Sovietwarplanes

Hi Massimo and forumists,
My model of the ICM 1/48 Mig-3 has reached to this point..

(https://imageshack.com/i/pmv7SoMQj) (https://imageshack.com/i/po2WptzKj)

and is almost ready for painting..

I had chosen this Massimo's profile

(https://imageshack.com/i/plw9tvybp)

but the fact that I had already completed the radio installation and cemented it into the cockpit made me change my mind and paint a much more demanding camo..

(https://imageshack.com/i/pow1ARpcj)

If I go for this scheme it's AMT-4 over white, am I right? And no black outline in the red stars,..yes?

Cheers,
Panagiotis.

Hi Panagiotis.
this profile is a speculative interpretation from this photo:
(http://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/mig3/kharkov/khar-spotsf.jpg)
As you see, the image is very partial and the profile very speculative.
You've worked a lot on your model, so I think that it deserves to be built on the base of some better documented plane.
MiG-3s of 148 IAP are particularly interesting because they seem to show black and green repaintings over a white base.
Having seen further photos, I think that their distinctive of regiment was the slogan'za stalina' on a side and 'za rodinu' on the other one. Unfortunately I haven't photos of the same plane from both sides to be sure.
I suggest to look for another profile.
By the way, I see that you have filled the flaps of your model. Why?
I see that the air outlet tunnel of the water cooler is interrupted. I think that it should be continuous to let the airflow pass undisturbed and to hide the internal fuel tank.
Besides I suggest to check the air intake just behind the spinner: on the photo, it looks much narrower than on the model.
Regards
Massimo

Oooops, you caught me there Massimo! :-[

Thanks a lot for the tips..And I foolishly thought that ICM had made a mistake with the air outlet.. :)
I'll fix the mistakes..And I'll let you know about the profile. Any suggestion more than welcome.
Regards,
Panagiotis.

Hi Panagiotis,
something like this?

(http://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/mig3/prwhite40.jpg)

Regards
Massimo

Hi,
two photos of an interesting one. No profiles till now.


(http://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/mig3/60snow-f3.jpg)

(http://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/mig3/60snow-f2.jpg)

If you are still interested in the one if 148 IAP, now I am sure that has slogans in red and white on both sides, probably without nimbers. Now I think that many MiG-3s seeming white on the undersurface should be AII blue, that could be undistinguishable from snow due to the reflection.

The page on MiG-3s need a big update.

Regards
Massimo

Hi Massimo,
Thanks a lot for your interest once again. :)
Well, I'd prefer the 'white 54' for starters and I wish ''IL-2 Shturmovikers'' were right in their speculations

(https://imageshack.com/i/plwR5Zphj) (https://imageshack.com/i/pl7m2xMjj)

that there was radio on the plane but unfortunately they aren't..

Same goes with this skin

(https://imageshack.com/i/po35gORLj)

which they show with a radio installation.

Given the fact that I've already painted a Su-2 with an almost identical camo as the wintry 'white 40' I won't go with that option. I won't also go with the 'za rodinu' and 'za stalina' options since I'll have to use a lot of decals on my model which puts me off.

I like the nose of the tiny Mig :) (=by nose I mean all the part of the fighter in front of the cockpit) and that's the reason I started building it. I think that after all the very nose shows better being black,so if you agree with it

(https://imageshack.com/i/plJ1DIiaj) (https://imageshack.com/i/pmdv5Z5Kj)

these two options look a good choice in my eyes. The starter mechanism in the one of them could be scratched.
And one more thing. In the same forum I noticed that photo

(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/800x600q90/924/7D4AK0.jpg)

which shows worn fuselage with wood showing inside.Could this happen with the Mig-3s? What do you think of it?

Cheers,
Panagiotis.

Hi Panagiotis,
for what I know, there was a strong decoloration on the wings and fillet where the pilot walked and some on the other side, but that is all. I would avoid the discoloration as the drawing of the lagg, I've never seen photos of so chipped MiGs, even the wreck in Finland is less chipped.
Plane 40 and the similar 18 appeared in a movie of 1943, you can find images on Scalemodels.ru.
Black noses are interesting. A thing that is not always clear is if the black extends on the lower surface too.
Regards
Massimo

Never. NEVER.! Do not wipe down to the tree. Especially on LaGG and Lа. They can not be there by definition, and there is not a single confirmation of this. (Yes, and technologically it is not possible) They are only in the paintings of artists who are the main beauty, not historicity.

That sounds quite logical and I'll have to agree. After giving a lot of thought and search on the profile I've decided to stick to the original plan of the "white 54" Nikonov's bird. My Proxxon drilling tool will remove the radio devices from the cockpit and I will scratch the starter mechanism on the hub.  Besides that I've already got the Montex masks for that very option. Thank you for the helpful information. I'll post the photos of the finished model hopefully by Easter.
Cheers,
Panagiotis.

You made a great model, Panagiotis!
Please, think twice before removing that beautiful radio.
I think that a pleasant aircraft as the MiG-3 looks better with a single-tone livery. I made a white MiG and, if I make another one, I will probably choose an early green-blue scheme, with the different green tones on the wooden and metal parts.
If yours is a late type, I would suggest this:
http://www.massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/mig3/white12.html

Thank you Otto but I've already removed the radio equipment. I'll go with the white 54 scheme. :)
Cheers.
Panagiotis..

Hi again,
With the radio missing I suppose the area behind the pilot's seat looked like this?

(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/800x600q90/921/EM98Bv.jpg)

Cheers,
Panagiotis.

Hi,
I think that the yellow tube shouldn't be on the original miG-3. The tank vent outlet should be a small hole on the right side, under the frame.
Regards
Massimo

Thanks Massimo. Time to get on with the painting 
Cheers,
Panagiotis.

Hi Massimo,
I ve sprayed the colors after I had removed the radios and scratched the starter mechanism on the hub. The undersurface stars are a liitle bigger I think but that was what Montex masks offered. Please comment on whatever you see inappropriate and if possible I'll fix it. BTW the undersurface color is from AKAN while the top is Gunze. What do you think of my AMT-1 shade?
Cheers,
Panagiotis.

(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/1623/TA3cKX.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/pny0PXbij)

(https://imageshack.com/i/pozURbz2j) (https://imageshack.com/i/poWSM68Zj)

Your model is wonderful! But I just noticed that you painted the two windscreen front "frames" light brown. According to what I found in Massimo's MiG-3 pages, they are not frames but joints of the plastic windscreen made of three glued pieces. On my model I "reproduced" them leaving them unpainted.

http://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/mig3/cockpi.html
According to Massimo, they are inner frames, but looking at pictures showing the windscreen from inside and also damaged aircraft where the broken windscreen shows no frames, I still think they are clear glued joints.

No internal frames were there. This is the overlay of the three parts of the front visor.

Thanks a lot guys, I'll fix it!

...Just a confirmation of what you said above.. ;)

(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1024x768q90/924/TVT6cY.jpg)

Cheers,
Panagiotis.

Hi,
that page needs to be updated. They are glued joints between plastic parts.
I would check the spinner against good photos.  The curvature should not be continuous, the front half should be more conical.
Regards
Massimo

You have done a splendid job Panagiotis.