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

[zenrat]

Dizz, that's marvellous.

 

[NARSES2]

Dizz, that's marvellous.

 

It is indeed 

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you. It's quite simple in NMF, but when I researched the time frame in Bolivia there was really a good and plausible window for the Fagots there - what makes this whif eben more believable. 

Kudos to SPINNERS for the inspiration!

[SPINNERS]

Thank you. It's quite simple in NMF, but when I researched the time frame in Bolivia there was really a good and plausible window for the Fagots there - what makes this whif eben more believable. 

Kudos to SPINNERS for the inspiration!

Only just noticed this! Brilliant execution mate and I just love the nose numbers on the Bolivian Fagot.

[Dizzyfugu]

Only just noticed this! Brilliant execution mate and I just love the nose numbers on the Bolivian Fagot.

Thank you. Yes, these were hard to procure/find - in my vast decal archive I just found this two-digit code in red with yellow borders, so I slightly fudged the tactical code to fit the overall look, and the (authetic yet vintage) squadron emblem on the nose fills the gaps. 

Now the Polish Midget is waiting for "visualisation. 

[comrade harps]

A cracking story and a stunning natural metal finsh

[Dizzyfugu]

A cracking story and a stunning natural metal finsh

Thank you, too, glad you like it. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Good news: the Polish Midget has been in the photo booth! 

[Dizzyfugu]

Slow editing progress... 

[Dizzyfugu]

Ah, finally finished and uploaded!


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Some background:
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. The MiG-15 is believed to have been one of the most produced jet aircraft evr, with more than 13,000 manufactured.

Beyond Czechoslovakia (with the Aero S-102 fighter and CS-102 trainer, Poland undertook the licensed production of the Soviet MiG-15 fighter jet, too. The locally manufactured versions were designated as the "Lim" series, "Lim" being an acronym for "Licencyjny Myśliwiec," which translates to "License Fighter." The primary manufacturing facility for this ambitious project was WSK Mielec, with WSK Świdnik serving as a key subcontractor, particularly for component production.
Preparations for the initial production of the Lim-1, the Polish equivalent of the original MiG-15, began at WSK Mielec in the summer of 1951. The very first Lim-1 aircraft, which was initially assembled from imported Soviet parts to facilitate employee training, successfully completed its maiden flight on July 17, 1952. The initial batch of six Lim-1 aircraft was officially delivered to the Polish military in September 1952. Subsequent production units began to be supplied to operational combat units starting in January 1953. The production run for the Lim-1 concluded on August 31, 1954, with a total of 237 units built across 12 production series.


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Following the successful production of the Lim-1, Poland transitioned to manufacturing the Lim-2, which was the licensed version of the more advanced MiG-15bis. Remarkably, the first Lim-2 was produced on September 17, 1954, merely 17 days after the final Lim-1 rolled off the production line. Production of the Lim-2 continued until November 23, 1956. During this period, 530 aircraft were built across 20 production series, although some sources suggest a slightly lower figure of 496 aircraft.

Poland, while undertaking the licensed production of the MiG-15 fighter series, did not initially produce dedicated two-seat trainer versions of the MiG-15. Instead, to address the scarcity of the original Soviet-built MiG-15UTI trainers, Polish facilities undertook extensive modifications of existing single-seat Lim-1 and Lim-2 fighters to create their own two-seat trainer aircraft. These modified versions were designated SBLim-1 and SBLim-2, with "SB" standing for "Szkolno-Bojowy" (Trainer-Combat).
The SBLim-1 was created by converting single-seat Lim-1 fighter aircraft into two-seat trainer-combat variants. This conversion process began in 1957. The SBLim-2 was a later development, emerging in 1966. It represented a more complex modification than the SBLim-1. Uniquely, the SBLim-2 was often a "hybrid" aircraft. It combined the front section of an existing UTI MiG-15 (the Soviet-built trainer version) fuselage with the rear section of a Polish-produced Lim-2 fuselage. These aircraft were powered by the Polish-produced Lis-2 engine, which was a licensed version of the Soviet VK-1 turbojet engine.


