker II, October 1972, Vietnam War.

The B-52, though in a much different scale than the MiG-21, is a Maisto toy that I had in an all-grey paint scheme which I repainted in a South-East Asian (SEA) jungle camouflage scheme to depict the Vietnam War era camo.

Different scales but yes it was my first attempt at creating a dogfight diorama.

Both models are hand-painted. For the MiG-21 I used a very effective sliver powder paint from Fevicryl mixed with Fevicryl binder and some IPA to thin it.

Enjoy the pics:

The MiG-21 No.5121 is now preserved in one of the VPAF museums in Vietnam

The kit was splendid in terms of the fitting and alignment and had immense detail for a kit that small.

As always, the fun of painting a MiG-21 is in its contrasting panel shades on the wings and the fuselage and this one was no different. In fact I tried to simulate the exact contrasting panels as depicted in the picture on Pham Tuan’s MiG-21.

I have seen these contrasting panels on my dad’s MiG-21 too and painting these, gives a very realistic look to the MiG-21

The weapons included in the kit were the two K-5 Alkali and two K-13 Atoll air-to-air missiles and a centreline drop tank.

I used one of the two K-13 Atoll air-to-air missiles to simulate the launched missile from Pham Tuan’s MiG-21. This was infact actually the missile that brought down the B-52.

The only trouble I faced in the kit was proper fitment of the canopy. Apart from that, the build went on real smooth.

2

that is very cool , sherbir ,

steve5

3

Thank you Steve.

4

That’s very cool. Only issue I’d have is I assume you’re going to mount it on a bigger base, seems like you’d want something more stable!

Btw: Your dad was a MiG pilot??? WOW!

5

According to USAF records, no B-52s were shot down in the Vietnam War by Migs. All losses were due to SAMs. They were fired upon by Migs, but no losses resulted.

Nice work on the forced perspective diorama. [Y]

6

Gamera thanks. And yes I ensured the base is stable enough so I used heavy materials to construct the base. Yes the sprue parts holding the two jets in place are a little bumpy because of the distance between the CG and the lever but the base showed good strength characteristics to hold them both in place. So I’d say they’re safe. The jets won’t crash. [:P]

And yes my old man was a MiG-21 pilot. Flew the jet for 17 years in his career before transitioning to the MiG-29s and then retiring.

7

Yes stickpusher. I read through many documents which state that the B-52s were shot down only by SAMs. But these are conflicting reports. I came across a vietnamese archive which actually gives an account of Pham Tuans mission.

Forced perspective or not, its for the fun of modelling and linking it to a historical fact/fiction is what made the diorama interesting to build.

8

The guy was also the first non-Russian Asian Cosmonaut.

It’s a nice dio. I always wonder though- forced perspective or not, the guy said he fired at 2000- 3000 meters. At 1/144 thats still 10-14 meters.

The fighter and the missile launch enough make a good looking display, without the BUFF.

It might be worth trying a backdrop to that, with a tiny far way off set of dots. Of course it was probably night time.

9

Correct . He did mention in his memoirs that he had to get really close to the B-52 before he fired the K-13 and also that a single K-13 hit did not bring down the B-52 and hence a second one had to be fired to finally doom the Buff and thats where the SAM also came into picture which is why the conflicting report. Nonetheless I depicted the close range in the diorama.

10

True, the Viets do say that. But they also do not acknowledge the loss of two Migs to B-52 tail guns during the Linebacker II bombings. And they also claim to have shot down Randy Cunningham and Willie Driscoll in air to air instead of by SAM after their fifth kill on May 10, 1972.

US records are pretty clear at owning up to air to air losses during that war. Other claims by the Viets have been shown to be damaged only, or no loss recorded when the claims and losses from both sides are compared.

11

I think it looks good, but if i can just add one little suggestion regarding the forced perspective.

Given the BUFF is a smaller scale, i feel the size of the missile makes it look a little less realistic. My suggestion would be to just extend the distance a bit between the BUFF and the missile, then a photo taken from behind the Mig would look much more ‘in scale’.

Apart from that, great imagination and nice work.