Antti_K

Hello TeeELL, you are right: the flaps were raised and the air brakes closed before engine shut down (at least on FAW.9 and FAW.9R). Otherwise there were troubles ahead and some serious work with the air brakes and the hydraulic system was required. The flaps drooped slightly (10 inches perhaps) after shut down. As you mentioned in your earlier post both ailerons turned slightly up when pilot applied the control lock before leaving his cockpit. Cheers, Antti

Lovely work TeeELL! I really admire those 3D parts. Are you going to place the flaps fully down? Cheers, Antti

Very interesting photo James, thank you for sharing it! It looks possible that this was taken at Tengah. Note the small rectangular on "Boson" tank; No 64 Squadron marked their tanks just like that. A yellow rectangular with black squadron number, a slash and the individual tank number. These stickers were left in place when the planes were handed to sixty squadron. The camouflage looks fresh (it took roughly a year for a gloss camouflage to turn completely matt) and a lighter colour (yellow?) is used for some stencils. Yellow was used for stencils only during the final years (1967 - 1968) in Singapore. The starter system was mounted on fuselage frame 11 (cartridge system) and between frames 11 and 12 (AVPIN system). The two exhaust pipes on the bottom are located just aft of frame 11. Here's a "general view": Two of my sixty squadron Javelin FAW.9Rs compared: Hopefully you can see the pictures as my Villagephoto account seems to have a will of its own. The black triangle looks poorly positioned if the idea was to hide any possible stains aft of those outlets. The location of the triangle wasn't an exact science as on some Javelins it is partly hidden below the "Boson" tank. Note also the "Hell Hole" door positioned on the ladder and the yellow squadron marking on the "boson" tank (not included in Airfix decals): Cheers, Antti

I can't say. IIRC the streamlined outlets just below the colour demarcation line were (at least) for the missile cooling system heat exchangers (that said without my books and notes at hand). It certainly was a hazardous job! First you note those tall fire extinguisher bottles close by when the engines were started up. Usually the "Hell Hole" door was left open until both engines were running smoothly. Fire could broke out easily and it was deemed wise to keep that hatch open until the plane was ready to taxi. The missile seeker heads were cooled with ammonia and the bottles needed to be filled between flights. One service procedure (jet pipe heat thermo couple check) called for a crew member to enter a small hatch next to the fin head first while his co-worker held him by the legs. It would have been nasty to fall inside the cramped rear fuselage... An anecdote says that a Javelin mechanic needed "three meter long arms with 18 joints". Cheers, Antti

I studied the faded colours of a Finnish Folland Gnat fighter. Humbrol 108 was a very close match to Dark Green. The surface is still satin. I would create faded Dark Sea Grey by adding white to Humbrol 27 or by painting everything with Hu 27 and then add powder of a light blueish grey crayon with a cotton swab. Cheers, Antti

Hello all, unfortunately this triangle marking remains a mystery. I've even talked to a couple of old Javelin guys (ground crew members) but they couldn't answer the question about this black triangle. The marking is painted partly or completely on "General Services Accumulator" bay door. A clear variation of the exact position can be seen on photos. The marking can be seen at least on the following Javelins: XA761, FAW.4, January 1961 XH715, FAW.7 XH778, FAW.7 XJ125, FAW.8 XH844, FAW.9 XH881, FAW.9 XH890, FAW.9, two different photos XH961, FAW.9R Like James says, the IPN starter fill port is located on top of the Port air intake and aft of navigator's canopy. The starter system exhausts are located between the "Boson" tanks, well aft of the "Hell Hole" door (all visible in the photo Dennis posted). Another mystery detail is stencil "FI.5 AERIAL" (on wing tips and forward fuselage side). Cheers, Antti

I think JWM has a point in here. Look at the insignias on plane number 5. On the Starboard wing the checkerboard appears to be in line with the aileron inner edge. On the Port wing the checkerboard is located close to the wing tip. So the checkerboards aren't placed symmetrically. Is it possible that some retouching was made onto this photo; the national insignias were added in a photo laboratory. Cheers, Antti

Hello guys, I would follow the information Kari provided as he has been studying original air force documents. The colour photo Troy posted shows even the outline of the wartime national insignia. IIRC there are some photos showing the over painted "Stamm Kennzeichen". It looked like a grey, slightly darker than RLM 76, was used. It was probably either Ilmari Juutilainen or Hans Wind (both highly decorated Finnish fighter pilots) who told me, that those washable ferry flight registration markings (Stamm Kennzeichen) couldn't be removed and needed to paint over. Cheers, Antti

Hello TBC, yes, Airfix produced "flat sided" Boson tanks. There was a gap between the fuselage and the tank that was filled with a round rubber seal. The gap didn't run all the way from the tip to the rear. Here's one possible way to fix the kit: Cheers, Antti

Hello AaCee, I agree that aluminium was used on planes like Brewster, SB-2 and DB -bomber. They were all initially painted with aluminium overall. Olive green and black was applied on top of that. You can see canopy frames left in aluminium on many Brewsters. My memory says (and it could go wrong) that Blenheims and Fiats had light grey undersides. God Jul AaCee🙂 Antti

Excellent point Troy and V-P, I would use light grey on my model. As V-P said light blue was first used in 1942. I haven't heard that aluminium was applied together with olive green and black. Hyvää Joulua V-P and Troy, Merry Christmas everyone! Antti

