niki

Yes, that's him Tom. Stop by anytime at the linked forum - he's fiddling with some [more] Mirages at the moment

Do I understand correctly that you inquire about ways to add the breaking chute fairing at the base of the fin? Nothing could be easier! Courtesy of an old acquaintance (1-0-9, a.k.a. bad edd): http://www.cartula.ro/forum/topic/4019-2xmig-21f13/page__p__65956__fromsearch__1#entry65956

Hi Simon, See PM for an online purchasing source that has an old 1/32 Hasegawa F-16 available - think the price should be right Cheers, Niki

I was also somewhat annoyed by the initial news release that put the CASAs in the 1/48 category and truly hope to see the day they come out in 1/72 I had this guy visiting a couple of times and (even if perhaps not the nicest scheme - matter of taste, naturally ) would like to build it:

What do you guys think? Is the lack of cabin furniture a[n image ] problem? I mean should have Amodel given us some floor and seats? Anyway, I couldn't resist and blew the budget some half an hour ago and ordered an example (I've eagerly awaited the release since word about it came out ).

Here is something: http://militerindonesiamy.blogspot.ro/2013/11/bangkitnya-skuadron-sukhoi-indonesia.html The Indonesian text seems to contain references to additional armament, so just have a look through it (via google translate, if necessary ) Perhaps you could also perform a search at the above address and see if you can find additional pictures of armed Indonesian Su-27 and Su-30. I tried for "Su-30" and got some 32 results (articles). Cheers, Niki

I remember one of the more knowledgeable folks here saying that the difference lay only in some operating parameters of the engine(s). So, no visual difference between the two. But let's wait for a confirmation

That's the spirit!

I had a desperate (as in 'not expecting anything out of it') attempt to contact and urge Italeri to take on the new Turkish Star scheme and put it perhaps into a F-5A & F-5B combo. In the end a Turkish outfit [babibi Model] came to the rescue with a set of decals and paint masks included. I have ordered twice from them already and their service to the E.U. is prompt and inexpensive: http://www.babibimodel.com/index.php/en/shop-en/airmask/dbm-0002 Cheers, Niki

Looking good, Martin! Bilek Mongols are no Tamiya kits (obviously ) but they look the part once put together. Congrats! I am a bit puzzled about the "retaining its Romanian colours" bit - that has got nothing to do now with your build but with the information available on the real subject While I cannot argue about the aircraft's origins and while there is indeed a resemblance to some LanceR paintjobs, fact is that no MiG-21U has made it to LanceR standard and I would argue (lacking some sort of evidence) that a MiG-21U ever flew painted like this in Romania. 'Classic' Fishbeds ended their career painted grey and there was only a PFM used as a paintwork 'testbed' for the future LanceR scheme(s): that was 8006, a.k.a. The Parrot. If the aircraft came indeed to India out of Romania, depending on the year it happened perhaps someone thought of delivering a fresh paintjob along with the aircraft. Unless proven otherwise, this aircraft never flew painted like this with the RoAF. And trust me, no one would be happier than me to find out about the opposite being true P.S.: looking forward to further builds of yours, but then in the Ready For Inspection - Aircraft section of the forums

The wheels on the Italeri kit have indeed turned up a tad too small but, Ken, that gap you mentioned can't be really used as an argument because Italeri tooled the MLG legs to be installed at a right angle to the fuselage and not tilted forward as per the real example: Should you glue the gear legs at a bit of an angle towards the front of the aircraft, you somewhat reduce the gap and the jet also gets that slight 'layed back' attitude That has, as mentioned, nothing to say about the fact that the wheels are smaller than they need to be. When tooling their 9.13, ICM looked hard at Italeri and [while ignoring other issues] did modify the wheels and landing gear legs. As things look in the box, the main legs are tooled to be installed at a correct forward angle and the corresponding wheels appear bigger both in diameter and in width. Haven't got around to building this kit but am looking forward to it (perhaps before Zvezda renders it obsolete with its new release...). Cheers! P.S.: wonderful paintjob on your MiG, Ken!

