Antti_K

Graham, the table giving RLM 61, 62 and 63 in the same manual is dated August 1938, if that helps with the photos. Cheers, Antti

Hello guys, here is a copy of the original factory manual dated February 1940. As yo can see, both RLM 70 and RLM 71 are ordered for the upper surfaces. The manual also gives the "old" colours (RLM 61, RLM 62 and RLM 63) but there is no drawing showing them. Hopefully this helps. Cheers, Antti

Terve Einar, SF-31 was assigned to Kuljetuslentolaivue and based at Utti AB. It was equipped for oblique photography with sliding camera windows on the Starboard side. Summer of 1968 was very intense time, as the threat of Soviet invasion was high. Finnish Gulf was filled with Soviet military vessels. Finnish Il-28 navigators conducting maritime reconnaissance missions reported as many as 200 Soviet ships. All civil traffic was following coast lines and military vessels ruled the center part of the gulf. Supreme headquarter (Pääesikunta) ordered to start with a visual reconnaissance mission flown along Finnish border starting from Virolahti and proceeding somewhere around Ilomantsi to find out whether there were Soviet troop concentrations on those roads leading directly towards the Finnish border. Vernu told me, that they didn't see any troops or military vehicles. Tensions stood down sometime during September. Cheers, Antti

Terve Einar, komea "Sähvä"! Very nice Safir" Once again I like that metal coloured surface and admire those aerials. I have the same kit and plan to finish it as SF-31, as it was the first plane to fly a "hot" Cold War operation in August 1968. Pilot was Juha Alanko (squadron CO) and navigator Rauno "Vernu" Haverinen. What did you use for the sun shades? Cheers, Antti

Hello Seawinder, this is P-39Q-15-BE, AAF serial no. 44-2664. What do you think? Bronze Green or something else? Mike (72modeler) suspected, that the colour might be "Bell Green". Cheers, Antti

Hello guys, I studied an Airacobra, which is in its original paint. The green colour in the cockpit and on landing gear legs is darker and more olive than Hu 226. I created my own mix using Hu 150 as a base. Correct colour shade NCS S7020-G70Y looks like this: Hopefully this is of interest. Cheers, Antti

Hello 28ZComeback, up to my knowledge the Russians haven't changed the interior colour. As you said, it is a medium grey-green for SU-24M. Earlier variants had also medium blue-grey cockpits (like those fighting in the Afghan war). I wish I could remember what paint mix I used for my SU-24M... Most likely I mixed Hu 127 and bright green (Hu 3 possibly) to match photos. I'll check, if I can find my notes. Cheers, Antti

Hello Mark4700, if you wish to finish your Javelin in the Sixty Squadron markings, they used two different sizes of wing roundels on the top surfaces. So check your photos and you might have the required size in your spares. Cheers, Antti

Anthony, those pipelines are pure magic... I'm just sitting and staring at them. I think you should compile a photo book about this model showing all those little details and place it next to the model. Cheers, Antti

Lovely Twin Otter! Excellent work. You've done a fair amount of scratch building and those details bring the model into life. I like this a lot. Cheers, Antti

Anthony, those scratch built details really make the difference and are well worth the effort. Without them the bays just look "flat". Extra points for your painting technique! Very nice work Cheers, Antti

Hello Jim, I don't fully agree with Martin about the rudder. I checked my MiG photos (BIS model only) and could find only one shot of a parked airplane with deflected rudder. In all others the rudder is in the neutral position. Photos of taxiing planes show a deflected rudder in almost every picture. Front air brakes are fully open only if pilot has left them open before shut down. Rear air brake could be slightly open as discussed earlier. Cheers, Antti

Hello Jim, That is why we are talking about MiGs here, right You are right: the SPS doesn't affect the control surface deflections when on the ground (or in the air for that matter). It only activates when flap is lowered and engine is running. Earlier MiG-21 F13 had two position flaps (max. deflection 24,5 degrees) and BIS had three positions (max. 45 degrees). The SPS activates only when flaps are selected to fully down (45 degrees) position. Flap "one" is for take-off, flap "two" is for slow air speed and flap "three" for drag. I checked some of the notes I had at hand and they back up your statement about Fs; no SPS there. We had no PFs, so I don't possess any first hand information about them. Cheers, Antti

