Antti_K

Hello again Ascoteer! I checked also the Canberra manuals that I have. I found the following: "Canberra B.2 is equipped with Rebecca Mk. IV (ARI 5610)". A picture in the book shows a "strip" just like on Javelin (or here on Meteor) stating that these are Rebecca Homing aerials. And now I have used all the reference material I have... However You are very convincing when you say that these strips on Meteor are not Rebecca aerials. When you mentioned the Yagi I started to think about earlier Rebecca aerials that were used in Lancasters, Halifaxes or Ansons. Indeed they didn't look like these. Canberra and Javelin had suppressed aerials. But back to Meteor. What do you think these strips are? Best Regards, Antti

Hello, I built one (Monogram) a couple of years ago. It required some extra attention to get the engine panels to fit properly. There is also a very visible problem with the wings. In the real thing the wing has a fold when viewed from front. At the same time the trailing edge should be straight. Some cutting, gluing and re-shaping is needed. Also the first centimeters of the wing leading edge are too blunt in the wing root. It should be very sharp and "wedge-like", but this is quite easy to fix. Best Regards, Antti

Hello Ascoteer, Javelin manual (A.P.4491J-P.N.) says that Rebecca Mk. 8 transmitter antennas were dipoles. It also says that strips like those seen on the photo are Rebecca Mk. 8 homing aerials. Or did I understood something wrong...? Best Regards, Antti

Hello all, this strip looks very much the same as Rebecca aerials in Javelins and Canberras. Note that this is only my guess not a fact.

Wez is right. The white line was painted for that and it was also the stick position in all rapidly developing situations which might lead to loss of control. An interesting detail is that it wasn't painted to all planes. For example some Guard's Fighter Regiments (elite units) planes were without this feature. The white lines were painted in Finnish Mig-15s and MiG-21Fs. There is also another theory concerning the origins of the turquoise colour. It is a very cheap pigment which is actually waste from metal industry. Here are some photos of a Finnish MiG-21BIS: http://www.pienoismallit.net/galleria/referenssi_13421/ Best Regards, Antti

Hello all! We had MiG-15 UTI and Il-28R aircraft in Finnish Air Force. The cockpit colours were as follows: MiG-15 UTI; overall light blue grey Il-28; bright green overall (very close to American Interior Green) Il-28 had landing gear bays and bomb bay originally painted in light buff colour and later at least one example had these areas painted in orange (close to International Orange). Re-painting was done in the Soviet Union when the plane was sent there for a major overhaul. MiG-21 F-13 had also light blue grey cockpits but MiG-21BIS had that turquoise colour. Those SU-24Ms that I have seen have either medium grey or green grey (lighter than British Cockpit Green) cockpit. With Best Regards, Antti

Hello everyone I added a couple of photos to my gallery. Direct link at earlier posting. Antti

Hello Jay! I think that Finnish military aircraft started to appear at European Air Bases in the early 1990's. That time the Finnish Air Force started to re-equip with F/A-18 Hornets and also a tighter co-operation with NATO. There is however a chance for you to build a diorama with Finnish MiG-21Fs and Russian MiG-23s from Kubinka Airbase. Later the Russians flew the then new MiG-29 and Finns with MiG-21BIS. The Russians usually had also an Antonov transport plane to carry the ground crew. Best Regards, Antti

