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Finnish Air Force Mig-21 Bis colours


typhoon1

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The greens were produced by Xtracolour, I may even have a set, not that this is a lot of use to you given current restrictions on posting such things.  Plus I'd have to find them.   I suspect that there are no good matches in the Humbrol range, but for the lighter colour you could start with 155 or 159.

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Craig,

 

According to the text and photos in the MMP reference work Finnish Jet Colors, by Kyosti Partonen, the Mig-21bis aircraft bought by Finland were delivered in two batches- early and late. Each batch had slightly different colors. The first two planes, serial MB-111 and -114 were painted Soviet Olive Green/FS24151; Soviet Dark Brown/FS27056; and Soviet Light Grey/FS27200. The undersurface color turned up at the nose and the rear fuselage had a larger natural metal area than subsequent deliveries. The next batch of deliveries, 1985 and 1986, were painted differently, with the dark brown being almost black in appearance, and the undersurface demarcation line was higher, starting directly from the leading and trailing edges of the wings. The colors were Soviet Olive Green/FS24127; Soviet Dark Brown/FS20108; and Soviet Light Grey/FS26373. In 1988 the color scheme changed again, with domestic colors now being used -the undersurfaces being painted IVN1 light grey/FS36440; the uppersurfaces being painted IVN2 dark brown/FS30040, and IVN3 dark green/FS34102.

 

Pretty confusing, no? I guess you might want to use a photo of the Mig-21bis you want to model and then try to determine the time frame of the photo. I'm not an authority of Finnish aircraft camouflage and markings, but I am a big fan of  modeling aircraft used by the Finns. You might also seek help from one of the Antti's that are regular posters regarding all things Finnish, as I would hate to give you incorrect information, but this should give you a good starting point. Waiting anxiously for Eduard to get around to their 1/72  Mig-21bis and Mig-21UM kits  so I can do each one in Finnish colors and markings!

Mike

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Hello all,

 

I made colour comparisons using NCS colour chart. These are the original Soviet paint shades:

 

Light green: NCS S5040-G60Y, there isn't an exact FS match, closest being 34258. Humbrol 80 is way too dark and too green; 150 is too brownish. But a a mix of these two might work.

Brown: NCS S8505-Y80R, there isn't even a close FS match. The colour is almost black and there is no match in Humbrol range (Hu 10 and 98 are far too light). Mix black and red to get a suitable shade.

Light gray: NCS S2005-B50G. Closest FS is 36473; it is however too greenish. Add white to current Hu 127 and you get pretty close.

Green (antenna panels): NCS S5040-G20Y; closest FS 14090 is slightly too light. Humbrol 76 is too dull but with some sand colour added might do the trick.

Wheel hubs (green): NCS S4550-G20Y; closest FS is again 14090.

Cockpit turquoise: NCS S3060-B70G, S2555-B80G and S4050-B70G, Humbrol 88 is a good starting point. The colour should be lighter and slightly more blueish.

Gray (landing gear bays): NCS S3502-B, FS 36375 is a good match. Add white to Dark Sea Gray. Colour is lighter than MSG.

 

Then there were camouflage paints made here in Finland (IV Suojaväri, Air Force Camouflage Colour) which were duller and gave a matt finish. I don't have colour codes for these. Humbrol 86 looks like the green and Hu 98 + Hu 33 would probably look something like the brown.

 

Hope these help.

 

Cheers,

Antti

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On 10/18/2019 at 2:05 AM, 72modeler said:

The next batch of deliveries, 1985 and 1986, were painted differently, with the dark brown being almost black in appearance, and the undersurface demarcation line was higher, starting directly from the leading and trailing edges of the wings. The colors were Soviet Olive Green/FS24127; Soviet Dark Brown/FS20108; and Soviet Light Grey/FS26373.

Hi all,

 

I just looked the book "Finnish Jet Colours". In fact these colours are for the 1980 deliveries which were the major batch of 18 MiGs. For 1985 darkest colour is given as dark brown, likely almost black, FS 27030. Other colours were given as the same.

 

1985 uppersurface colour was similar than in 1978 and 1980 delivered planes. 1986 had the high line.

On 10/19/2019 at 10:24 PM, Antti_K said:

I made colour comparisons using NCS colour chart. These are the original Soviet paint shades:

 

Light green: NCS S5040-G60Y, there isn't an exact FS match, closest being 34258. Humbrol 80 is way too dark and too green; 150 is too brownish. But a a mix of these two might work.

Brown: NCS S8505-Y80R, there isn't even a close FS match. The colour is almost black and there is no match in Humbrol range (Hu 10 and 98 are far too light). Mix black and red to get a suitable shade.

Light gray: NCS S2005-B50G. Closest FS is 36473; it is however too greenish. Add white to current Hu 127 and you get pretty close.<clip>

Hi Antti,

 

Which year was this airframe (MG-???) delivered and when did you do the comparison?

