Model Talking

In this part of my article regarding the Slovak Su-25 at Kuchyna Air Base I am adding several photographs of the undercarriage and particularly the main undercarriage wells. You can also find the shots of open hatches in the lower part of the engine nacelles in more detail.

The main undercarriage on the right side of the airplane is visible here:

I acquired several interesting pictures depicting the Slovak Air Force MiG-29 photographed after its engine fault and fire. All happened on the ground (runway) so the pilot can escape to safety. The fire was extinguished but caused extensive damage. All this happened circa 10 years ago – in spite of this I have no permission to tell the whole story… so NO further facts, names, faces, numbers or details can be published here. And yes, the photo quality is not the best. Several interesting construction details for us (modellers) can be seen though.

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This is the follow-up of my photographs depicting Slovak Sukhoi Su-25 birds of Kuchyna Air Force Base. I have scanned the most interesting cockpit shots. Technically, these photographs are not very good, because of mimimal space in which I had to photograph (in the cockpit) and very strong sunshine too. I hope this is not an issue for modellers though… I would like to  thank to  Mr. Jozef Frastia, my good friend, who made some of these shots – sitting inside the cockpit (you can find his camouflaged trousers). Note:
I placed high-res photographs here, so you can magnify them two times – by double clicking.

The Main instrument panel is “catching” false colors from its surroundings. It was light blue-gray in real. Continue reading →

In 2001, I had a rare opportunity to visit the Kuchyna Air Base (Pls. note, that Kuchyna means “kitchen” in Slovak language) and photograph Slovak Air Force Sukhoi Su-25 airplanes. This photographing was managed and organized by my good friend, modeller and also the Wardell Memorial founder, Mr. Jozef Frastia. There are no Sukhois in Slovak Air Force today. But they remain in pilots’ hearts, our memories, and maybe some built-up kits in modellers’ show-cases. Seeing that a newcomer, a brand new Su-25 kit, moreover in 1/32 Scale is emerging, I jumped into my home photo archives. I had picked up my old shots and started to scan and publish them immediately. Or better to say, a part of them. I will post the rest later, of course.

Here you can find the basic information concerning Su-25 history, development and design. More info and photographs – camouflages plus walkarounds can be find here. Very interesting is the Russian Navy camo, I think. But let’s go back to Kuchyna Air Base – to remember the year 2001 and Sukhois in our Slovak Air Force colours (it is a lot of nostalgia by now):

Here you can see the colorful Su-25 # 8074, its left and right side: