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With the rapid expansion of the war in the CBI, it was decided to shorten pilot training by replacing the Tigermoth with the Canadian PT-26 Cornell monoplane. The first Cornells were trialled at the SFTS (I) Ambala in June 44 and then issued in increasing numbers to Nos.1 (Begumpet) & 2 EFTS (Jodhpur) for familiarisation of Instructors. Reports were favourable but the type was criticised as considerably underpowered. The general opinion was that the new type should enable the school to turn out better pilots in a shorter time. A shortage of Glider pilots in the South East Asia theatre possibly meant that the training program in India remained under pressure longer. training continued in fits and starts due to defects in the Ranger engine exhausts, spar shrinkage and cracks in the front and rear spars of the Centre Section and Mainplanes. As a result, the replacement by Tiger Moths began immediately in Nov 46 and was completed by December 46, by which time all 30 of the remaining Cornell's were unserviceable. Ironically, the Cornell was replaced by the Tiger Moth, an aircraft it was meant to replace!! This is the 1/72 Special Hobby version, I think, also the only game in town. A straightforward build except that it didn't mention anything about the Pitot head. I painted it in Vallejo colours and in the markings of the ACSEA Mar 46 scheme of high-speed silver dope and India Blue roundels. I've also posed it in front of HH the Maharaja of Jodhpur's hangar at Jodhpur. Serials are from the Tally Ho series, with each numeral separately attached.

Hi everyone, I'm not sure if I should be posting this topic here or in the Cold War section, so please indulge me a little if you feel I have posted it im the wrong place. I am looking for decals in 1/72, 1/32 and 1/24 for early Indian Air Force roundels, notably, the 'chakra' symbol of a blue spinning wheel on a white circle as seen in the centre of the Indian tricolour. Does anyone know of any decals out there that fit th bill? Cheers, and thank you all very much for any help and for taking the time to read this thread, Viv

Kit : 1:48, Mig-21UM, Trumpeter (02865) Decals : MDS Decals, 🇮🇳 Indian Air Force Roundels and Fin Flash (MDS-002) picked off Ebay. serial Numbers were self made stencils from the kit decal

Kit : 1:48, Mig-21UM, Trumpeter (02865) Decals : MDS Decals, Indian Air Force Roundels and Fin Flash (MDS-002) picked off Ebay. Sqn Logo & serial Numbers were self made stencils from the kit decals Diorama Parts were 3D printed The Build The build was was rather stright forward . being a newer kit the fit and details were good. hardly used any putty. built OOB. except the decals as I wanted to make an Indian Air Force version. a quick search online led me to a ebay vendor selling IAF roundels and fin flash. I was able to design and print the Squadron logo and Serial Numbers myself. and used the Kit decals for stencils and other markings. I have used various shades or Mr.Color paints mix and matched. the diorama components were printed on my 3D printer. The MiG-21 UM Trainer in the Indian Air Force The MiG-21 UM, a two-seat trainer variant of the iconic MiG-21 fighter jet, holds a significant place in the annals of Indian military aviation. As a supersonic jet trainer, it has served as a critical link in transitioning Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots from subsonic trainers to frontline combat aircraft. Despite its ageing design, a cornerstone of Indian fighter pilot training for several decades, playing a crucial role in maintaining operational readiness and combat proficiency. Historical Background India inducted the MiG-21 into its air force in the early 1960s, making it one of the first countries outside the Soviet Union to operate the aircraft. Over the years, multiple variants of the MiG-21 were introduced into IAF service, including the MiG-21FL, MiG-21M, MiG-21bis, and the MiG-21 Bison. Alongside these combat variants, the MiG-21 UM was inducted in the 1970s as a dedicated trainer platform. The MiG-21 UM ("Uchebno-Modificirovannyi" meaning "Modified for Training" in Russian) features dual controls, allowing instructors and trainees to operate the aircraft simultaneously. It was developed to provide pilots with supersonic flight experience before graduating to frontline combat duties. The UM retained much of the flight performance and handling characteristics of the single-seat variants, offering a realistic training environment. Role in the Indian Air Force The primary role of the MiG-21 UM in the IAF was to serve as an advanced jet trainer. It was used in the final stages of fighter pilot training, where aviators learned to handle the speed, altitude, and complexity of supersonic flight. The aircraft was also employed for type conversion training, allowing pilots to transition from older or less advanced aircraft to the MiG-21 Bison or other combat jets. In addition to training, MiG-21 UMs were occasionally pressed into service for light operational roles, particularly in reconnaissance or as part of base-level readiness exercises. However, their main contribution remained in preparing generations of Indian fighter pilots for high-performance aviation. MiG-21 UM remains enduring. For decades, it was the final step in shaping raw cadets into combat-ready fighter pilots. It served faithfully through times of both peace and conflict, including wars and heightened tensions with neighbouring countries. The MiG-21 UM trainer played an indispensable role in the Indian Air Force's evolution. As a supersonic training aircraft, it bridged the gap between basic flight instruction and full combat readiness. While now largely retired, its contribution to India's air defense capabilities and pilot training cannot be overstated. The MiG-21 UM stands as a testament to a bygone era of military aviation — one that combined rugged performance with strategic importance

