Mihajlo

Hi, Andres! My sincere congratulations on this fantastic work. I like everything in this model. From the amazing riveting, the painting with the proper wearhering. As I have told you other times, you have a unique style in your works. And I love it! Congratulations! ¡Un fuerte abrazo! Miguel

Wow, wow, wow!!! Hi, Andrés! My eyes can't believe this is 1/72. The cockpit is fantastic. The undercarriage structure is impressive for this scale. I think you have enlarged the Tamiya bottle and that the model is really 1/24 😉. I have no more words. This fan keeps an eye on your progress. Cheers! Miguel

Hi, Andrés! You have just finished a fantastic model (Bf.109E) and you have already started another small artwork. I'm happy for us because we're going to be able to enjoy another great WIP. I love your works on details and parts that few people pay attention to. In this case, you have improved the propeller. What another modeler considers an accessory piece of the kit, for you is as important as the paint or finish. Congratulations for that! I take seat in the front row to follow this WIP. By the way, are you going to rivet the kit? ¡Un fuerte abrazo! Miguel

¡Hola, Andrés! What can I say? Let me catch my breath... Absolutely stunning!!! 😍😍😍 I know the kit is a little gem (I have it) but on my table I can only see a piece of plastic and you have turned it into a real museum piece. The camo and weathering are quite perfect. I love the smoke from the exhausts! Put the WIP in favorites for reference when I make my own. Your WIPs are always a reference for me. My most sincere congratulations, amigo! ¡Un fuerte abrazo! Miguel

Hi, Antti! Many thanks again for your helpful information. And sorry (again) for my late reply. I already visited the virtual tour at the Finnish Air Force Museum. It is very useful to see, above all, the interior of the cockpit of exposed aircraft. Regarding the C-47 it is fantastic to see in detail the underside of the plane. Thanks!!! I also have a photo taken from the front of the plane where you can see (more or less, partially the interior of the cockpit; color of the walls and the seat,...). Regarding the picture of the DO-4 dated in September 1970 you sent where we can see the passengers seats, in the book “DC-2 Ja DC-3 Lentokoneet Suomessa” you can see another similar photo taken in 1960. The caption is “Kuljetuslentolaivueen henkilökuntaa siirtymässä Utista Ivaloon huhtikuussa 1960”. If Google Translator is not wrong, it means something like “Transport squadron personnel moving from Uti to Ivalo in April 1960”. But next to that picture, we can find another where you can see picture in which you can see paratroopers boarding the same plane (DO-4). The photos have the following caption: “Kyytipoika oli ensimmäinen Ilmavoimien käyttöön tullut DC-3. Koneesta hypättiin näytösluonteisesti jo Utin juhannusjuhlilla kesäkuussa 1960. Etualalla kapteeni Kaj Hagelberg”. Once again, with the help of Google Translator… “Kyytpoika was the first DC-3 used by the Air Force. We already jumped from the plane in a showy way at Uti's midsummer party in June 1960. Captain Kaj Hagelberg in the foreground”. Both photos were taken in 1960 (April and June) and the picture you sent was taken in 1970. Then, did the plane retain the passenger seats and did the paratroopers sit in them when they went to practice jumps (very strange) or was it very easy to go from a passenger seating configuration to troop transport seats and change them as needed? The only thing left for me to know how to represent the interior of the DO-4 is what the interior is like. I could ask the museum's customer service... Thanks once again! Cheers! Miguel

Hi, Adam. Thank you for your explanation about Brunswick Green. There is a saying in Spain that says: "You won't go to bed without knowing one more thing." Tonigth I will go to bed knowing something more than yesterday 😉 Cheers! Miguel Hi, Kari. Sorry for my late reply. I followed your recommendation and ordered the book at https://www.aviationshop.fi/. They (Kai) very kindly sent me the book to Spain. The service of this shop is superb. Very professional. Totally recommended. The book is also superb, with many photos of Finnish DC-3 that I had never seen before. Many many many thanks for your help. Going back to the kit. Finally, I think I will build the DO-4 that is in the Finnish Air Force Museum. It is the one I have the most detailed photos. Now I have to investigate what its inside is like. If it has paratrooper seats, passenger seats, a cargo hold,... And why the third port window is different from the rest of FiAF C-47. Thank you again. Cheers! Miguel

Hi, Andrés! Totally agree with that saying. In fact, those small details are what make your model stand out from the rest 😉 There is still nothing to show about that DC-3/C-47. I am still in the phase of gathering information and purchasing aftermarkets. You already know how hard it is for me to get started... You'll be the first to see the progress 😉 Cheers! ¡Un fuerte abrazo! Miguel

Hi, AaCee! Many thanks for your suggestion. I already sent an email to info<at>ilmailumuseo.fi but I haven't received any response. Nor from Trafiikki.fi webshop. I'm going to look in some other Finnish stores (in some I have seen that the book was out of stock) or second-hand. Thank you once again. Cheers! Miguel

Hi, Andrés! As always, a great job searching for information. You give the importance it deserves to those parts of the model that neither the manufacturers nor many modellers do. Bravo! I love how you work with the small pieces of the models. And with the big ones... I follow your progress... 😉 ¡Un abrazo, amigo! Miguel

