Sovietwarplanes

La-7 is an Eduard 1/72 kit, started last year, finished this March to enter Mosquitocon XX in New Jersey, where I got 3rd place in 1/72 single-engine category.
Lagg-3 is a Dakoplast kit which I had built many years ago but recently stripped off the paint and re-built. I-15bis is ICM kit, same story as Lagg-3, green camo on it is Akan AIIz.
As you can see my photography needs improvement. Hope you don't mind "pix heavy" content.
Cheers,
Mario
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/103c.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/103b.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/103a.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/028-1.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/027-1.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/026-1.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/025-1.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/035.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/034.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/033-1.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/032-1.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/031-1.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/030-1.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/029-1.jpg)

Very nice, Mario!  The colours look good (at least they look like what I imagine the two-colour grey scheme to be).  I would definitely like to see more photographs.  By the way, what colours did you use and how is the kit?

Regards,

Jason

Hi Jason,
I added 2 more kits to the original post. On La-7 I used Akan AMT-7/11/12 as "etalons" and mixed my own shades from Gunze Hobby paints. I made them a bit lighter I have to confess. Eduard La-7 is a great kit, builds smoothly and quickly. If only they had done La-5 family?
Btw did you see that Il-2 build (1/48 AM) on ARC posted recently? VERY nicely done.
Cheers,
Mario

Good models, Mario. Thank you for sharing. Are they oob or modified in some way?
Regards
Massimo

Thanks Massimo. All of them are mostly oob, epecially cockpits. Additions/modifications are represented by new pitot tubes, landing gear hydraulic lines, brass antenna posts etc.
Mario

Excellent models Mario,they look very good.If you have more pictures of them,it would be great if you share them with us.The I-15bis is ICM,isn?t it? Greetings.

Martin

Thanks Martin. I just added more pix. Yes, I-15bis is ICM kit.
Cheers,
Mario

Nice models, Mario!  You don't happen to have any Shturmoviks to show us, do you?  Especially one in a accurate three-colour scheme (a rare model indeed)?

Regards,

Jason

Thanks again Jason. Speaking about Shturmovik I actually do, AM kit build many years ago (no longer have it), wouldn't be happy with AMT-1 these days...and AMT-7 should have been more grayish. Wel...
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/EbayPlanes014.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/EbayPlanes013.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/EbayPlanes012.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/EbayPlanes011.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/maroalekit/EbayPlanes017.jpg)

Excellent work, and definitely some interesting and useful information in your text regarding colours and how you chose them. The weathering and detail on the Il-2 is very well done. Congratulations on your achievements at Mosquitocon - it's good to see some well-built and accurately-finished VVS GPW models on the table to "show the flag" to the rest of the modelbuilding world - maybe next year there'll be fewer '109's and more La-7's! ;)

John

You're welcome, and very nice Shturmovik, Mario!  It's nice to see "Za Leningrad" in something approaching the accurate three-colour scheme.  Oh, and Happy Victory Day everybody (May 9th)!  Za Pobeda - For Victory!

Regards,

Jason

Thanks for the reminder, Jason - here's something I picked up from Erik Pilawskii's site a couple of years ago - I hope he won't mind me posting it here:

(http://s1.postimage.org/28gesj9xg/may9.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/28gesj9xg/)

За победу!


John

I like these models, especially the La-7 ! The colours look fine.

Pascal

Great models. I plan to do the same dako LaGG with the same markings

(http://www.sovmusic.ru/jpg/posters/ussr0164.jpg)

Excellent work Mario!
I-15bis with silver undersides looks great.
Is the lower part of the engine cowling light gray AE-9?  what did you use for AE-9?

Cheers,
KL

Loocking the I-152's pic, something came to my mind.
I read in the hormat's book that AII paint was glossy. And it's true that some I-16 appears very glossy on the pics.
But I see that Akhan did a matt color.
What do you think of that ?

AIIz was glossy or matt ?
If it's the first answer, a satin semi glossy varnish could be find isn't it ?
Xan

Thanks Kosta. Whole undersides are painted in "AII al", including cowling. I was not sure about AE-9.
Cheers,
M

I don't know if you used Akan paints but I obtained "eggshell" finish. I think their lack of sheen has something to do with
the chemistry.
AII series paints were glossy, that's why orders came for new flat paints i.e. AMT series.
Mario

Hi Mario,
AE-9 light gray is more likely colour for metal undersides (lower part of the cowling, LG legs and spats, wing an vertical stabilizer fairings).  Silver oil paint for metal AE-8, appeared only at the end of 1938.  Photographic evidence seems to suggest either silver-gray combination (AII Aluminium + AE-9) or gray only (AII Gray + AE-9) undersides.  But, that is b/w photo interpretation...  :-X

Most important, you didn't paint undersides in AII Light Blue.

Cheers,
KL

I was thinking about AE-9/AII al combination but then got lazy and did it all in "silver". It's a very old model, "refurbished", and had been initially painted in "Pilawskii's style", Warpac green+Bright blue.
I-16 type 10 I'm working on will be "gray" undersides though!
Cheers,
Mario

Do you mean that you think that before 1941, all planes were AIIz and AII grey or silver and not AIIZ and AIIblue, even the I-16 ?
and paint the undersurfaces in AII blue would be a mistake ?