Looking to decipher this paint scheme of an Indian Air Force Devon based in England 1953-63 for the Air Advisor. Iam assuming white over grey with blue window dressing. But what's the nose colour?? day Glow Orange or Yellow?? Me thinks, this is the closest RAF scheme?? Any ideas?? Thanx

I think I have time for this. This has been on the shelf long enough. I was going to make it the Salvadoran bird, but I like the scorpion logo on the Indian version. Plus, the Indians flew these in the 1950s whereas the Salvadorans not until the 70s. I know, it would probably still be allowed under the GB rules, but I'll keep it simple. First tested in '48, etc...it fits. Compact little thing... One sprue... And a small bag with some better molded whiz-bangs, canopy...a PE bit, nice looking decals... I'll get into it sometime this week. Probably tomorrow. --John

I am a new member of BritModeller forum. After joining I signed up for "Bomber/Strike/Ground Attack GB" that started on Sat, 22 Jan 22. For that GB I have chosen Airfix 1/48 Red Arrows Kit and thought of converting this as a IAF Hawk to be eligible for the GB. This was my second aircraft build and did a lot of mistakes during the build. I struggled a lot but could not complete it on time so I have dropped out of the first GB, I signed up with BM.... After I left this build half way, I selected few of Tamiya's Bf109 E3 and the Spitfire F Mk. IX just to learn. After messing up and learning during these builds, I picked up the Red Arrows kit again. Since I was no longer part of the GB, I decided to build it like one of the IAF Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team’s aircraft… I managed to complete the build last month and below are some of the pictures…. Printed decals at home so the quality is not great. Still learning…. Note - Landing gear door is fixed now.... And also few detail painting. Thanks for looking. Have a Great Day Mukund

For this, my first group build, I'm going to build the 1:72 Eduard models MiG-21MF in Indian Air Force colours. I've got the Bunny Fighter Club version of the kit, BFC094, which comes with some extra resin and photoetched parts, but otherwise looks much like the Eduard MiG-21MF Interceptor Profipack (70141) reviewed here: I'm basing this on a couple of images of C1500, which is aluminium with red and white stripes on the tail. Source: https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Galleries/Aircraft/Vintage/Fighters/MiG21M/MiG-21r.jpg.html I want to try a couple of things for this build: firstly I'm relatively new to airbrushing and want to use this to try out the AK xtreme metal paints (although I've got chrome rather than aluminium - hopefully the difference won't be too huge!); the other thing I want to try (and this may be a non-starter, I would welcome any thoughts) is laser printing tail stripes as a decal using a sheet of Clear Laser from TransOurDream Tru-Waterslide Decal Paper. Other markings will be from the box or from Caracal Models markings (CD48156) for an Indian Dassault Rafale, which were the closest I could find. I've started on the decal - to work out the size I need to print I'm using the following steps: - tape the fuselage halves and tail together - press kitchen foil onto the tail to get a sense for how much longer the shape will need to be to account for the curvature of the body - mark the foil, smooth it out and then cut out the foil shape - scan the foil shape and import into MS Word - trace the outline with line segment to get an outline - overlay this on a scan of the instructions, and resize this image to scale - clean up the image to merge the best of both of these images - add red and white lines Hopefully I'm doing this right!

Some years back after getting the decals onto this build I just forgot about it and left it unfinished. I finally got around to gluing the last few bits and bobs, giving it a light wash and sealing it with a dull coat this weekend. This is KB707 from No. 47 Black Archers Squadron of the Indian Air Force during air combat training in the 90s The kit is Italeri, decals are really old from Cutting Edge and paints are Tamiya. The build is straight OOB. The only thing I modified was drilling holes in the back of the missiles. KB707 in it's air combat training livery is a popular subject. The actual airplane had a centerline droptank and carried dummy missiles in that incarnation. Since I built this OOB - no centerline droptank and it carries full ordinance. Thank you for looking and and as always all comments are much appreciated.

