pvanroy
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Martinnfb reacted to a post in a topic: Yokosuka Ohka Model 11 - MikroMir 1/32
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Seems release may be imminent: Sale link on Aviation Megastore - with complete sprue shots
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LSP_Ray reacted to a post in a topic: KEPmodels - current and upcoming kits - MiG-9, Yak-6, Yak-15, I-185, BI-1 and Shche-2
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firefly7 reacted to a post in a topic: KEPmodels - current and upcoming kits - MiG-9, Yak-6, Yak-15, I-185, BI-1 and Shche-2
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D.B. Andrus reacted to a post in a topic: KEPmodels - current and upcoming kits - MiG-9, Yak-6, Yak-15, I-185, BI-1 and Shche-2
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pvanroy reacted to a post in a topic: Fw 190D Camouflage and Markings Vol. III
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Fw 190D Camouflage and Markings Vol. III
pvanroy replied to D.B. Andrus's topic in Aviation Discussion & Research
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Totally agree regarding production numbers - the LaGG-3 and La-5 certainly were much more important in that respect. The point I was just trying to make is that non-combat types like utility aircraft, transports and trainers do play a crucial role in any military, and they are often overlooked because they are not as charismatic as combat types. So, I'm just happy to see them getting some love too. Again agree that the entire Yak family should be much more widely covered - it is, in fact, the most widely built fighter aircraft family, outstripping the Bf 109. And it also includes the ubiquitous Yak-11 trainer, and the Yak-15 and -17 jets - making it one of only two piston-engined fighter families that was (relatively) successfully developed into a jet fighter. So, I absolutely agree the entire family merits to be treated much more generously than hitherto has been the case! As regards common subjects vs obscurities: it depends on the manufacturing niche. KEPmodels is a small business of enthusiasts that basically prints kits on demand. If they are going to spend time designing a common subject, they run the risk that for all their efforts, a mainstream injection manufacturer may announce the same aircraft in mass production for half the price. Furthermore, they have limited production capacity. So, for them it likely makes sense to focus on niche subjects that are very unlikely to be ever mass-produced by a mainstream brand. On the other hand, a mainstream manufacturer could definitely look at an LaGG-3 as a possibility, and as you point out, it's fairly well covered in smaller scales. However, the La-5 is much more widely known, and likely has considerably greater commercial potential. Add to that the fact that LaGG-3 production is a bit of a nightmare with many very different series, add further differences between various production plants on top of that, and you get an airframe that requires lots of research to get right. So, from the perspective of a mass-produced mainstream kit, any of the Yaks not yet covered, or an La-5 or -7 are lower hanging fruit. Therefore, I can see any of these being produced in 1/32 before an LaGG-3. And if we ever see an LaGG-3 in styrene, I'd still rather expect it to come from Special Hobby or the like - in fact, an LaGG-3 seems something totally in their wheelhouse.
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Out2gtcha reacted to a post in a topic: KEPmodels - current and upcoming kits - MiG-9, Yak-6, Yak-15, I-185, BI-1 and Shche-2
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Apologies for being unclear - the LaGG-3 is being worked on for a future release by KEPmodels. Not sure which series they're considering though - although it would make sense to do more than one. For anyone interested, here's an Excel file with all KEPmodels releases current and planned in all scales: KEPmodels kit list I do think the Yak-6 and Shche-2 are important types - the former having a production run of close to 400 aircraft, and the latter having over 500 produced. They were essential utility types, and saw widespread service as liaison, light transport, casevac, supplying partisans... Maybe not very glamorous, but important nevertheless. The Shche-2 is also quite interesting from a technical point of view, as it was intended to be as cheap and simple to produce as possible - that way, it ended up using undercarriage parts from the La-5 and Il-2, props from the Po-2, and , if I remember correctly, the tailplane of the Pe-2. And while I agree that the LaGG-3 is a very important aircraft, and will be a welcome addition, I can also somewhat understand that no-one has produced one so far in 1/32: it's not very famous outside of the former Soviet Union, limiting sales prospects, and, let's face it, it was a pretty mediocre design (even if it laid the basis for the excellent La-5 and La-7). I agree it would be nice to have a Yak-1, -7, and early -9 variants. On the other hand, a Korean War Yak-9P would also have my attention! And of course the La-5...
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Actually, it seems an LaGG-3 and two I-180s are planned for the future, although considering their release schedule, I'd not expect to see any of those this year. Also, while the I-185 and BI-1 may be considered left field, the MiG-9 and Yak-15 are historically important as the first Soviet jets, and 'inglorious' utility aircraft like the Yak-6 and Shche-2 are indispensable to any air force. So, I don't think those are weird choices.
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The Yak-6 looks really nice, but one thing that worries me a bit from looking at the images is the strange way that the fabric-covered structure of the wing and tailplane are depicted - it appears it's rendered as recessed panels?... Anyway, I don't have the kit yet, so I'll reserve judgment for now. I can definitely vouch for the MiG-9, quality and detail are incredible, and it's obvious a huge amount of research went into getting it right.
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Just want to draw attention to the rather impressive 3D-printed kits KEPmodels is bringing to market. They currently offer a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-9, Yakovlev Yak-6 utility plane and Yakovlev Yak-6NBB light night bomber in 1/32 scale: KEPmodels current aircraft models I have the MiG-9, with the Yak-6NBB on order. While the MiG-9 suffered some postal rage (all repairable), the quality and detail of that kit are VERY impressive to say the least. Next to be released in 1/32, probably by the end of this month or sometime March, is a Yakovlev Yak-15. After that, planned releases include the Bereznyak-Isayev BI-1 rocket-powered interceptor, Polikarpov I-185 (both M-82 and M-71 engine variants), and the Shcherbakov Shche-2 utility plane. Apart from the full aircraft models, KEPmodels also offer an entire range of both Soviet/Russian and Western ordnance, several large-scale engines, and other stuff: KEPmodels complete current catalogue
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MikroMir has announced the release of a Yokosuka Ohka Model 11 in 1/32 - first test sprues here: MikroMir 1/32 Ohka Model 11 Note that the sprue seems to have a skid included, which hints at an Ohka K-1 in the future.