Hello all! I checked all the MiG manuals and prints we have left. Everything that deals with these planes is still highly classified. Not as military equipment but as trade goods (The Russians...) I couldn't find any information about the recce installations and we don't have a recce pod; only a center line tank. I also took some more photos. Follow the link in my previous posting in this topic to see them. The light was good so I made also comparisons for the original Russian camouflage paints still found on the center line tank. Light Green: NCS S5040-G60Y (Not a perfect match, add a little white or pale grey. Closest FS595b equivalent 34258.) Dark Brown: NCS S8505-Y80R (Not a perfect match, add some black to cut the reddish hue. No FS match.Closest RAL 8022 which is too dark.) Light Grey, Main Gear Well: NCS S3502-B (Perfect match. FS 36375 is a good match.) Light Grey: NCS S2005-B50G (Perfect match. Closest FS 36473 is a little bit too green.) Bright Green, wheel hub: NCS S4550-G20Y (Very good match. Closest FS 14090 is too light.) Bright Green, antenna fairings in fin: NCS S5040-G20Y and RAL 6002 (Good matches, but add a hint of yellow or sand brown.) Blue (Finnish roundel, painted in Finland): RAL 5015 (FS 35183 is a perfect match.) I heard today that the Air Force Museum is taking over this MiG in the near future. After that I guess I don't have access to it. My Best Regards, Antti

Hello Tony! You can see my Javelin here http://www.pienoismallit.net/galleria/malli_12755/ And a glimpse of the real thing on this short clip Pay attention at 0:42 when the last plane of the formation taxies into view. I painted the flash on wrong position and it also seems that the colour should be white not silver. I only had two rather poor quality photos to work with. As my next Javelin is on the "production line" I decided to look for more accurate information. Cheers, Antti

Hello all! At some time in 1967 No.60 Squadron painted the under wing tanks of their Javelin FAW.9Rs in black with a lightning (or flash) motif on them. It looks like these tanks were used on special occasions only (parades, Flypasts). My question is: do you have any information or photos showing these tanks? Best Regards, Antti

Hello all! I added one photo to the reference gallery (see link in an earlier message). One of our engineers saw these pictures also and reminded that the gun sight was not installed when this aircraft served "Tiedustelulentolaivue" (Reconnaissance Squadron). At that time there was a control box for the camera equipment and on top of it, a small collimator type gunsight. I will contact some of my friends and ask if they have pictures about the camera control box. Best Regards, Antti

Kari and Larry, here you can find some detail photos of MG-114. http://www.pienoismallit.net/galleria/referenssi_13421/ Best regards, Antti

Terve Kari, Hello Larry! I have access to MG-114 as it stands almost outside my office window. I also have access to all it's manuals. I just checked the Aircrew Manual (MG Ohjaajan ohje) and "Preparation Manual" (MG Valmisteluohje) but couldn't find any information about the recce systems. I will have a look at the Weapons Manual when I go the office on Wednesday. I couldn't find any information about the flare dispenser or the Swedish built chaff dispenser either. MG-114 still carries those black "Top Hat" omni-directional antennas Kari mentioned. At least they were installed also on MG-125 and MG-133. I have a photo of MG-133 taken back at 1994 when on detachment in Ivalo in Northern Finland. I guess you both know that all recce MiGs (MiG 21 F-13 and MiG 21BIS) were based at Tikkakoski AB some 25 km north of Jyväskylä. I'm not sure which pods we still have for MG-114. At least one standard centerline tank and "Missile Shoes" for R60 are still around. But I will check that also and give you all the information. I have one photo showing the camera pod that was used in Hawk. If I remember correctly it was called either "Säiliö 301" or "Säiliö 302". MiG carried a camera pod which might have been a combination of the Vicon pod (front part) and an original Russian built centerline tank (rear part). I also wonder what happened to those beautiful Vinten F95 cameras; no one seems to know. Best Regards, Antti

Hello ReccePhreak! This particular aircraft was a prototype which carried every possible piece of equipment when this photo was taken. The flare dispensers were normally carried when the aircraft acted as an ECM- capable adversary in air to air combat training. In normal reconnaissance work the fit was Vicon pod in centerline station and auxiliary tanks under the wings. Vicon pod was actually a modified centerline tank so the modifications should be quite easy. Note also the non-standard Radar Warning blisters in both wing tips and in the trailing edge of the fin. Also the cockpit lay out is little bit different. We had six of these planes on the Squadron. They make an interesting subject for a model as the fuselage length differed 25 mm between these six. Okay, that really doesn't make a difference in 1/48 scale If you need more information or photos of the real thing don't hesitate to ask. Best Regards, Antti