Built this as part of a group build. I have been waiting to dig into my Arma Hurricane but without enough time I chose this old kit. The build itself was very straightforward. I used Tamiya acrylics, wash and some shaved graphite to accent the raised panel lines. I built this to represent KZ371 of 3 Squadron IAF in the CBI theatre. Picture of the real aircraft had the following caption: During an intensive period of bombing around Marghai on June 27, 1944, 3 Squadron’s Fg Off Dilip Kumar Bose flew Hurricane Mk.IIc KZ371/R twice in support of Tochi Scouts on the ground.

Mig-21 is the mainstay of the Indian Air Force and for a while now, slowly being replaced by more modern jets. But it will always hold a special place in the hearts and minds of most airmen in the Indian Air Force and the nation at large. This Academy kit is boxed as a MF but is a BIS actually. The build went easy as the kit did not have any fit issues. The cockpit was not that detailed but I did a little bit of scratch to make it look busy. And a spare Eduard Bis kit ejection seat was added to the model. I decided to go with the scheme of Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment or TACDE. It is an Indian Air Force unit for training aerial combat to its top one percent fighter pilots. The institution evolves tactical procedures for various aircraft, implements standard operating procedures and trains pilots in operational doctrines. I had only a faded black and white picture as a reference. It would be fair to say the red shade was a bit of a guess. But I am sure it was red and white combination. The colors used to paint the model are mix and match, Life color paints were used, And the TACDE logo and serial numbers are self made decals. And roundels and fin flash are Bright spark decals. This build is part of a group build of 'Indian Scale modellers' group on facebook.

Revell, (MiG-21PF), built here is the FL 1:48 . This is a very old kit with raised panel lines, which I sanded down and scribed. Roundel and fin flash decals are from the kit, but the Sqn. Logo, 52 and serial numbers are self made decals. The shark mouth is hand painted. Also used hair spray technique for fading and chipping. Paints used are AK Extreme Metal. The FL was manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited till the end of 1973, this model depicts a aircraft from The Sharks, No 52 Squadron, Indian Air Force. The Sharks were used in MiG Operational Fighter Training. They were deactivated in June 2005.

Finally completed the flapship flighter of the Indian Air Force after years of it being on the wishlist. Built mostly OOB with some custom riveting, and IAF decals from spares. A big deviation from the norm is building it wheels up- So much fun flying it around the house with my son while making jet sounds and my wife rolling her eyes in the background :D Waited for a perfect spring evening to finally click photos in the golden sunshine at the park. Natural light makes for perfect photos! Thanks for watching! :) Cheers, Alex.

1:72 Trumpeter MiG-29 SMT kit as visually its exactly the same, other than the ELT-568 Advanced Jamming pod on the starboard vertical stabilizer. Its a beautiful kit with loads of details and fantastic fit. I hardly used putty and assembly was a breeze . I scratch built the Jamming pod & FOD covers using polystyrene sheet. Paints were MR.Hobby, I had to mix and match a bit to get the IAF grey, decals from Bright Spark for roundels and fin flash, the black serial numbers were printed on a laser printer.

Fun build, took almost a year to complete on and off due to uni. The HUD was lost during construction and despite my best efforts, couldn’t scratch build one to fit. Anyways, hope you guys like it. http://MIG-29UPG by Pranay Kumar, on Flickr http://MIG-29UPG by Pranay Kumar, on Flickr http://MIG-29UPG by Pranay Kumar, on Flickr http://MIG-29UPG by Pranay Kumar, on Flickr http://MIG-29UPG by Pranay Kumar, on Flickr http://MIG-29UPG by Pranay Kumar, on Flickr

Hi mates, I would like to participate to my first GB making an Indian Air Force (Bharatiya Vayu Sena) Sukhoi Su-7BMK from the No.32 "Killers" Squadron in 1982. This particular plane was named "Tommy" and wears red/white quick identification tail stripes for war game. (cit. Yefim Gordon, Aerofax Su-7 Pag. 141) If interested you can found a complete documentation about Su-7 operational use in Indian air force here: Bharat-rakshak.com A quick look inside the box: This kit is an Eduard reboxing (2010) of an old Kopro Kit, the model is molded in light gray styrene and presented on four parts trees, plus an addition tree of clear parts. In addiction we have two photo-etched parts including one featuring their color printing, one set of yellow tape masks, one set of resin parts, and a nice set of marking options.

