2x 1:72 MiG-15: Bolivian Fagot @p.2 & Polish Navy Midget @p.3

[Dizzyfugu]

Sorry, no progress with the MiGs - after my father came home last week I took myself out of the picture with another allergic shock, combined with diarrhea (somewhat ...exciting, but nothing I can recommend), and today is the first day I am more or less back on my feet again. Hmpf. 

[Charlie_c67]

Yikes! Get well soon. Hope it wasn't your father you had the allergic shock to.

[Dizzyfugu]

Yikes! Get well soon. Hope it wasn't your father you had the allergic shock to.

No, he's quite fine, but mentally a bit unstable since he came home last week.

[NARSES2]

Best of luck Dizzy 

[Dizzyfugu]

Best of luck Dizzy 

Thank you!

[Captain Canada]

Sorry for your father's health woes. Doesn't seem to slow your uncredible build pace tho ! Looking good!

[Dizzyfugu]

Sorry, still no progress here - the MiGs are done, but I cannot collect enough mojo to tackle photo sessions and editing. Crossing the finish line keeps pending... 

[zenrat]

No worries Dizz.  We can wait.

[NARSES2]

No worries Dizz.  We can wait.

Indeed we can.

Take care 

[Old Wombat]

 

Look after your Dad ... And yourself! 

[Dizzyfugu]

You won't believe it: I was able to do the first photo session, for SPINNERS' Bolivian Fagot in hardware form. 

[PR19_Kit]

Good job Thomas. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you, Kitt. One step after another - good thing is that I have just started a new build, more complex than the MiGs, and it feels good to have this mental distraction and "create" something. Has always been a great help to me in difficult times.

[Dizzyfugu]

First signs of life... 

1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit/A.I.-generated artwork) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Dizzyfugu]

...and here we go with more pics, and the exhaustive but interesting story behind the Bolivian Fagots, which were only a short-term occurrence in politically troubled times! 


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Some background:
Military aviation in Bolivia began in 1917, with the training of three Army officers at the El Palomar aviation school in Argentina, but the Cuerpo de Aviadores Militares Bolivianos (Bolivian Military Aviators Corps) was not officially formed until 1924, during the celebrations of Bolivia's first centenary of independence. In the year 1932 the Gran Chaco dispute between Bolivia and Paraguay had evolved into a shooting war and by this period they changed the name into Cuerpo de Aviación (Aviation Corps). This was the first conflict in the Latin Americas with air combat. The war ended in 1935. Bolivia was defeated and economically exhausted, and it was clearly impossible to carry on the long-delayed re-organization of the Cuerpo, at least without outside help.

The Cuerpo de Aviación was further re-organized in 1944 along USAAF lines to become the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force), with most of its aircraft of US manufacture. The FAB was at first under partial Army control, and Bolivia signed the Rio Pact in 1947 and the usual Military Assistance Program deliveries followed - initially small numbers of North American AT-6 Texan armed trainers and B-25J Mitchell bombers. By the beginning of 1952 the MNR (Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario, the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement) tried to gain power by force, plotting with General Antonio Seleme, the junta member in control of internal administration and the National Police (Policía Nacional). On April 9, the MNR launched the rebellion in La Paz by seizing arsenals and distributing arms to civilians, what included a large number of indigenous miners and peasants. Armed miners marched on La Paz and blocked troops on their way to reinforce the city. After three days of fighting, the desertion of Seleme, and the loss of some 600 lives, the army surrendered and Paz Estenssoro assumed the presidency on April 16, 1952.


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The "reluctant revolutionaries", as the leaders of the multiclass MNR were called by some, looked more to Mexico than to the Soviet Union as political benchmark. But during the first year of Paz Estenssoro's presidency, the radical faction in the party, which had gained strength during the sexenio when the party embraced the workers and their ideology, forced the MNR leaders to act quickly. In July 1952, the government established universal suffrage, with neither literacy nor property requirements. In the first post-revolutionary elections in 1956 the population of eligible voters increased from approximately 200,000 to nearly 1 million. The government also moved quickly to control the armed forces, purging many officers associated with past Conservative Party regimes and drastically reducing the forces' size and budget. The government also closed the Military Academy (Colegio Militar) and required that officers take an oath to the MNR. During the same period, the Soviet Union offered military assistance to the MNR government in the form of weapons and vehicles, including Bolivia's first jet aircraft in the form of twenty MiG-15 fighters and trainers.

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (NATO reporting name: Fagot) was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate swept wings to achieve high transonic speeds. In aerial combat during the Korean War, it outclassed straight-winged jet day fighters, which were largely relegated to ground-attack roles. In response to the MiG-15's appearance and in order to counter it, the United States Air Force rushed the North American F-86 Sabre to Korea. To avoid a political scandal through a direct intervention and the presence of Soviet material on the American continent, the aircraft were actually license-built Aero S-102s and CS-102s from Czechoslovakia, MiG-15 fighters and trainers of the first generation with a Motorlet/Walter M05 engine (a licensed RD-45, which itself was an unlicensed copy of the Rolls Royce Nene. The aircraft were delivered via ships as crated kits and finally assembled during late 1952 and early 1953 at La Paz, creating the FAB's 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate (1st jet fighter squadron) at El Alto air base, southwest of La Paz. Being brand new and pressed immediately into service, the machines retained their bare metal finish, even though black anti-glare panels were quickly added in front of the windscreen.