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I'm in a bit of a quandry about something....
pvanroy replied to Juggernut's topic in General Discussion
I totally agree - as any reasonable person would. Someone arguing the opposite, using arguments that are demonstrably logically fallacious, is unreasonable. -
I'm in a bit of a quandry about something....
pvanroy replied to Juggernut's topic in General Discussion
Trying to reason with someone who's unreasonable is an exercise in futility. -
In principle, yes, adherence to the last IV. Luftflotte guideline on tactical markings includes the suppression of the rear fuselage band and V under the left wing. However, the order did provide for permissible delays in implementing the order in view of weather (and, no doubt, battlefield realities). So, surely, there were aircraft with a mix of markings. RLM 77 is a very enigmatic color. It's inclusion in the 7X range clearly indicates it was intended as a camouflage color. However, the only times it is mentioned in formal documents is as a color for night fighter codes, and a topside camouflage for high-altitude reconnaissance planes. However, it was quite widely used on upper surfaces of day fighters, as both shown by wartime color photographs, and wreck sites. A very interesting discussion of the topic can be found here: Luftwaffe Camouflage Commentary 1 – RLM 77 - Air War Publications And some pilots had the outer wing guns on the Fw 190 A aircraft removed to improve roll rate. So yes, it's not that unusual to find Fw 190 As with only the inner guns installed (in fact very common with the A-5 in particular, as the outer MG FF/M cannons by that point were of little practical use, and their ballistics were quite different from both the inner MG 151s and cowl MG 17s).
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Wing bulges First, the outer wing bulges are NOT associated with the installation of MG 151/20 cannons: these guns fit well within the contour of the wing. The bulges are only required when the standard 20 mm MG 151/20 guns are replaced with the heavier 30 mm MK 108 cannon (i.e., on the R2, R8 and R12 Sturm modifications). German aircraft producers and their subcontractors were allowed to modify parts to accommodate local production techniques and practices, and to make improvements, on condition that the modified parts 1) met the original minimum standards; and 2) they were directly interchangeable with similar parts from other manufacturers. Standardizing on the wing with MK 108 bulges regardless of whether these guns were installed made sense for concerns producing the MK 108-armed versions, and posed no issues with regard to performance: the bulges are in a low-pressure zone on top of the wings, so practically, they impose no drag penalty. Production of MK 108-armed FW 190s was undertaken by Fieseler Kassel, Ago Oschersleben and Norddeutsche Dornier Werke (NDW) Wismar. The two producers of the F-8 and F-9 on the other hand were Arado Warnemünde (2400+ F-8 between February 1944 and March 1945, 310 F-9 between December 1944 and April 1945) and NDW Wismar (1300+ F-8 between March 1944 and December 1944, 110 F-9 between March - April 1945). While Arado Warnemünde did not produce any MK 108-armed versions, NDW Wismar also produced the A-8/R8 (in addition to the regular A-8 and F-8). Production of the A-8/R8 at NDW took place between March 1944 and January 1945, and hence overlapped completely with the production of the F-8 at this plant (March 1944 - December 1944). So, for NDW, it made total sense to standardize on the wing with the cannon bulge, and it seems likely that most if not all F-8 (and regular A-8) built by NDW had the cannon bulge on the outer wing, even if it did not have any practical function on this variant. Two things here need to be taken into consideration. Production plants often also served as sub-contractors for other plants, or sold excess production to other producers. I don't know if it was the case, but it is possible that NDW could have provided wings to other manufacturers building the Fw 190 A and F - in this respect, it is important to note that NDW Wismar and Arado Warnemünde were particularly closely linked, NDW having originally started as a subcontractor of Arado. So, NDW wings with cannon bulges may have ended up that way on aircraft from other production plants. Another thing to consider is that the Germans from the very beginning were very adept at recycling and rebuilding aircraft. This way, it is also possible that NDW wings with cannon bulges ended up mated to a fuselage produced by another manufacturer. NDW seems to have produced enough wings to meet its own production needs, so it is unlikely that any NDW-produced aircraft came off the production line with wings from another manufacturer; notwithstanding, there's one documented example of an NDW-produced aircraft with Arado wings, but this may have been the result of a re-build after having sustained damage. So, bottom line: if you're doing an F-8, try to find out the W.Nr. If it's an NDW-built aircraft, you can be pretty sure if it will have the outer cannon bulges. However, whenever you can, it's always just best to check with photographs. In your case, I do think you can be pretty confident that Black 6 / White 70 had the outer bulges. Upper wing color In fact, 76 is absolutely possible. The use of 76 and 77 on the upper wings of Fw 190 aircraft is quite well documented (see e.g. also Fw 190 D aircraft built by Mimetall and Roland), and there are quite a few photos of NDW-built A and F aircraft that show a very light color on the wings, which most likely is 76, or possibly the slightly darker 77. Rudder color If the aircraft's tactical markings are painted according to the final regulations for IV. Luftflotte markings issued on 7 March 1945, it should have a yellow rudder. This final order stipulated that: - All aircraft used in daylight combat were to have a 50 cm wide yellow band around the cowling, and a yellow rudder - Older ID markings (the yellow V on the underside of the left wing, and the yellow band around the rear fuselage) were to be removed. Hope this helps.