I have lurked here for years and finally decided to take a plunge and post. So, I have been on this straight OOB quick build binge recently as I experiment with new paints and techniques. I have been working on older kits in my stash and for this I chose the Frog 1/72 Spitfire Mk VIII that came out in 1974. There is not much in terms of details OOB. The cockpit is as bare as can be but the lines are close to accurate. It is only after I committed myself to the build that I realized I was dealing with raised panel lines - ugh. The build was fast enough but I was not happy with the decals and standard camo scheme. I browsed through the book, "Spitfires in the Sun" by Vikram Singh that chronicles the Spitfire in Indian Air Force and Royal Indian Air Force service. It has some excellent profiles and I chose NH 631 which is still alive and kicking at the Air Force Museum in New Delhi and is part of the Museum's historic flight, though it sports a dubious camo scheme now. I used a rattle-can for the NMF using Model Master's semi-gloss metallic silver. The cockpit and wheel wells were painted using Model Master's Zinc Chromate. The exhaust was painted using Tamiya dark iron and the exhaust stains were sprayed on using Tamiya Smoke using my Grex. For the rest of the stains and in an attempt to highlight the raised panel lines I used a coffee/mud color acrylic wash. For the decals I rummaged through the spares box and the roundels are from old Matchbox Sea Harrier kits and the fin flash is from Bright Spark. The lettering is Berna Decals. You can also see a recently finished Matchbox Tempest II is the background. The Jeep is Airfix and the Pilot figure is Hasegawa. Hope you enjoy!

I've finally switched to my favorite scale and topic - 1/48 jets. This project will be almost out of the box (Eduard profipack contains masks, PE parts) with resin wheels, ejection seat and pitot tube made from turned brass. I hope you'll enjoy following pictures as I will enjoy the building progress. Here we go These pictures are from November when I started this build. I've used Mr. Paint interior green and my trust in the shades of the colour went out of the window when I glued prepainted PE parts without checking it before. Silly me, but it's beyond a repair so I will be smarter next time. Once painted with green, I applied the pigments into the nozzle. I've played with it since then so it looks more decent now. Wheel bays are painted with MRP-81 Anodized Aluminium, details painted by a brush and Vallejo Colors. Up to this point, I was pushed by my friend to build faster, but I am unable to, so from here I will build in my own tempo. Back to work! I assembled the fuselage, dorsal spine with the fin, wing and the whole damn thing. Now I am going to sand seams and repair engraved lines and rivets.

Hi guys. Seeing as my Hunter bits still arent here for the 60s NATO GB I may as well make a start with this and get my hand back in. Its Revells 1/48 Jaguar GR3, same as the Airfix et all offering but with decent decals. This one seems to be of the lesser warped variety which is nice, but I have plenty of filler on stand-by never the less.... Extras include a resin seat, the relevant decals (second sheet stashed to cover the serial number error), a Sea Eagle missile that was kindly donated for the build, resin nose and a resin Harpoon missile that might be a little Whifi for these camo colours/period, but think Ill be building it anyway for display next to the model for myself outside of the whole GB just to be sure Im good with rules etc. Pretty sure I had some weighted wheels too, they may or may not turn up. The evidence/victims: And the very, very familiar state of affairs: Apologies for the rough photos, my phone is pants and my camera has done a runner it seems. I will get that sorted for future posts. There. Committed! Good luck all! Rob

A ceremony on December 16, 2004, at Hakimpet Air Force Station was held to mark the phasing out of the TS-11 Iskra from the Indian Air Force. The IAF honoured the trainer with style and with fresh color. So also the "41" with a fresh air fan for the rear seat Cheers

Hello folks , this model was built as part of the De Havilland mega group build which arrived as the perfect excuse to build this kit . I have a thing for twin boom airplanes and if I were asked to pick the most aesthetically pleasing jet that has served with our air force , I would certainly choose the Vampire. The kit is quite good though the panel lines are somewhat heavy . I used a printscale sheet for the decals . Regards , Basu

This is a sweet kit from italeri though with a very bland cockpit which I left as it is , another issue was the panel lines in many places is vague . I weathered is just slightly with a very light panel line wash and limited post shading . I true to my nature bungled up the satin coat but overall I am quite glad with how this model of a remarkable , iconic airplane turned out Cheers

Good morning everyone, My lovely wife has decided to buy me a copy of the 1/32 Hawker Hunter by Revell because just because. I want to paint it up in Indian Air Force colours but have not been able to find any appropriate decals in this scale after an evening spent searching. Do any of you fine modellers, artists and plastic craftsmen and engineers know of any I may have missed. Also, is there any good aftermarket for the aircraft, and more importantly does it need it? Cheers and thank you ladies and gentlemen, any help and guidance you can provide will be very gratefully recieved indeed, I remain, your most obedient servant etc. etc, Viv PS: why do two and a half year olds wake you up so early? Why? Edit: for early morning typos