Finnish Hurricanes were usually painted with dark green, black and light blue when they received the "Warpaint" (Sotamaalaus). Finnish colours: Dark green is NCS S7010-G70Y (Lifecolor set gives an exact match) Black, use flat black and add few drops of white Light blue is NCS S2030-B10G (observed on HC-452: under the fuselage and on the radiator sides). Also NCS S2030-B Ultramarine blue (swastika) NCS S6030-R80B Cockpit is painted with aluminium and Grey Green (NCS S5020-G30Y). Landing gear bays, legs and door interiors originally painted with aluminium and thinly over sprayed with light blue. Propeller blades Night with Yellow tips. Hope this helps, Cheers, Antti

Excellent photo Troy! Thank you for sharing it. It shows another detail that isn't very accurate in the Hasegawa 1/48 scale kit: The gun camera window sits slightly higher on the wing leading edge than the landing light. Should have asked you earlier😉 Cheers, Antti

Wlad, your photo clearly shows it: the pylons are perpendicular to the ground. Look at the innermost pylons on both wings. F4U-7s were a batch of some 90 planes that were built in rather short time. It seems unlikely that some of those planes could have had different type pylons. Cheers, Antti

Hello Miguel, it seems that Translator is getting better; it got both sentences right. Transport Squadron used the planes for liaison duties (passenger and/or freight transport), paratrooper drops and in some cases for target towing, SIGINT and photographic survey. Unfortunately I don't have information about the seating configurations (how often it was changed or how long it took to change to another role. I have a copy of the original FinnAF C-47 Aircrew Manual. I'll check whether I can find something useful. Cheers, Antti

Hello Miguel, You can take a virtual tour at the Finnish Air Force Museum here: https://ilmavoimamuseo.fi/virtuaalimuseo/ At least you can check DO-4 from below and look at the details. Main colour for the landing gear bay is Zinc Chromate Yellow. Here's DO-4 in September 1970: Finnish Air Force personnel are seen on their way back home from a survival exercise held at Lapland. Captain Aku Miettinen sitting closest to the camera. Cheers, Antti

Hello Pierre, Mike and Co., I have to disagree with Mike, I'm afraid. Here are a couple of more photos (hopefully you can see them, as my Villagephotos account is playing tricks nowadays): This picture was taken from the AU-1 factory brochure. Like Mike said, F4U-7 is an AU-1 equipped with the engine of an F4U-4. The pylons are drawn perpendicular to the ground. This drawing looks like "a trustworthy source" as the photos back it up. Note also the centerline pylon missing from the Hasegawa/Revell kit. Pilots of 14th Flotilla pictured in front of one of their Corsairs. Note that the pylon isn't perpendicular to neither the wing's upper nor lower surface. Not the best quality photo, but it shows an F4U-7 of 15 Flotilla head on aboard carrier "Arromanches". The pylons appear to be vertical; perpendicular to the ground. An F4U-7 pictured during the Suez crisis. Again the pylons aren't perpendicular to either wing surfaces. There is one more piece of evidence. A fellow American modeller, Mr. Tom Cleaver, was part of the restoration team when BuNo 133722 was returned to USA. In his building article Tom points out that the pylons should be vertical (perpendicular to the ground). You can read Tom's very interesting building report here: https://modelingmadness.com/review/korean/cleaverf4u7.htm Hopefully this helps you with your research and build. Cheers, Antti

You are welcome Pierre, keep an eye on the pylons while the glue dries as the parts fit makes them to bend towards the "perpendicular to the wing" position. Cheers, Antti

Hello Pierre, both types (AU-1 and F4U-7) had same pylons and they were attached perpendicular to the ground. This excellent photo shows an F4U-7 of 15 Flotilla at Telergma: I'm currently at the decal stage with my F4U-7 (14.F-12, BuNo 133657, July 1961). Cheers, Antti

Hello Harry, the tail wheel (called "spårra") is part of the landing gear. So it is always down when nose and main gears are down. For a parked aircraft both flaps and ailerons are also down. The RAT (called "Milla") under the front fuselage falls down of its locker once the generators are set to off. Everything down for a parked aircraft. Cheers, Antti

Hello Martin, I can't say about any weaknesses in the hinge, but canopies of supersonic planes are very heavy. In case the canopy falls, a man can't stop the movement. Cheers, Antti

Hello Miguel, give your eyes some rest and continue modeling🙂 All C-47s at Finnish Air Force service had their rudders painted with aluminium coloured dope with medium blue stripe. I used Revell aluminium paint (enamel) for the metal surfaces and a mix of Humbrol 56 (aluminium) and Revell aluminium for the canvas covered surfaces; rudder and elevators. I also used brighter blue for the rudder stripe. Cheers, Antti

Great photos, thank you for sharing the them Mike! Looking at the photos of the paint shop it looks like the "Health and Safety" issues were slightly lighter back then! Cheers, Antti

And then the Venturi appeared again on the side of DO-9 which was used for aerial photographic survey missions during few summers. One plane (either DO-4 or DO-8) was also used for target towing duties. At least DO-10 and DO-12 carried the most interesting paint scheme when they appeared in the film "A Bridge Too Far". Here's DO-12: These planes (DO-4, DO-7, DO-10 and DO-12) were in USAAF paint but carried Finnish roundels. Here's a model of DO-10: The weird looking Olive Drab was rather "yellowish" as it was required to be exactly that to look right in the film! This is an excellent choice for those wishing to build a Finnish C-47 but hesitate because of the NMF. I've seen only one B+W photo of these "movie stars". Cheers, Antti

And no Brazilian flag for XM597... The sole Shrike seems to be there at least. Cheers, Antti