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Backed with this support the government soon began the process of nationalizing all mines of the three great tin companies. First, it made the export and sale of all minerals a state monopoly to be administered by the state-owned Mining Bank of Bolivia (Banco Minero de Bolivia, Bamin). Then it set up the Mining Corporation of Bolivia (Corporación Minera de Bolivia, Comibol) as a semi-autonomous enterprise to run state-owned mines. On October 31, 1952, the government nationalized the three big tin companies, leaving the medium-sized mines untouched, and promising compensation. In this process, two-thirds of Bolivia's mining industry was turned over to Comibol.
A far-reaching agrarian reform was the final important step taken by the revolutionary government. In January 1953, the government established the Agrarian Reform Commission, using advisers from Mexico, and decreed the Agrarian Reform Law the following August. These reform programs were meant to include the breaking up of large estates into minifundio, or small parcels of land, that could be worked by either individual families or small villages. The reforms were also meant to provide farmers with credit with which to buy tools, seed, and any other materials needed to operate their farms. Further, the reforms were intended to include technical assistance to farmers in the form of teaching them to increase the productivity of their farms. However, many of these reforms were never put into place, and as a result, many of the new minifundio farms were eventually taken over again by rich landowners.

During the first years of the revolution, miners wielded extraordinary influence within the government. This influence was based on miners' decisive role in the fighting of April 1952. In addition, armed militias of miners formed by the government to counterbalance the military had become a powerful force in their own right. Miners immediately organized the Bolivian Labor Federation (Central Obrera Boliviana, COB), which demanded radical change as well as participation in the government and benefits for its members. MNR eventually gained the support of the campesinos when the Ministry of Peasant Affairs was created and when peasants were organized into syndicates. Peasants were not only granted land, but their militias also were given large supplies of arms.


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


However, the country faced severe economic problems, as a result of the changes enacted by the government. High inflation, caused by increased social spending, also hurt the economy. The value of the peso fell from 60 to 12,000 to the United States dollar between 1952 and 1956, affecting primarily the urban middle class, which began to support the opposition. The bankrupt economy increased the factionalism within the MNR. Whereas the left wing demanded more government control over the economy, the right wing hoped to solve the nation's problems with aid from the United States.

During the presidency of Hernán Siles Zuazo (1956–60), who won the election with 84% of the vote, the MNR's socialistic ideas were quickly dropped and the inherent orientation towards the Soviet Union and its indirect support rejected - in fact, the country went through a complete political turnaround, followed by massive financial support. In 1957 the United States subsidized more than 30% of the Bolivian budget.
Siles Zuazo's stabilization plan seriously damaged the coalition of MNR and COB. The COB called immediately for a general strike, which threatened to destroy an already disrupted economy; the strike was called off only after impassioned appeals by the president. To quell the unrest, Zuazo decided to rebuild the armed forces, which meant that all Soviet equipment was phased out almost overnight. Not wanting to sell or have the equipment being handed over to the United States through third parties most items were scrapped, even though many things, including the Czech MiG-15s, were just a couple of years old.


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


During his administration the strength of the armed forces grew as a result of a new concern for professionalism and training, technical assistance from the United States, and an increase in the size and budget of the military. In addition, the military's role in containing unrest gave it increasing influence within the MNR government.
Lacking funds, Bolivia procured Cavalier-modified F-51D Mustangs and large numbers of aircraft from neighbor Brazil, including Brazilian built Fairchild PT-19 trainers and Fokker S-11 basic trainers. It was until 1973 that the FAB entered the jet age again with the first of fifteen Canadair T-33 Mk.3 Silver Stars, which would serve for 44 years and become the last operational aircraft of this type in the world.


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


General characteristics:
    Crew: 1
    Length: 10.04 m (32 ft 10½ in) overall
                   8,02 m (26 ft 3¼ in) hull only
    Wingspan: 10.08 m (33 ft 1 in)
    Height: 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in)
    Wing area: 20.6 m² (222 sq ft)
    Airfoil: root: TsAGI S-10; tip: TsAGI SR-3
    Empty weight: 3.382 kg (7,450 lb)
    Gross weight: 4,806 kg (10,585 lb)
    Max takeoff weight: 5.260 kg (15,585 lb)
    Fuel capacity: 1,420 L (380 US gal; 310 imp gal) internal

Powerplant:
    1× Motorlet/Walter M05 centrifugal-flow turbojet, with 26.5 kN (5,955 lbf) maximum thrust

Performance:
    Maximum speed: 1,050 km/h (669 mph, 581 kn) / Mach 0.87  at sea level
                                    1,031 km/h (640 mph; 560 kn) / Mach 0.9 at 5,000 m (16,377 ft)
    Cruise speed: 850 km/h (530 mph, 460 kn) / Mach 0.69
    Ferry range: 2,520 km (1,570 mi, 1,360 nmi) at 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
                          with 2x600 L (160 US gal; 130 imp gal) drop-tanks
    Service ceiling: 15,200 m (49,800 ft)
    Rate of climb: 42 m/s (8,255 ft/min)
    Wing loading: 255 kg/m² (60.7 lb/sq ft) at MTOW
    Thrust/weight: 0.54

Armament:
    2× 23 mm Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 autocannon in the lower left fuselage (80 RPG)
    1× 37 mm Nudelman N-37 autocannon in the lower right fuselage (40 rounds)
    2× underwing hardpoints for 100 kg (220 lb) bombs, drop tanks, or unguided rocket


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aero S-102 (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15); ,(FAB-0)86' of the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) 1er escuadrón de aviones de combate; El Alto Air Base (La Paz), summer 1954 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


...and there's till the Polish Navy Midget in the pipeline.