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Su-25, Peruvian Air Force 2005, no. 071 in 1/48. Made from an old OEZ Letohrad (Czechoslovakia) kit. I used photoetched parts from Eduard and Part. The rest is self-made (for example flaps, slots, airbrakes etc.). Decals are from Authentic Decals 4847 set. Miss of stencils is not a mistake in this case.

I am very happy to be rolling out my Fitter-F, known locally as the “Su-22A”, but more officially designated the Su-22M2K or S-32M2K. As many of you may know, the Peruvians took on 36 (34 single-seat and 2 two-seat) of the these aircraft from the Soviet Union from 1976 and they were in service with Grupo Aereo No. 11 by 1978. The variant is the more powerful but more sluggish and less fuel-efficient member of the Fitter family and was used in armed conflict by Peru over a number of years. During that time they were upgraded in both hardware terms and the colours that they carried. Initially they were painted in desert scheme of sand and earth and by the end of their career in Peru they had been given the scheme that I have depicted here. The Peruvians had the full array of weaponry at their disposal and used a fair bit of it in the Cenepa War in the 1990s. More detail can been seen in this extensive write up on the LAAHS site: https://www.laahs.com/the-sukhoi-su-22-in-peruvian-service/. In 1979 these aircraft were supplemented by the delivery of 19 Su-22M3 (16 Fitter-J and 3 Fitter-G). The Fitter-Fs and their two-seat variants were operated from Talara Air base by Escuadrón Aéreo No. 111 (111 Air Squadron) “Los Tigres” with Esc. Grp. 11. The aircraft I have chosen to model is Serial No.159. The reason is that after exchanging pleasantries with Chris Lofting, one of the few European photographers to have had access to these aircraft, it was clear that this particular aircraft had attracted all of the various mods by Peruvian, Israeli and Soviet contractors, including the fin mounted chaff dispenser, dorsal blade aerial, chin and fin RWR sensors. It seems to have been the only one configured this way that has been photographed, and from both sides. Here is a similar machine undergoing maintenance. Another at an air show: and one during combat operations from Lima: The above are public domain images In building this model I have used a lot of aftermarket and resin conversion sets. The main conversion has been to the rear end, a bulbous replacement that was needed to accommodate the larger Tumansky engine. These machines also had an extended nose and so the beautifully crafted Amigo set was used. I also used various bits in order to get a reasonable and appropriate weapons load onboard – particularly the OFAB-100s and MDB rack. Those who have stuck with me on this journey will know that I have wrestled with the Vespa conversion. While I admire the work that Amaru et all have committed to the resin set it does present challenges. To help others these are the areas that I am aware of that need attention: 1. The rear fuselage “tube” was slightly warped 2. The fin root chaff dispenser is oversized 3. For a Su-22M2K there are no RWR receivers included (there are for the Su-22M3K) 4. The guides inside the fuselage/tube need cutting back. If not the engine sits in the wrong position 5. The slot for the fin on the top of the rear fuselage needs opening out Also the Vespa decal set appears to be oversized, particularly the wing serial numbers. The Amigo nose conversion was a dream, however! The only missing items were the bulged nosewheel doors. I got mine from a Mistercraft kit. The WIP is here: The colours have been proving tricky. I had been erroneously trying to mimic the colours from the various photos taken by Chris Lofting in 2005. However, the penny eventually dropped when I realised that they were photographed at the end of a sunny day in Talara during the “golden hour”, when colours mellow and take on a different hue. Also, by the time of the photos they had been out of service for a while and were sun bleached. I had wanted to include one of the images from Chris but I haven’t (yet) sought his permission. I can post a link showing her in that late afternoon light: https://www.airfighters.com/photo/248218/M/Peru-Air-Force/Sukhoi-Su-22-Fitter-F/159/ Given that my intention was to build an operational machine, I referred to both Amaru Tincopa’s @AmaruTG book and a couple of photo references. This steered me to using a close representation of Gunship Gray and US Medium Green, remembering that these were Peruvian equivalent paints and not authentic. I must also thank the wealth of guidance I have had from many other BM members! What did I use?: 1. Kit - Modelsvit Su-20 Fitter (72020) 2. Aftermarket - Vespa Su-22M2K rear conversion, Amigo Models nose section and cockpit (inc seat and canopy), Master pitots and gun barrels. Also the MBD3 racks and OFAB-100s came from Res-Kit. A Mistercraft kit donated the forward nosewheel door. I made antennas for the spine, nose and fin from plastic card as well as making the nose and fin RWR sensors from rod. 3. Paints - primarily Colourcoats enamels - Bronze Green, US Medium Green (US Vietnam), US Neutral Gray, and FS26622 grey, plus a wealth of other colours from Colourcoats and Humbrol. Finished with Humbrol Satincote. 4. Decals - Vespa. However, the fin badge in the Vespa set is too small for this aircraft in this colour scheme. I therefore used one from an Authentic Decals set. Lucky me, too, as it seemed the original stencils were stripped and not replaced :). 5. Weathering etc - Flory washes, Silver Pencil and Tamiya weathering Powders Here are a few photos of her: I hope you like her! Martin

Hi all, I'm just mulling over the idea of a Fulcrum build at some point in the far off future. My eyes are focussed on a Peruvian machine - inspired by Pete's UB build - and wondered about the upcoming new release kits. It would be a shift for me in technologies as I tend to stick with what I grew up with - 50s and 50s jets - but I've always liked the MiG-29 and so having one in my collection would be appropriate. Why Peruvian? Because I like to be different! So, my question, is about the variants used. They are quoted as MiG-29S 9.12, upgraded to SE and then to SMP. What are the obvious differences from a modelling perspective, please? I'm certain there is someone out there who knows! Thanks a lot. Martin

