Bharat Rakshak

This thread has been started for more interaction between People modeling & those who would like to model Equipments used by the Indian Armed Forces like Tanks, Aircrafts, Ships etc.
This thread is being started after prior permission from Forum Moderator - JaiS

Modelling the Indian Air Force

That's a good idea. Hope it encourages more BRFites to take up building scale models. It's a little time consuming but the results are usually reward enough!

I recently started modeling & i have 3 kits

1, Airfix Hawker Hunter
2, Academy JU87G-1 STUKA
3, Airfix Hawker Hurricane

The Hunter model is almost complete and i plan to paint it in IAF colours, but iam having two problems in it

1, I am not able to get the aluminum colour, after a long search found only silver colour which needs to be mixed with a binder before painting & its really hard to use it on plastic model (i use acrylic colours)
2, Decals for IAF are really hard to find, If anyone has soft copy of roundel & fin flash for 1:72 & 1:144 Kindly post it online

Thank You

As far as the decals go, you can create a softcopy and scale it based on the size of your aircraft. Then print it out on a decal paper and you should be set. That is what I did for my previous model.
All the best!

Have you tried Alclad II natural metal finish?
http://www.alclad2.com/

Are these available in India

guys, if you are really deep into modelling and you are located IN india , then I would suggest joining this group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/airnuts/

Sorry no idea if Alclad is available in India. Modelling supplies are hard to come by in India even today due to limited popularity.

Aluminum (metal) colour can be approximated by mixing a little black or shades of grey with the silver. Experiment with small amounts to get the colour you want. You can get a nice colour for the darker hot metal parts like jet exhausts also that way by adding more black.

Any suggested reading or online guide for someone who is new to modelling?

This is a decent one: http://www.buildingscalemodelaircraft.com/

A good way is to regularly browse thru sites like ARC: http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com where modelers will often describe how they built a model and even provide step-by-step build pics. There you will come across quite a few IAF aircraft including some built by BRF jingos.

You could start off with smaller kits which do not have a large number of parts and are less complex. Use the first couple of kits to hone your skills with building, cement, decals and paint. Any of these going wrong could potentially ruin the model.

Kakarat,

I purchased a set of IAF decals for a 1:72 MiG-27/23BN Flogger from spruebrothers.com a few months ago. I'm not sure if they still have them in stock (they were down to the last piece when i bought it), maybe you could request them to restock it.

Here are the details:
HDL72017 1:72 Hi-Decal Line MiG-27 MiG-23 BN Flogger #72017
http://www.spruebrothers.com

The set includes the IAF roundel and fin flash, and Wolfpack squadron logo, amongst a set of Russian, Iraqi, Libyan logo's...

Hope this helps, good luck!

-ankur

ankur thanks for the link will have a look at it

BRF has no section for Aeromodellers and Flight Sim gamers, so I am taking the liberty of putting my query here.

Decades ago I was an aeromodeller - primarily glider/internal combustion engine powered models. ha was what taught me a great deal "intuitively" of how aircraft behave in the air.

I am looking for specific information on brushless motors, batteries and props to go with them. I believe that if I first buy a power plant and battery, I can then build models - i.e wild designs made by me rather than off the shelf models.

Also I don;t want anything more to do with balsa wood. I will use only styrofoam - is that what is used?

Anyone with experience/current interest?

My first IAF model is up. Thanks Jagan for your help putting it here.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Galleries/Models/Misc/018/

Up.

http://www.skyhighhobby.com/about

Nice website. Has info on brushless motors and foams.

I am currently busy trying to design and fly some of my K-class KNO3/Sugar rockets from Melkote dry lake bed. Mach 1-1.5 to 5000 feet is the design spec lets see how it actually works!

Hi!

How are you going to source the KNO3?
You buying ready made rocket motors or going to extract KNO3 from fertilizer and make "Rocket Candy"

I bought KNO3 from a shop in BVK Iyengar Road.

try this : indiarc.com
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btw, has anyone attempted modelling military a/c without using any kits, ie, using just cardboard, Styrofoam/thermocol and fevicol ?

I'm looking for IAF decals. I have got 2 models, one a Mirage-2000H and the other a MiG-29 ready in IAF camo, but I cannot find IAF decals and when I tried printing my own, it just didn't work out because I'd used an inkjet printer and not a laser printer. Is anyone aware of any site where one can get good IAF decals which are not too expensive ? My next projects are to build the MiG-21 Bison (from a MiG-21-93 kit), Sea Harrier (half-built already) and a Jaguar IS. I've also got a MiG-23 and MiG-21F13 which I'll take up after I finish these. Unfortunately, having looked around a lot, I've noticed that there is isn't a single good MiG-27 model kit around.

