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MiG-29SMT 9-19 by Great Wall Hobby – 1/72
MiG-29SMT AKA izdelye 9-19 is one of the later variants of the Russian Fulcrum twin-engine jet fighter. The plane came out too late to be significant addition to any modern Air Force, but still it fascinated with its looks. It is a jet designed around what was lacking in MiG-29 from the get go – ground attack capabilities. But even though brought up to the level of a decent mud mover, that was done with the understandings rooted back in the 80s. Hence its fame and lack of sales. On top of everything said, the rumor has it, that Algeria who initially ordered 35 of the SMT, returned those due to “poor manufacturing quality” which might mean many things, but certainly nothing good for Mikoyan nor for the future of the -29.
With that said, the aggressive looks of the hunchback Fulcrum and especially its astonishing camouflage that Russian Air Force uses, made it memorable enough to intrigue modelers. Few years ago, making many hearts pound, Zvezda and Trumpeter both introduced their versions of 9-19 SMT. They both have their highs and lows, but somehow the market for this particular jet was not /and still isn’t/ exhausted yet. There was room for more.
Great Wall Hobby on the other hand, produced nearly perfect tooling in quarter scale, which to this day is one of the very best Fulcrum representations ever. That goes for their whole line of Fulcrums, but especially for SMT. And soon after their announced Late 9-12 MiG-29 Fulcrum in 72nd scale, the time came for new 9-19, this time from G.W.H. and in direct competition with Zvezda and Trumpeter.
From the sprues shown on the picture that Great Wall Hobby shared on their Facebook page, we can conclude that this is rather sophisticated tooling in 1/72. Definitely better looking than Zvezda and probably better thought-through than Trumpeter too. We can only hope for the same sophistication in detail as in quarter scale option from GWH.
Plastic-wise Great Wall have proven that everything they do is greatly produced, with thickness far beyond acceptable and sometimes close to perfect. Accuracy of their kits is usually very high and based on what we know of their quarter scale 9.19, we expect a great looking new SMT in 72nd on the market soon.
Price-wise Great Wall are definitely not cheap, but they deserve their worth. With that said, Trumpeter was rather expensive kit when it first came out, making it a tricky purchase, costing /at some shops/ 70% of the price of some 32nd scale kits form the same manufacturer. However, even if that sounds ridiculous, the kit was great offer for its time.
Zvezda is said to be very accurate shape-wise, but that is to be confirmed, since most of the praising reviews are coming from Russia, where Zvezda is made. Besides, their packing, decals and clear parts are usually B-quality, which makes Trumpeter preferred choice and now most likely – Great Wall Hobby the best option.
With that said, we are not rushing to conclusions. There have been surprises in the past and there will be in the future. G.W.H. are not insured in any way against such. Therefore we should wait a bit to see what Fulcrum experts are going to say as final conclusion about 9.19 SMT kit #7214. But we are betting on a huge success. And as a conclusion, note what’s on the side of the box – three different variants in total. Including 9-12 Early and 9-13, best known as the Ghost of Kyiv…enough said, we think.