Hi Michael, You mentioned you've got some information including FS numbers so this might be well known to you by now: http://www.eusebio.ch/farben.htm But perhaps the British colleagues here might be able to confirm, after checking the FS numbers given in the above link, if the colours were indeed the same on the Swiss Hunters as on Her Majesty's ones and go on from there in suggesting appropriate solutions in scale (Mr. Hobby, Revell or Tamiya). Cheers, Niki

Here you have an extensive photo-topic from RomanianSpotters: http://romanian-spotters.forumer.ro/t193-antonov-an-2 Tons of pictures, detail shots, close-ups and whatever else on Romanian An-2s. Have fun browsing and getting inspired P.S.: thanks to Axor/ Axu for pointing out the link!

Finally!!!!!!!........ And hopefully we won't have to wait for another year to see the Mirage F.1 make its appearance...

Looking good! Keep them coming

Hi Giorgio, I tried shooting you a message but the robot says: Anyway, should your hunt for some Su-25 pylons turn fruitless, as a last and desperate effort [i'm referring here to the quality of the material I'm about to unveil ] I still have in my spares box the said items from the Aer Moldova/ Cooperativa/ Unda/ Name-It-What-You-Like kit: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=213756&st=0&p=2029862&hl=cooperativa&fromsearch=1entry2029862 The sprue looks like this (well minus the undercarriage, cockpit and engine parts, because I actually tried to build the beast at one point in the past... But pylons and stuff are still attached) and although a bit generic it might prove enough for a pair of skilled hands to do the job. Just let me know if you think it'll be of help and I can send it to you free of charge. Cheers, Niki

Of course, it's a matter of taste [or lack of it, some of you might say reading this ] but I wish they had gone ballistic and replicated the exact scheme as posted by Mark initially, instead of raising the fuselage 'ray' above the cockpit windows... Anyway, liking this much better than the new Transavia livery

Yeah, it's coming back to me now

Giorgio, Strictly from the plastic sprues point of view, the only difference between the Su-28 and 25UB boxing lies in the pylons and weapons available in the latter edition. Should you be able to come up with your own pylons and boom stuff , here are the instructions for the 25UB so you can check what pieces go where in terms of cannon and other lumps and bumps: http://litnik.in.ua/obzory-modelej/aviaciya/obzor-modeli-samoleta-su-25ub-art-models-172-protiv-unda-172 I seem to remember having read somewhere that the idea with the Su-28 was [also] to replace light jet trainers (L-39 for sure, don't know if the L-29 was still operational) in Russian Air Force service. If that is indeed true, then "efficiency" had a totally messed up meaning for those involved in the project... Cheers, Niki P.S.: instructions for the single-seater can be seen here

That's good to know, Tom. Thanks!

From the photos I see that the "snap" gave way to an "Intuitive build - lots of details" motto. The missiles look like those in the GWH MiG-29 kits. I mean the way they are cast on the sprues, although we have seen Sidewinders and Sparrows come as single pieces, respectively, in 1/72 for ever. The two decal sheets appear to serve the same purpose (subject) albeit one time as regular decals and the other as 'stickers'. Anyway, I hope the "lots of details" part of the motto will live up its promise

I'll most definitely have a couple! Thanks for letting us know

Hi Tony, You have most likely seen that there is an ebay seller (tomcat03630) which offered decals for a number of aerobatic teams in 1/72, including Al Fursan: https://www.scalemates.com/companies/company.php?id=2046 Currently there is nothing for sale on his ebay account, but perhaps you can manage to contact him. Otherwise, yes, I would also like to see Italeri expand its Aerobatic Team series with Al Fursan, Turkish Stars, Saudi Hawks, etc. Cheers, Niki

Andrew, Thousand thanks for these details! I was indeed hoping C8 would be related to the earlier Mirages but couldn't be quite sure. You and me both looking very much forward to the High Planes/ PJ Mirage III C/B Cheers, Niki

Hi guys, Sorry for resurrecting this, but can you please help me out with something? This kit contains two separate aft fuselage pieces: a short one [C9] and a long one [C8]. The long one can be seen in this thread in the picture together with the resin fin, PE plate, etc. Why the two different options? From the High Planes boxes (I have the IAI Finger one in front of me) I see that only the short aft fuselage [C9] is to be used on the Latin American Mirages? What is the longer aft fuselage intended for? Please help! Niki