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The SBLim-2 was formally introduced into service in December 1967, serving as the Polish equivalent to the Soviet MiG-15UTI. It played a crucial role as a trainer for pilots destined to fly various Polish-produced jet aircraft, including the Lim-2, Lim-5 (MiG-17), and Lim-6bis (MiG-17 variants), and even pilots for the newer Su-7 and Su-20 aircraft. Like the SBLim-1, the SBLim-2 carried fixed armament, commonly one NR-23 cannon or an A-12.7 machine gun.
On the domestic two-seaters' basis, Poland also developed specialized variants for reconnaissance and artillery spotting tasks. These were known as SBLim-1Art and SBLim-2Art. These aircraft carried an additional observer/navigator in the rear seat, equipped with appropriate observation and communication equipment for their specific roles.

The SBLim-2A was a Polish modification of the SBLim-2 aircraft, which in turn was a Polish developmental version of the two-seat MiG-15UTI training aircraft (a two-seat version of the MiG-15 fighter jet). In 1965, some SBLim-1 and SBLim-2 aircraft were adapted for artillery observation and fire correction tasks, receiving the designations SBLim-1A and SBLim-2A respectively. The primary role of the SBLim-2A was artillery observation and fire correction, but the aircraft were also used for reconnaissance and SAR missions (see below). The rear cockpit was adapted for an observer by removing some equipment. On some aircraft the armament was also increased to two 23 mm cannons, and the aircraft was equipped with AFA-21 and AFA-39 photographic cameras and an S-13 photocannon.

The SBLim-2A aircraft constituted an important element of the Naval Aviation, providing support for artillery units and contributing to the fleet's reconnaissance capabilities. Its service, although relatively short in the reconnaissance role, was a significant stage in the development of Polish naval aviation. The major SBLim-2A operators was the Polish Navy Aviation's 7th Special Naval Aviation Regiment, which underwent significant transformations and operational changes throughout the 1980s and 1990s.


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In 1983, the unit was renamed the 7th Naval Fighter-Bomber Regiment and transitioned into a fighter-bomber unit. At this time, its fleet included 36 Lim-6 bis, 8 Lim-2 SB, and 5 TS-11 Iskra aircraft. Also in 1983, the 28th Naval Rescue Squadron was reorganized into the 16th Naval Special Aviation Regiment. The Polish Navy began acquiring Mi-14 helicopters in the early 80s, with anti-submarine (PŁ) versions delivered between 1981 and 1983, and Search and Rescue (SAR) versions following in 1984. Towards the end of the decade, in 1989, the Navy received its first two W-3T version W-3 Sokół helicopters for training and transport, soon followed by four W-3RL Anakonda emergency versions.
In 1988 a major restructuring took place. The existing 7th Fighter-Bomber Regiment, the 16th Special Aviation Regiment, and the 15th Independent Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron were all disbanded. A new 7th Naval Special Aviation Regiment was then formed, operating from airfields in Siemirowice and Darłowo. The operation of Lim-6 bis aircraft was officially discontinued in the same year.
On April 1, 1991, units stationed in Darłowo formed the 40th Anti-Submarine and Rescue Squadron. The 7th Special Aviation Regiment of Siemirowice was ultimately disbanded on January 1, 1996, and replaced by the 3rd Kashubian Air Squadron and 5th Security Battalion.

SBLim-1A aircraft were withdrawn from service by 1975. The SBLim-2A were retired in the early 1990s, but this was not the end of their career. Some were, however, after the 7th Special Aviation Regiment had been termintaed, converted back to training versions during overhauls and re-designated as SBLim-2M. The last examples of the SBLim-2M were withdrawn from service in the early 1990s.


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


General characteristics:
    Crew: 2
    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: 3.916 kg (8,625 lb)
    Gross weight: 5,044 kg (11,995 lb)
    Max takeoff weight: 5.446 kg (15,585 lb)
    Fuel capacity: 1,420 L (380 US gal; 310 imp gal) internal

Powerplant:
    1× WSK Lis-2 (license-built Klimov VK-1A) 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:
    1 or 2× 23 mm Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 autocannon in the lower left fuselage (80 RPG each)
    2× underwing hardpoints for 100 kg (220 lb) bombs, drop tanks, or unguided rockets


The kit and its assembly:
This is another Hobby Boss MiG-15, but this time the two-seat trainer kit. While it effectively a what-if model, this project is very close to reality – in fact it's only the paint scheme (even though this was inspired by a real Polish Navy SBLim-2A, see below) and tactical code that are fictional, or rather a personal interpretation or real-world things.