 

Cheers,

 

AaCee

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Hi AaCee,

 

I did the comparison last year (on three different occasions). The aircraft in question was MG-114 (prototype MGT). At that point she carried Finnish camouflage paints (Tikkurila IV -series) on upper surfaces and on some areas on the under surface. For the Soviet camouflage colours I used the three under wing tanks and wing panels. At the moment I can't recall the original delivery time but that can be checked easily.

 

Cheers,

Antti

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Good morning AaCee and all,

 

yes MG-114 was an instructional airframe here at Pori. However Finnish Air Force wanted her back last year. We still have some original manuals here, a drop tank and some bits and pieces. And eagerly awaiting for the "promised" BAe Hawk to arrive.

 

At least in July 1987 MG-114 was at Halli AB already converted up to MGT -standard for trials work. I don't have any references at hand so I can't say about the original delivery time.

 

Cheers,

Antti

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Hi Antti,

 

Thanks. Are those drop tanks tied with the 1978 delivered MG-114 or could they be from some other batch? The first one, MG-111, delivered at the same time, was in original very faded Soviet colours until it was scrapped some years ago. I think that MG-127 at Lappeenranta is the only surviving one in delivery scheme. Also badly burnt by the elemnets.

 

Cheers,

 

AaCee

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Good morning AaCee and all,

 

I'm not aware about their origins. Three drop tanks came directly from TiedLLv along with the MiG. These tanks are in good condition as they haven't been stored outside. If you look at "old" colour photos of Finnish MiGs the lighter colour actually looks "grass green" (for example some early photos of MB-111) and on more recent photos the colour has changed toward tan or sand colour. The green I found on these drop tanks is "pure" bright green. The brown colour is a nice subject to a modeller as the colour itself is almost black. However it is applied on rather uneven layers and with wide over spray. This means that some areas look very dark and gloss and other look almost dark red and matt. This paint wasn't very resistant to boot marks so the appearance became scruffy rather quickly.

 

Cheers,

Antti

 

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On 10/19/2019 at 8:24 PM, Antti_K said:

Hello all,

 

I made colour comparisons using NCS colour chart. These are the original Soviet paint shades:

 

Light green: NCS S5040-G60Y, there isn't an exact FS match, closest being 34258. Humbrol 80 is way too dark and too green; 150 is too brownish. But a a mix of these two might work.

Brown: NCS S8505-Y80R, there isn't even a close FS match. The colour is almost black and there is no match in Humbrol range (Hu 10 and 98 are far too light). Mix black and red to get a suitable shade.

Light gray: NCS S2005-B50G. Closest FS is 36473; it is however too greenish. Add white to current Hu 127 and you get pretty close.

Green (antenna panels): NCS S5040-G20Y; closest FS 14090 is slightly too light. Humbrol 76 is too dull but with some sand colour added might do the trick.

Wheel hubs (green): NCS S4550-G20Y; closest FS is again 14090.

Cockpit turquoise: NCS S3060-B70G, S2555-B80G and S4050-B70G, Humbrol 88 is a good starting point. The colour should be lighter and slightly more blueish.

Gray (landing gear bays): NCS S3502-B, FS 36375 is a good match. Add white to Dark Sea Gray. Colour is lighter than MSG.

 

Then there were camouflage paints made here in Finland (IV Suojaväri, Air Force Camouflage Colour) which were duller and gave a matt finish. I don't have colour codes for these. Humbrol 86 looks like the green and Hu 98 + Hu 33 would probably look something like the brown.

 

Hope these help.

 

Cheers,

Antti

I dont know if it would help but I've recently been successful in finding matches within the Colourcoats range.

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On 10/24/2019 at 9:32 AM, Antti_K said:

Good morning AaCee and all,

 

I'm not aware about their origins. Three drop tanks came directly from TiedLLv along with the MiG. These tanks are in good condition as they haven't been stored outside. If you look at "old" colour photos of Finnish MiGs the lighter colour actually looks "grass green" (for example some early photos of MB-111) and on more recent photos the colour has changed toward tan or sand colour. The green I found on these drop tanks is "pure" bright green. The brown colour is a nice subject to a modeller as the colour itself is almost black. However it is applied on rather uneven layers and with wide over spray. This means that some areas look very dark and gloss and other look almost dark red and matt. This paint wasn't very resistant to boot marks so the appearance became scruffy rather quickly.

 

Cheers,

Antti

 

Hi Antti and all,

 

When they were new green colour was called as "peasoup green". The dark brown/red-brown/... has always been a mysterious hue. Very different between delivery blocks from dark chocolade brown to almost black.

 

Nice to know that there are still good samples of the original Soviet colours!

 

Cheers,

 

AaCee

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