MiG-21UM @ SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

Fighter World Museum, Williamstown, NSW, Australia - 26-2-2011


I heard about this museum when I was a student in NSW back in the 80s - 90s. However, I was just too lazy to drop by as the venue is off the main roads and 2 hours drive from Sydney. This year, I decided to see the museum on the way to seaside resort The Entrance, for fishing with my family. Not easy to locate. You need a GPS to find this place which is near the RAAF's Williamstown AB!

Here to see a MiG-21 UM (double seater), a exchange gift from the Indian Air Force to RAAF, for a Mirage IIIEO. This MiG-21UM is very well preserved in the very pack hangar.

Worth the trip to see this unique bird.

Here is the FighterWorld Museum (RAAF)

An Indian Air Force's MiG-21UM in a sardine pack hangar.

A thumb-up for a lucky me to be next to a MiG-21UM

A good comparison of the MiG-21 vs Mirage III

The cockpit interior of the MiG-21UM

The backside part of the MiG21UM. A big black hole!

MY 1ST CONTACT WITH A MiG-21 @ PARIS

PARIS AIR MUSEE, PARIS.  3-01-2011.

When I visited the Paris Air Musee, I did not expect to see a MiG-21.
I expected only France designed aircrafts.
Even their website didn't say anything about a MiG-21
When I was walking around the tarmac (I was the only visitor in this crazy cold weather in Paris), I was shocked to see a MiG-21 F13 from Czech.
So excited, I climbed over the 5' fence to be near my baby and kiss the first MiG-21 I ever encountered in my life! Wowla...

Behind the fence. Not for long before I decided to climb over it.

Here you are, my 1st encountered with a MiG-21 in Paris.

MiG-21 F13 from Czech Air Force - a donation to the Paris Air Musee

See anybody on the tarmac?

 

BLOG & ITS CONTENTS

Each post is categorized under a well planned LABEL system.
The HEADING is represented below.

Just click on the HEADING under the LABELS on your right, to find every postings under this particular HEADING. Or click on the heading below.
Thus, if you click on MODEL, then all my model postings will be listed out together.

So clever. So easy. So fun.

NEWS - Mostly on everything.

KIT - 1/32 kit by Revell & Trumpeter

MODEL - My 1/32 MiG-21 Collection

DECAL - 1/32, 1/48, 1/72 Decal on MiG-21s

REFERENCES - Books, Magazine, Video, Poster, Etc.

MEMORABILIA - Cap, Patches, Pin & Metal, Hardware.

LOOK, BUY & SALE - Thing that I am looking, buying and selling.

PHOTO - Personal photo taken with the MiG-21 from around the world.
PRESS - Press coverage on my collection.

MISC - Anything not related to the above.

THE PROJECT - THE WORLD OF MiG-21

The project involves 100 - 200 models to be built for my private gallery. 

Yes, to build 1/32 MiG-21s that have served and in services for: 

A-Z of World of MiG-21 - (62 countries)

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus,  Bosnia, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso,  Byelorussia, Cambodia, China, Congo, Croatia, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Egypt,  Ethiopia, Finland,  Germany (east) , Germany (United), Georgia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Libya, Lithuania, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, USA, Vietnam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The Red Star Aerobatic Team

The Variants

Experimental Aircraft.

MiG-21 in Action

1/18 Super-Detailed  MiG-21

Looks like a fun project to keep myself very busy for my retirement here. 

So let the dream begins.

MiG 21 & ME

I felt in love  with the MiG-21 when I was in 9 in 1969. I remember my class teacher asked us to write to various embassies for the country's general information material. I wrote to USSR Embassy and received a comprehensive book on the Soviet Union. In the Defense section, there was a B&W photo of a pair of MiG-21s flying into a dark sky. I was mermerised by this image. It was like some "rockets" shooting into the heavenly space. It looked very futuristic for a boy of my age especially after the Apollo 11 landing on the moon.  Every night,  I would peep into this page every night before I went to sleep. Since then I was hooked with the MiG-21. In the 60s & 70s, we lived in the period of  many world conflicts. The MiG-21 was everywhere in the news. It was then, I wish one day to  own a MiG-21.

Move forward >. In the era of the internet, I learnt more about the MiG-21. Then many opportunities came along including the release of a perfect 1/32 MiG-21MF and MiG-21UM from Trumputer, China.  It was a gift from the heaven for all MiG-21 fanatics.

In 1999, I did a solo exhibition of all my model of various scales covering a space of 10,000 sq. ft at the Pesta Pulau Pinang (Penang) carnival.

After the exhibition, I decided to specialize on big scale model. One of my favourite was  1/32  MiG-21. In 2003, I was invited by National Science Centre of Malaysia to display my "big" collection to coincide with the 100 Years Flight Celebration. I found these "big" model was well received by the audiences. It was then I cooked up an idea to own the largest collection of 1/32 MiG-21.

Since then, it have been a rough roads with frustration and enjoyment to see if my childhood dream was viable. A lot of time and monies had gone in hunting around the world for the stuff I needed to fulfilled this dream. I must say I am a great fan of eBay (some call it EvilBay)

By 2010, I believe I have most of the stuff to work on this dream project.

My goal is to build the world's largest A-Z collection of 1/32 MiG-21 for my private gallery and maybe later a museum.   I always joked with my friends that one day I will own a real MiG-21!

I love the idea of having the many MiG-21s line up together. I think they look cool and awesome in 1/32 scale.

This blog is about taking ACTION, to compile of all my  "stuff" and works I started in 1999, to fulfill my childhood dream.

It is about turning a dream into a reality. Wish me luck.

The journey has begun for me now.

In 2006, I got this photo from Stephan of Germany that got me mesmerized the MiG-21 in 1969.

My 1st contact & a kiss to MiG-21 F-13 at the Paris Air Musee, 3-1-2011. Isn't she so cute?

MORE ABOUT THE MiG-21

This blog focuses on my MiG-21 Collection.

If you need more info on the MiG-21, please  visit  the following  sites:

Mikoyan-Gurevich : MiG-21- Wikipedia

MiG-21 in East Germany

Aircraft Combat Information Group: Indian MiG-21

Virtual Aviation Museum - MiG-21MF

Angola MiG-21 Walkaround

ABOUT THE MiG-21

A 5-Star World's Record on the MiG-21 (for a start)

1 -  It has equipped  more world air forces  than any other fighter aircraft in history: the  

      current assessment is 62, number which no Western fighter can approach.

2 -  It has been built in more versions  than any other fighters since World War II.

3 - It has bee built in greater number (more than an estimated 15,000 units and still been 

      production today in China) than any other fighter since World War II.

4 - It has been involved in more WARS (Vietnam War, Middle East Wars, China-Vietnam 

     War,Malaya-Indonesia Confrontation in Borneo, Czechoslovakia Invasion, 

     Indo-Pakistan Wars, Sri-Lanka-Tamil Tiger, Egypt-Libya War, Africa Wars,  

     Afghanistan Invasion, Bosnia-Kosovo War,  Gulf War I and Gulf War ii) in more 

     diverse parts of the World than any other fighter in history.

5 - It has the largest active life on any combat aircraft in history, and is certain to go on   

     for a long while yet. And certainly also the most colourful and sometime weird  

     markings fighter aircraft in history!

More About The MiG-21