Hello Mike! I'm sorry but I can't help you especially with the MiG. But I build the "Highly Recommended" (if you believe in online reviews) Trumpeter SU-24M some time ago and it proved to be bad. The basic outline had to be build using both plasticard and Milliput. In some areas the parts fit was excellent and in other areas non-existent. Also the surface details were based on guesswork on fuselage, and lot of work was needed. You can see the finished model and some W.I.P. photos here: http://www.pienoismallit.net/galleria/malli_11714/ Best regards, Antti

Thank You Sir

Hi, This information comes from the Aircrew Manual of a British FG 1. It is possible that there are some differencies between FG 1 and F-4J. There are quite many lights on the Phantom not just the navigation lights. Here is some information: Navigation lights: -red light on port wingtip, visible from front to 110 degrees to the side -green light on starboard wingtip, visible from front to 110 degrees to the side -white light on the fin just above rudder or on drag chute door, visible from a sector of 140 degrees These lights are steady (they won't flash) but the pilot can dim them. Join-up Lights: -red light on port wing tip, visible from back -green light on starboard wingtip, visible from back These lights are also steady and pilot can dim them. Fuselage Lights: -one white light under each air inlet duct -one white light over the number 2 cell Pilot can choose either these lights are steady or flashing and he can dim them. Anti-Collision Light: -one red light in the fin leading edge This light flashes if Fuselage Lights are bright and flashing. Then there is Landing Light, Taxi Light and possibly a light for aerial refueling. With Best Regards, Antti

Hello At Sea, some photos of my FG Mk 1 is now published at a Finnish modelling site. Here is a direct address to my model http://www.pienoismallit.net/galleria/malli_13401/ I don't have an account in Photobucket (yet) so I'm not able to publish the photos here.

Hello everyone! Actually the photo of a preserved Finnish Air Force MiG is quite "accurate". The lighter panels are those painted with aluminium colour when the aircraft was overhauled in the USSR. The darker panels are either covered with older layer of paint or they are bare metal. Both variations were seen here in Finland. During an overhaul the Russians painted couple of MiGs with light blueish grey overall (MG92 was the other one the other one I can't remember). Best Regards, Antti

Hello Mike, at first those stripes were black and white. For example a picture of XH842 "A" shows this quite clearly. Later on and especially on FAW9R:s the stripes were black and silver. Originally No 60 Squadron Javelins carried also a Flight Colour (Light blue, Red or Green) around their individual codes and "Markhar Head" insignia. Good examples are XH722 "PS" (Red), XH908 "S" (Light blue or Green) and XH956 "W" (Light blue). A detail that has been ignored by decal makers unfortunately. But you asked especially about T.3. Warpaint series no 17 "Gloster Javelin" has a good photo on page 9 showing T.3 XH390 "O" carrying black and white stripes. Best Regards, Antti

Hello! I just finished a Hasegawa Phantom FG1(XT861) and had also a problem with the stencils. I used F-4E stencils from Icarus. These decals are quite good but if you use them be careful because they might silver easily. For a RN "Cab" you need black stencils for the grey areas and grey for the white surface. So two sets... The F-4E decals are wrong for the outer wing section, leading edge flaps and for the fuselage bottom. Then there are some panels on a British Phantom that are not common with F-4B, C, D or E. For example on starboard side is panel 147R (Aux Air Door hydraulics) and near the lower Auxiliary Air Doors is 156. Many panels on the lower forward fuselage carry the same numbering as the American counterparts but some has a different description on them like 25L, 25R, 122L and 122R. With best regards, Antti_K

Hello! I made some research on the subject when I was building my first Javelin (XH961). I believe that you mean the 1:48th scale model. For the upper surfaces I used the kit's roundels (37,6 mm in diameter) but for the under surfaces I used Xtradecal roundels (28,5 mm in diameter) from their Javelin set. Cheers, Antti_K