From ‘Fishbed’ to Fine Art: The Stunning MiG-21 Project

South African artist and team transform a decommissioned Soviet fighter into a massive, colorful beadwork sculpture.

Meg Godlewski

Friday, January 23, 2026 at 05:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

The nose of the beaded MiG at the Museum of Flight [Credit: Meg Godlewski]

Key Takeaways:

"The MiG-21 Project" is an art exhibit at the Museum of Flight featuring a decommissioned Soviet MiG-21 aircraft entirely covered in millions of tiny glass beads.
Created by South African artist Ralph Ziman and a team of craftspeople over five years, the project transforms a Cold War-era military aircraft into a vibrant work of art using traditional South African beadwork techniques.
Part of Ziman's "Weapons of Mass Production Trilogy," the exhibit also includes other bead-covered military items like AK-47s and flight helmets, offering a striking artistic reinterpretation of instruments of war.

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You have to make time for the things you want, and when they finally line up, it can be worth it, as was the case in finally getting to see The MiG-21 Project at the Museum of Flight in Seattle shortly before it closed. The exhibit features a decommissioned Cold War-era, Soviet-built aircraft with millions of tiny glass beads.

The MiG is believed to be the most-produced Soviet aircraft, with more than 13,000 rolling out of the factory. The MiG-21, sometimes known as “Fishbed,” has been used all over the world. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, they could be purchased, decommissioned, defanged, and imported to various countries.