The Midget was built OOB, and external difference to an earlier baseline MiG-15 (e. g. shape and position of the airbrakes) will only be obvious to expert eyes. The Mig_15 kit is one of the more complex Hobby Boss kits (read: more than just a fuselage plus wings and some bits to stick onto this base) like the company's F9F or Hawker Seahawk and IMHO pretty good and crisp. It's still quite simple, but it features many small detail parts to be added to the airframe that yield a convincing model, including a surprisingly well detailed cockpit tub, a nice landing gear and two different pairs of underwing tanks (slipper and drop-shaped tanks with fins).

While it goes together well there are some watchouts:
- Locator pins inside the air intake should be sanded away, they are visible from certain angles
- The canopy's locator pins should be removed, too, and I split the part for open cockpit display
- Do not forget to add nose weight, even though there is little internal space for it


Painting and markings:
While it looks as if it had been painted in a fever dream this Midget is very close to reality! The Polish Navy SBLim-2As all carried individual camouflage paint schemes, with three and sometimes even fopur different colors, and wide and wild color choices! For my build I adapted the scheme of a real aircraft coded "2004 Red", of which I only had a starboard profile drawing, though. So, the colors and the pattern from the left and above had to be guessed, and I gave it a fictional new tactical code. To make things look even more spectacular I adopted a painting detail from another SBLim-2A ("6010 Red"): it had, probably during overhaul, been re-touched with fresh bluish dark green paint (a tone NOT part of its original camouflage in dark green, erath brown, a bluish grey and rather yellowish sand or ochre tone) in many places, e. g. on leading edges, around the cockpit and over some inspection flaps. A wild and shaggy look, even though I am certain that the aircraft were in a very good shape.
Finding appropriate tones for everything took a while, and I settled for bright Humbrol 89 (mid Blue) underneath and Model Master 2031 (Blue FS 35109), Humbrol 149 (Dark Green, FS 34092), Revell 43 (USAF Neutral Grey, FS 36270) and Model Master 2134 (Fulcrum Gray Green). The touch-ups werre done with thinned Humbrol 3 (Brunswick green). The drop tanks (in this case I used the standard pylon-mounted variant) were painted with aluminum metallizer.

The cockpit tub was painted in the dreaded Soviet anti-fatigue teal, with a black dashboard and dark grey seats. The landing gear and the respective wells were painted in a grey tone (Revell 43), with bright green wheel discs as contrast, using good benchmark pics from literature (e. g. the exhaustive "Mikoyan MiG-15" by Yefim Gordon and Dmitriy Komissarov).

The markings mostly came from a Gran MiG-15UTI kit that I had procured for this project because of its decals sheet – it includes markings for a 7th Special Naval Aviation Regiment SBLim-2A, specifically the unit's badge consisting of an owl perched on top of an anchor. The same sheet provided the national markings as well as the many blue stencils, which add a modern touch to the vintage Midget. The tactical code was puzzled together from single red digits, from a PLAAF aircraft (Trumpeter).
Some panel shading was done as well as dry-brushing with light grey to add a used look, and finally the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and the wire antenna, made from heated black sprue material, was mounted between cockpit and fin.


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 WSK Mielec SBLim-2A (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI derivative); ,'2013 Red' of the Polish Navy Aviation (Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej) 7th Special Naval Aviation Reg.; 44th Naval Air Base, Siemirowice (Northern Poland), 1989 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[zenrat]

So, the bloke with the red socks is back.

Another great build Dizz.   

[NARSES2]

Another great build Dizz.   

It is  indeed   

[Dizzyfugu]

So, the bloke with the red socks is back.

He's never far away... 

[The Chaos]

A very interesting Mig, i love it.

[frank2056]

Just beautiful work!