I've done those- plenty of them in fact. as a kid, I'd done them primarily because kits were too expensive. there were ads in some science magazine for kits that cost Rs 500-700 and in the late 1990s, that was a LOT of money ! I started with the F-16 (which I think is one of the best looking fighter jets ever), then did a MiG-27, Alphajet, MiG-21, Jaguar, F-18, Su-30MK, Sea Harrier, Harrier, F-15E, Rafale and Eurofighter..I did them with cardboard as the primary structural component and then using paper, going on and on with layering to get the required shape. I got the approximate dimensions from my Encyclopedia on fighters and tried to scale them as closely as possible to 1/72, although I wasn't too precise in those days.

I'll try and post a few pics of the only 2 of those fighters (Rafale and Eurofighter twin seat) that are with me now, the rest are back home..

Yeah many moons ago I did a SU-30K in the old Blue Gray IAF colours using aluminium foil with underlying cardboard structure (it was a free standing model with complete landing gear and luckily not a tail sitter!). Still have it back at home. Posted some pics of it on B-R back then (unfortunately did not have access to a good camera and the pics came out foggy).

I've done plenty of ready made kits of almost all the old WW-2 fighters from zeros to the bristol blenheim when I was kid. However, the cheapest and easiest way to make a model from scratch I've found is to make a paper-mache model. No need for all the cutting and sawing and sanding with other balsa or cardboard models. Its not that hard to build from scratch if you build them in stages and glue them together. Some GI wire and some clay are more than adequate to serve as a good surfaces to make a mold on. If you want to get really fancy you could get some Plastic resin and coat the paper mache model to get that glossy finish of an mint-conditional model. The hardest part in WW2 aircraft is making the props and getting to move freely in the finished product. With jet however, that problem is not an issue.

More than a decade back I had built a MiG-29 and an F-15 out of cardboard from old notebooks and believe it or not, old postcards. I wish I had those now, but I dont.

Hello All,
My understanding is that the first IAF Gnats were in a blue colour. Does anyone have a match for this colour for modelling purposes?

thanks in advance,
Tony W.

Hi all,
With your help, I have built a 1/32nd scale Hunter F.56 of the Thunderbolts. I do not have enough IAF models to warrant going to the galleries. Is there a way to post the picture directly here?

Tony

You can go into the Misc gallery with your model. Contact Jagan for details.

That reminds me....I have to send in pics of the 1/144 Hunter in Thunderbolts scheme that I built last year.

I am having a selection of Indian figures sculpted in 20mm (1/72) covering the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War...

Here are the Indian figures underway...

I think I figured it out. Here's the Hunter F56.

Tony, that is a very well made model of the Hunter ! I saw a 1/32 Hunter at a friend's place once and was awe-struck at how lovely the airplane looked, even though he hadn't finished painting it..there is something so appealing about the Hunter's design to me ! no harsh lines, just beautiful curves..aesthetically speaking, a very very pleasing jet and of course, a wonderful design operationally speaking as well. Please take more pictures and contact Jagan and he could put up your pics in the modelling section of BRF.

One thing that can be done is to create division, formation, squadron patches in pdf format to be printed on sticker paper for affixing to completed models.

ramana saar, Sticker paper is too thick and doesn't give the "painted on" look..thats why decals are used.

Tony, IIRC didn't you post pics of this model on ARC? Looks really good.

@Piers, The figures looks quite nice - any plans on painting 'em? Is there a place which will do such sculpting - contacts etc. would be nice, if in US. I have only built 1 Indian Army diorama till now (for the Asal Uttar battle) - I used 1/72 WWII British paratroopers from Italeri and painted the camo on 'em.

Not just that. Make a balsa wood cut out of the Hunter, add an appropriate weight in the nose to get the CG right and the thing glides very gracefully too. That won't work with a model of a MiG 21 (for example) which will simply zoom like a rocket made out of empty conical peanut packet sold by a roadside vendor.

I made these years ago with ivory paper and Fevicol, and painted them with good old Camel poster paints

Hello Raja Bose,
I have posted the Hunter on Britmodeller, and Large Scale Planes, but not ARC. There must be another build out there.

Regards,
Tony

Its nice to hear that many of you are veterans at modelling w/o using any kits.This is how real modelling should be. I often compare this type of modelling to the breed of pilots who prefer Spitfires and Mustangs over modern fighter a/c.
Mihir, your models look really good. I appreciate your efforts.
I started out modelling in 1999 using cardboard & thermocol . My first model was the X-35, then proceeded onto modelling the F-22, F-18, EF Typhoon, Mig-29, Su-30MKI, F-117 and GlobalHawk. The models are at home and I 'm far away from desh . I'll try to put up the pics whenever I get time.