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Shestakow I-16 ( White 3)


Eduardo Soler

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Hello
I have 2 hardcover books on the type with me here in China. (one in French & one in English) and neither shows a single photo of the aircraft based on my 15min inspection. Profile similar to the one assigned to Shestakov in Eduard's kit (Red tail with White 3 on it) is available in French book but it does NOT mention Shestakov at all but mentions Odessa where Shestakov led a fighter regiment.  Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces about Polikarpov feither's  doesn't help either. 
https://modelingmadness.com/review/allies/ussr/leei16.htm
SAMI June 2019 features a build article about the same kit as seen above but by other modeler. IIRC no mention of the photographic reference was given there either. 
https://trade.warcradle.com/polikarpov-i-16-ace-lev-sokol-shestakov-wgbb-772211018.html
Source of some more profiles:
http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/b/317/1/7

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Thank you sir, Your Photography has been very useful for me. He had already painted the tail red to put the wrong 3 white ... of Eduard. Therefore I am going to eliminate this possibility and look for another decoration. I will remove the paint and start again. The reference of a photo is always better than a profile. On the other hand I do not see the hatch in the right fuselage for the radio ... nor the spinner (sure it is a type 24?)

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I am very sorry that I am not really deep into this since I am traveling in few hours for Chinese New Year holidays so very little "free time"
My main question before you start stripping paint & all - is to ask someone who is real expert on Shestakov to confirm that the photo really shows HIS aircraft! 
Please note that the tail & the start are obviously different shade of gray. So is that tail red or green? If it is green: is the profile wrong? or is the photo of some similar aircraft but not that of Shestakov?!

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Here are photos of the aircraft which seems not to be Shestakov's, if it's of any interest:

 

I-16-125.jpg

 

I-16-125b.jpg

 

I have a few more if anyone wants to see them, but these two are the best ones. This aircraft was represented on an unnumbered 1/72 decal sheet by Colibri a few years ago. The text on the instructions describes the aircraft as a type 24 of 122 IAP, destroyed in June (?) 1941.

 

Here's another I-16 which has crash damage, and a different style of the numeral 3 - perhaps this one is Shestakov's?

 

I-16-126.jpg

 

John

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The "non-Shestakov's" machine is the same I've posted above and shows aircraft in even better detail. Thanks John. Proves that there is no red tail.

2nd machine (crash-landed) shows a machine that has two tone upper camouflage, again with the different numerals than Shestakov's and obviously with the different camo than the one shown in multiple profiles showing it with the red tail. 

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When in doubt, I removed the paint from the plane. I do not just trust the profiles, which are sometimes fanciful interpretations (I have made profiles for various publications and it is necessary to have one or several photos of the plane in front to make a reliable profile, but that does not guarantee its reliability 100%) The one with the red tail is a typical error with the I-16 since the green ones applied on metal, cloth or wood gave in the photos different shades of gray ... and different brightness. There are beautiful profiles of I-16 during the Civil War with a red tail that are doubtful interpretations. In any case, since I can't find a reliable picture of I-16 "3 white" from Shestakow. I'll look for another plane

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There's also the issue of the use of two different paints on metal (A-19f) versus wood or fabric (AIIz), with AIIz being the darker of the two. This is often quite noticeable on the MiG-3, but can also be seen on some I-16's. Some profile artists occasionally interpret the darker colour visible in black-and-white photos on, for example, wings or a rudder, as being red when in fact it's AIIz.

 

http://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/colors/color-table.html

http://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/index.html

 

John

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I would love to hear the story of that machine (Shestakov's White 3) anyway! Maybe someone who is more in VVS subjects (I care only about MIG-3s & I-16s and do not buy books dealing with units & similar...) could know what is the source of the info (if there is no photo existing) for all those profiles. People do not make profiles so often without some inspiration either in form of photos or texts...

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There are many profiles that are inventions of the author, or free interpretations of photos. or new profiles inspired by old profiles Several years ago, a friend and I made a profile book and at the end of it we included a list of the photographs that had served of inspiration for each profile and where to find those photos so that the reader could draw their own conclusions. I have been trying to find photos of the Hawker Hurricane Mkii JX-E Night Reaper by Karel Kuttlewasher for years and I haven't found any pic .Profiles and decals, yes, but not a single photo that justifies them.

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True. Fiction from Fiction... profile to profile... I know about it all. But at the same time - usually there is a story of what initializes the first profiles. When it comes to Luftwaffe (especially Fw 190s) I can use my small knowledge on the subjects to trace things backwards & then eventually realize who & why started a trend of a sort... but with VVS - I am not an expert, but I would still like to know who was the first to portray White 3 with red tail & why... :)

 

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