Hi, Within the Texan/Harvard STGB I tried to construct the NA 50 fighter conversion of Harvard. The work was prepossessed by discussion on WWII part of BM Forum Thanks for all comments given there. Following the discussion the WIP thread is here: The NA 50 was a kind of "bush fighter" concept - an idea of cheep and "enough good" modern fighter based on a two seater trainer proposed to the small, underdeveloped countries. This idea, born in the end of thirties died when WW2 ended and US had thousands of not-needed (thus really cheep) much better war machines sold then to all over the world, among them to all Latin America countries. Th NA 50 was produced in series of 13 machines and the only country which used it was Peru. Then there were two more attempts of making a single seat fighter from Harvard/Texan: the NA 68 (P-64) and CAC Boomerang. Peru used those fighters in a war against Ecuator them in July 1941. This was a small local war (still people were dying in it), I think completely forgotten due to the times, when it happened. Peru had much more advanced military equipment then Ecuador, the fight ended after about month. More here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuadorian–Peruvian_War. Below is the result of mine attempts, the machine No 50948 of Lt Cap. Antonio Alberti, (squadron leader) of 41 Escuadrilla de XXI Escuadron de Caza of Peru from the short war in July 1941 against Ecuador: Comments welcomes Regards Jerzy-Wojtek

Continuing with the Latin theme, this time I've started a Peruvian Avro 504K, stationed at Las Palmas in the early 20s. The old Airfix / MPC is expectedly lacking in detail, and the fit of the bottom wing leaves much to be desired, but has otherwise so far been enjoyable. Blue Rider decals will at least make for a slightly more colorful finish. I expect it'll be a while before this one is done, being that I need a some paint and I've just lost my job. In the meantime, I can finish some small detail painting - the engine, cowling, wheels, and prop. In the meantime I have 2 P-40s, a Stearman, a BU131, and an RWD05 to see to the finish line. Thanks, Tweener

Air War Over The Putumayo Colombian and Peruvian Air Operations During to 1932-33 Conflict ISBN : 9781912390236 Helion & Company via Casemate UK Air War over where? you might ask, I know I certainly did. Putumayo is a southern district of Columbia bordering Ecuador and Peru. In 1932 following dissatisfaction with an earlier (1922) treaty between Columbia & Peru local civilians from Peru angry over heavy tariffs on sugar took overtook the city of Iquitos, the Peruvian military then sent 2 regiments of troops top the area in early September 1932. Following the turning back of two trade ships by the Peruvian Army the Colombians finally took notice with an outpouring of national patriotism. The issue for the Colombians was the almost total lack on infrastructure in the region. To aid Colombian activities an expat German WWI veteran and fledgling aviator Herbert Boy along with other German Aviators of Colombian - German air transport society organised arming their commercial aircraft for war becoming a defacto Colombian Air Force. (Boy would later become a Colombian citizen and Mayor of Bogota). Even though the city of Tarapaca was bombed the Peruvians did not actually have any troops there. The Peruvians also resorted to air power and bombed the Colombian Fleet (without any success), this did cause the breaking off of any remaining relations between the two countries. Events in Peru would help Columbia though as the Peruvian President was assassinated. His successor met with the Colombians and turned the disputed area over to the League Of Nations, and thus signed a peace treaty in the Brazilian Capital called the Rio de Janeiro Protocol. The incident though was a wake up call for Peru and it embarked on a rearming process which would help with its 1941 war with Ecuador. The book looks at the conflict and the use of air power in an area with no roads. As the main transport avenues were the rivers it is hardly surprising that float planes featured heavily (The War Memorial in Tarapaca even features one). The book has a large number of rare and previously unpublished photos . This volume is A4 soft back in format and 80 pages. There are black and white photographs throughout with maps, 5 pages of specially commissioned colour profiles, and also 3 pages of colour maps. Conclusion This book should provide readers with an understanding of this small almost unheard of conflict. I find these conflicts fascinating to read about and this is an excellent addition to the Latin America War series. Very Highly Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hello friends here are some sample pics from the newest decal set by Antarki Models covering the Mig 29 index 9.13 (S, SE and SMP) with options for aircraft flown by Algerian, Peruvian and Russian Air Forces. The decals are designed to be used with the Currently available Revell 1/32 kit plus XactoMan Fulcrum C conversion and will be available next week (we are finishing with instructions). Please follow our FB page where we will announce availabitlity and price. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.920683031312991.1073741853.134774536570515&type=3&uploaded=2 Reg4rds Amaru

Right gang, having built a number of the Revell 72nd scale Hawker Hunter kit this year I find myself starting off 2015 with the promise of more, this GB - not to mention the generosity of its creator Cliff - gives me the chance to model a Hunter F.52 used by Peru. Starting point will be the F.6 kit and a set of suitable roundels Cliff gave me. The F.52 was basically a Mk.4 so the usual backdating will need to be done again as it was on my Swedish example. Will try to get some photos taken later in what passes for daylight at this time of year.

Marshall of Cambridge updated several ex-RAF Canberra B(I).8's to B(I).68 configuration for Peru in the mid 1970's. These left the factory in a brown/tan disruptive scheme over grey undersurfaces. Example: http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1079569/ And in video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAHZ-mtcomo Decals for this scheme have been made available by Aztec and Model Alliance; Aztec cites FS595 numbers for the colors as 30117/33531/35622. The Model Alliance sheet is not readily available on this side of the Atlantic, so I don't know what they say. However, as a British rebuild of a British airframe for service in a South American air arm without much US equipment, I am skeptical that FS595 was used as the color standard. I am looking for citations on the actual colors used, and/or recommendations for model paints (preferably acrylic) to represent them. Thanks, - David