Hi, Andres! ¡Hola, amigo! I hope you are doing well. Glad to see you here again. As always, with a little jewel that you have us accustomed to. Interior is superb!!! Very nice marking you have chosen. This is a very good kit. You've already seen it. I have on my work table the same kit packaged by Special Hobby with Condor Legion markings. I catch the popcorns and follow your progress. Cheers! ¡Un abrazo! Miguel

Hi, guys! Thank you, Antti and ThyJammedKenny again for your helpful information. Antti/ ThyJammedKenny, I will follow your recommendations to paint the canvas covered surfaces of the rudder and elevators. Thyjammedkenny, thanks for Venturi information. Anyway, I don't see any venturi tube in FIAF C-47 as I can see in other C-47s (Trumpeter’s C-47 has venturi tube in both port and starboard). By the way, I already contacted Trafiiki Museot by email a few days ago to ask about the book recommended by AaCee (DC-2-ja DC-3-lentokoneet SUOMESSA) but I have not yet received a response. Thank you once again. Cheers! Miguel

Hi, Antti and AaCee! Sorry for my late reply but I have been available in the last week. Once again, many many thanks for your help. Antii, my only trip to Finland was for work too. Winter, snow, too cold for me,… but very nice landscape and better people 😊 Regarding the C-47s rudders, I always thought they were white with a blue stripe because they came from the Finnair fleet which has a white rudder with a blue stripe (as AaCee has commented). But find below the interesting comments of a friend who flew several airplanes long ago (he is about 70 years old): “The silver that you see on many canvas airplanes is not paint, it is a varnish, usually nitrocellulose, which is immune to water and has a tensioning effect. It is used to glue the fabric and tighten it. In Spain, it is known as Dope or Novavia and is easy to apply. find. But keep in mind, any fabric degenerates with exposure to the sun, so it is mixed with aluminum powder that refracts the harmful rays of the sun, so you get protection against water and ultraviolet rays in the same product. Normally, that part of the plane is seen in a very light color. Sometimes it looks White”. Anyhow, On some C-47s the rudder appears silver (like DO-11), but on others it appears white. Maybe my eyes are lying to me... Source: jetphotos.net Many thanks for the DO-11 information. I’m still thinking about which plane I will built. Many thanks for the DO-11 information. It's very useful if I finally decide to do the DO-11. I'm still thinking about which plan I will build. I don't want to get too complicated, but I want to make it as faithful as possible to reality and the plane that I have the most photos of is the DO-4 in the Finnish Air Force Museum. This one has a window on the port side that is different from the rest, bulging. Regarding the Venturi, is it installed on all C-47s in both sides (port and starboard). There are photos in which I don't see them. I'm not saying they aren't there, but I don't see them. AaCee, thank you very much for your comments. They are very interesting and useful for building a specific plane on a specific date. I’ve tried to purchase the book that you linked: https://webshop.trafiikki.fi/kolmosten-siivilla-dc-2--ja-dc-3-lentokoneet-suomessa but there is no delivery method available. I will talk to the store to find out if shipping to Spain is available or not. Thank you again for your kindly help. Cheers. Miguel

One more thing: the rudder is white (with the horizontal blue line), right? On all FiAF C-47s? On some it looks clearly white (a little dirty), while on another it looks more of the same color as the rest of the plane (aluminum/NMF). Cheers! Miguel

Hi, Antti! Thank you once again for your valuable help. I have always been interested in the Finnish Air Force, as well as in the history of that beautiful (cold too…) country that, although only once, I have had the pleasure of visiting Tampere years ago. I have several Finnish aircraft kits in my stash. In fact, a Draken is now just on my modeling table together with the C-47. You are lucky to be a member of the club and have access to the C-47. Thank you for the pictures and the detailed information of D0-11 and others. Regarding the D0-11 in SIGINT function, did the two circular brown and yellow antennas just behind the wings really look like landing lights? I mean, are they externally like two brown-yellow tinted glass circles? It just is to know how to represent it in the model. Sorry, but I didn’t find any other C-47 belonging to other air force in SIGNIT role that shows those antennas. I guess that Do-11 had installed a lot of instruments for SIGNIT role behind the cockpit, right? And moving back again to the cargo bay, it was empty at that time or had passenger seats or paratrooper benches? As I said in my previous emails, I have no preference for building Do-11 or another Do-xx, but with the valuable information you are giving me about Do-11, it is difficult to resist building it. Thank you again. Cheers! Miguel

Hi, Antti. Thank you very much for your masterclass on OH-LCH in the FiAF service! It is very helpful to me. I don't really have a preference for building a specific FiAF C-47/DC-3. I have the Trumpeter 1/48 kit. I know I have to add some parts (upper fin beacon, rear fuselage fairing, antennas,...). Frankly, I don't want to complicate the build, but I would at least like to build a true-to-life FiAF C-47/DC-3 (any, Do-xx). Do you know of any reference website or book where I can find the same details you have given me for the Do-11 for other aircraft (Do-x)? Thank you once again for your valuable information. Cheers! Miguel