Xan

It's not that straight-forward. AII sv gol (lt.blue) was introduced in 1940, AII z (green) in 1937. So until 1941 you have overlapping periods of AIIz/silver or gray and AIIz/AII sv gol combination. AMT series paints were introduced in mid-1941 to replace all AII paints.
You should consult this table in research section
http://mig3.sovietwarplanes.com/colors/color-table.html (http://mig3.sovietwarplanes.com/colors/color-table.html)
Hope this help.
Mario

On the subject of I-16 colours, I found this while I was looking for information regarding when the cowling modification to retract skis was made, in the Scalemodels.ru pinned I-16 thread (which is 51 pages long!!!). Is this of any help?:

To answer this question, you can try to apply to the book by Maslov's "Fighter-16" and a monograph Vahlamova and M. Orlov, "Colors of Soviet aviation."
In Maslow read: "... newly fighter drove a paint shop, which is painted in the standard dark green above and gray-blue below. Next: Summer 1937. ... Aircraft with monocoque fuselages determined to paint all in matte silver. Indeed, such I-16 later met, but significant proliferation have not received. In early 1938. The factories were sent new instructions, whereby the upper surfaces of wings, fuselage and tail should paint a protective color (dark green), and the lower surface - the "silver-aluminum (dull) color." ... Since 25.05.1940g. all military aircraft were painted: the top in a protective, dark green, below a protective, light blue color. "
Orlov Vahlamov: "Up to about 1937. The main and almost the only color the top and side surfaces of military aircraft remained defensive, having the designation "3B". Around the ... 1937. ... In a "palette" of Soviet aviation appeared light gray paint AE-9 and the AP light gray, for the "finishing external surfaces of the ground planes. Specifications for all the colors were officially introduced on January 1, 1938. Moreover, in light gray and stained with upper and lower surfaces of the aircraft. However, the AE-9 ... was soon ousted from the outer surface aeroemalyu AE-8 silver. For staining wood and fabric skins used dope AP aluminum.
When the upper surfaces and light gray or aluminum color and lower surfaces were the same colors.
In early February 1937. Head of UMTS Alexandrov Red Army Air Force briginzhener signed Circular number ... 133580s for "question the choice of standard colors for the coloration of aircraft, engines and components.
- "Color metal and wooden planes made: a) the upper surface of the wings, tail and fuselage, with a faceted shape - in khaki on the model number 1, and b) the lower surface of the wing feathers, side and bottom surfaces faceted fuselage, the whole surface of the fuselage monocoque type - painted in silver-aluminum (dull) color ... "
Circular acted briefly in December 1937. Released a new ... Nedorabotannost first document is obviously incomplete and led to its application in practice, or are likely to save the photos I-16 fighters from the fuselage, painted entirely in silver, and the top surface of the wings and tail khaki. But the lower surface really began to be painted silver.
23 May 1940. KO of the USSR passed a resolution "220ss, the main contents of which - from May 25 to enter the painting of aircraft from the top green, bottom blue."
Thus suggests that depending on the time of manufacture paint I-16 could be the following:
Since 1934. at about mid-1937. - Green top, blue bottom
From mid 1937 to early 1938 - all gray or gray-silver
Since 1938. to May 1940. - Green top, silver bottom
From May 1940 - green top, blue bottom.

I bolded the conclusions...

John

woaoh! impressive!

I'm riding this book:

(http://shopping.hobidas.com/image-resources/gunjisenshodo/goods_img/lela_presse_batailles_aeriennes_50_l.jpg)

so it means that the I-16 and I-152 in the conflit of nomohan against the japenese between may and september of 1939 where paint with silver bottom and AIIZ in upper surface ?
I never see an I-16 model paint in silver undersurfaces!!!

Xan

Hi Xan,  :)

I-16 Type 10 Manual, published in 1939, specifies AII Gray for lower surfaces.

More about the colours of that period:
1937 to May 1940 colours at:  http://mig3.sovietwarplanes.com/colors/1937-40/1937-1940.html
May 1940 to June 1941 colours at: http://mig3.sovietwarplanes.com/colors/1940-1941/1940-41.html

discussion about the two pages at:  http://sovietwarplanes.com/board/index.php?topic=938.0

AII Blue appeared in mid-1940.  End of the story!!!   :D

The fact that blue wasn't in use between 1937 and 1940 is known for long time - Vahlamov and Orlov published this in 1996!  All models, profiles and drawings showing planes of the Nomonhan incident or Winter War with blue undersides are wrong...
 
Cheers,
KL 

Hi all,
It could have been the pre-1937 grey-blue.
Besides there are some photos of I-16 with some metallic reflex under the rear fuselage (wood and fabric), but none photo that I've seen shows silver under the nose, so grey on metal parts is more likely.
I have to create links on the site on those pages, even if they are still provisional. It looks that they are needed.
Regards
Massimo

OK, I have to correct myslf:  Models, profiles and drawings showing planes of the Nomonhan incident or Winter War with blue undersides are wrong, if those planes were manufactured after mid-1937.   ;D.


Hmm... Probably true, but priority should go towards the authors who wrote about that 15 years ago and towards the primary sources (1939 I-16 Type 10 Manual) and not to photo interpretation.  Untill recently every camouflaged I-16 Type 10 was interpreted as Green-Light Blue.    Check for this the new Pilawskii's I-16 book...

Cheers,
KL
   

Hi all,
now the already done pages on painting the Soviet planes up to 1943 are on line. The latest update was the building of a template for Pe-8


About I-16, I've seen a movie today showing the undersurface of a UTI I-16 in flight, and I feel confirmed that colors on metal and wood/fabric parts are different, the last one being aluminium. I'll use a pair of screenshots for the page.
Regards
Massimo

Hi,
I've uploaded these photos of UTI in the 1937/1940 page.
Regards
Massimo