Hello guys, I had a quick look at the links AV O posted and I'm not fully convinced that all posters there know what they are talking about. During my type rating course I got the impression that all MiG-21s have the SPS system. I could be wrong though... I've only flown in a MiG-21BIS and back then we still had a couple of F -models. The SPS is separate system and it doesn't affect the ailerons, rudder, elevators or air brakes. The idea is to increase lift and reduce approach speed. MiG-21 is "pretty" hot airplane to handle during approach and landing. The wing gives a minimal amount of lift and therefore you have to maintain high airspeed (MiG-21 belongs to ICAO category E). Air speed is controlled with air brakes when necessary and glide slope with throttle. Thanks to normal elevators the pilot can keep the nose much lower during approach when compared with tailless deltas (like SAAB J35 Draken). Still you cross the landing threshold at speeds over 300 km/h keeping a very close eye on the AoA cauge. If someone is interested, I still have the manuals and can look for further info. Cheers, Antti

Great info guys, thank you I'm currently building the Tamiya 1/48 scale "Shangri-La" and I was just sanding the nose. These photos are very helpful. Cheers, Antti

Yes, that's right. If you wish to add "that little something", then you could slightly open the rear air brake. Another thing is to move the nose cone (towards front or the tail). Front air brakes were normally closed on the ground. Cheers, Antti

Hello jcchow66, MiG-21 had hydraulically boosted, mechanical aileron control. So you won't see drooped ailerons unless the control rods are broken or loose. Rudder is mechanical and there is no boosting. Flaps are hydraulically operated and there are three positions: up (=zero), 25 degrees and 45 degrees down. Normally they were selected up and locked to shut down the SPS system providing pressurized air over the flaps. Hydraulically operated elevator is left in the neutral position after shut down, because it is connected by rods with the autopilot. Cheers, Antti

Anthony those MLG wells are already looking very convincing! Lovely details. I put my effort on the gear legs but left the wells without any added detail. Do you have resin wheels for your Phantom? That "Fire Wire" (as Tony G put it) looks very special and nice detail. Is it a resin cast or 3D printed? I corrected the slot for my F-4J but left the cable out; it is very difficult to scratch build and almost impossible to see behind the petals. Cheers, Antti

Hello David, and thanks for the link. Did you notice that the F-5 (42-67332) is the very same as shown in those pictures I posted earlier? It has a fresh Synthetic Haze -paint scheme as those close-ups show. Giorgio N also suggested that #273 was repainted in Britain. I think this the correct starting point. Cheers, Antti

Hello David, I thought that the slightly darker blue is just an optical trick caused by the curvature of the nose (or booms). Sun light reflects from the surface at different angle on those areas having greater curvature and thus creates a "different" blue. Doesn't Azure Blue have a purple hue? Something like that is visible on the lower nose. I concentrated on the sides of the nose and compared the picture with the photo showing Synthetic Haze and concluded that the colour in this photo could be Flight Blue. But now I'm not so sure anymore. You certainly made an interesting suggestion Cheers, Antti

I agree completely! Cheers, Antti

Here is a confusing one: The caption says this F-5 was painted with PRU Blue that has since heavily weathered. To my eye the colour is too uniform especially on the sides and under surfaces to be faded PRU Blue. I think this Lightning was painted with "Flight Blue" overall. Cheers, Antti

Hello guys, here are the books and magazines I was talking about. I have a couple more but can't find them just now. I created some pictures showing Haze, Synthetic Haze and PRU Blue paint schemes. Note that both "Haze" and "Synthetic Haze" were paint schemes consisting of two paints. Probably not answering the OP's question exactly, but hopefully useful for all reconnaissance Lightning modellers. Cheers, Antti

Lovely Javelin, I like it a lot! It really is a great shame that one can press the "Like" button only once... This is probably the first Airfix Javelin I've seen that has been modified using the Alleycat set. Everyone who uses those PE vortex generators should earn a medal. I tried with a couple and gave up. I still have one Javelin in the stash with Alleycat conversion set for a FAW.4 of No 41 Squadron. But then, I'm currently having a soft spot for that red and white test Javelin. Cheers, Antti

Hello guys, I have a book about Lightnings and there with colour photos. Some photos of this thread are also in the book. The book says that these Lightnings were painted with PRU Blue in England. All photos show PRU Blue having a slight greenish shade. Then I have some American magazines from the 1980s with colour and B&W photos of Haze and Synthetic Haze paint. Haze looks more grey than PRU Blue and Synthetic Haze looks pure blue. There is a great variation between Haze painted Lightnings; some are very "pale" and some look very dark. The size of the pigment grain was carefully selected and the original idea was to create a colour that matched the sky around the plane. So thickness of the white paint layer greatly effected the blue "created". Cheers, Antti