The number 6066 was my first choice, but since I highly doubted any VPAF MiG-19/Shenyang J-6 had any camouflage painting at all, I decided later for the number 6011 of Pham Hung Son as seen in 1972.
LATER EDIT: as it turned out, the number 6066 might have been the very only VPAF MiG-19 (Shenyang J-6) to ever carry camouflage, since it was a machine delivered directly from a Chinese unit with camouflage paint already applied. How exactly the 6066 looked like is still a mystery (check photos #11, #12 and #13 from this album).
And finally the vacuformed canopy arrived. The one from the kit is just insanely thick. I made a comparison during the build of my Egyptian MiG-19 (link in text).
But the front part of the canopy requires a bit of filling.
Although I thought only the canopy was still missing until painting, I decided to rescribe seversl panel lines. The underside was particularly problematic.
And the beautiful 3D printed gun muzzles of the MiG-19 (left) compared to the ones of the Shenyang J-6 (right). This is one notable exterior difference between the soviet MiG-19 and the very early Chinese copies. Later versions included a parachute container under the vertical tail, additional wing pylons and a new radar.
This was a torture...mostly due my own mistakes, but also due to the kit.
I don't know why I ever took the decision of a NMF for this kit.
The kit itself has loads of surface imperfections, so repeated sanding was necessary. Therefore a primer with microfiller was the next logical (bad) choice. The primer with microfiller eventually added plenty of new minuscule surface imperfections which needed extensive fine sanding everywhere....which increased of course the chances of minor scratches that will only be seen with a NMF (that is after painting of course). With normal paint, the microfiller shouldn't be an issue, but I learned it the hard way with the NMF.
The metallic surface needed 5-6 iterations of repairs...which still didn't eliminate all imperfections, but honestly, I am not sure how many more hours are necessary for an acceptable NMF.
The model is 99% ready. In the meantime I was still curios of the whereabouts of the mysterious number 6066 of the VPAF, which I initially planned on doing (good that I didn't).
It appears that the second batch of Shenyang J-6 received by North Vietnam from China in 1974 included also one machine from an existing Chinese PLAAF unit, therefore already carying camouflage painting. This machine was presumably the VPAF number 6066, but it's not really clear how it looked like. In my understanding, all of the following 3 color profiles from this series are actually based on "similar' PLAAF Shenyang J-6 from back then, assuming the 6066 looked alike. But it appears to me to be nothing more than a guess of the author of these profiles.
And here it goes: from "MiG-17 and MiG-19 units of the Vietnam War" by Istvan Toperczer, you get this first profile with green stripes on top of a NMF (based on some similar PLAAF J-6). So far plausible.
And the number 6066 looking completely different in "MiG-17/-19 aces of the Vietnam War" by the same Istvan Toperczer.
I haven't really managed to find a PLAAF J-6 having the same camouflage, since pictures are scarce, but some PLAAF J-6 might have had a similar camouflage pattern. The middle and bottom pictures are dated to the first half of the 80's. With other words, I am still having no idea if the 6066 could have looked as depicted in the profile here.
And a third take at an even more interesting camouflage pattern assumed for the number 6066, as found in the "Silver Swallows and Blue Bandits" by the same Istvan Toperczer.
Again, I couldn't find an exact match from a PLAAF machine, but this suggestion might actually be plausible to some extent.
Altogether, we have 3 options, all more or less a guess, but none based on solid photographic evidence.
Good that I didn't do the number 6066, as I initially wanted at the start of this project.
So if you ever want a Vietnamese MiG-19S (Shengyang J-6) which is not in the NMF, then you need to roll a dice and see which one of the three colorful profiles comes out. Any of them is equally correct or wrong 🙂 .
99% finished, still needs a few touch ups, some corrections.
After the main paintjob was done, I had decided to remove the metal gun barrels and shorten them, since they were obviously too long. Afterwards the required filling/puttying, priming and again NMF.
When in doubt, better take action, otherwise you might not want to correct annoying mistakes when the model is completely finished.
The white light from the underside (below the gun) is added from scratch, since the kit offered only a very rough and not so crisp engraving. I also added the light on the front landing gear, which I have noticed in the previous propaganda movie with VPAF Shenyang J-6 (the video link in main text). Not all MiG-19S had that light on the nose landing gear.
And the angle of attack probe was found on the front-left side of the cockpit for the Shenyang J-6, unlike the MiG-19, which had it on the front-right side.
And notice the corro-guard area around the gun muzzle. That was painted (!!) with a special protective metallic coating and was NOT a separate panel out of a different material.
The national insignia should have been very matt with chipped off paint. I decided not to risk any experiments with the chipped off paint, considering all the other setbacks during this project.
The Pavla cockpit resin set, although difficult to work with and not that crisp, still a good addition.
The 3D printed gun nozzels are just perfect for 1:72.
For this model, I had in plan to use a resin exhaust improvement set, but the shipping already got delayed more than 6 months due to availability problems.
So that's that, flat surface with no details for the exhaust.
The area just behind the nose landing gear is one of the weak points of this kit, since it comes in a separate part, which has a bad fit and requires much sanding to make it look okish. Not really the dream for a NMF.
The middle aerodynamic brake is acceptable, but missing some details. That area is a bit too flat in the model/kit, while the real aircraft had a bigger bulge there instead.
Michael Kohl Another decent build of yours - accompanied with interesting historical background information. I like both.
2 December 2022, 09:42
Jakub Fiala Very nice result, especially according to a ,,quality" of this kit. 👍
2 December 2022, 09:48
Neuling Careful work on this interesting aircraft! And lots of interesting infos. Thanks for showing/telling!
2 December 2022, 10:17
Sylvain Vernier "You think it's that bad?"
Your build is splendid, but I found the kit very disappointing.
Now I have no doubts, and I don't want to waste my time on this project 🤔
The subject of this project is the Vietnamese Shenyang J-6 (MiG-19S) number 6011 part of the 925th Fighter Regiment as seen in action in 1972 during the Vietnam War. The type was an early version of the Chinese MiG-19S copy, therefore it lacks the parachute container under the vertical stabilizer. The differences of this early version are minor when compared to the Soviet MiG-19S and would be the shape of the gun muzzels (which for the Chinese version are narrow up to the very end), the "G-feel" probe was on the other side, but there were more even smaller differences.
The MiG-19S was produced only until 1959 in the USSR but was still in production in China even after the mid-70s. Vietnam was supplied in 1968 with a first batch of 44 J-6 from China, while a second batch of 24 machines arrived in 1974. The Soviet MiG-19S had a massive cannon fire power with three 30mm guns and a strong acceleration. Nevertheless, the aircraft has shown high attrition due to constant mechanical problems and was unsuitable for humid or hot climates. I have written more about these issues for my Egyptian MiG-19S (MiG-19S - Egypt - 1967 | Album by Redicus (1:72)). I don't know for sure if the Chinese copy actually solved any of these issues, but it's certain that the VPAF had similarily high hardware attrition rate of the MiG-19/J-6 fleet caused by humid climate, poor maintenance and inadequate logistical support.
Months after the arrival of the first MiG-19s/J-6s, the 925th Fighter Regiment was to be formed in February 1969 at Yen Bai airfield and equipped with MiG-17F and the MiG-19/J-6 fighters. Within two months, the 925th had nine MiG-19 and four MiG-17 pilots sufficiently qualified for combat duty. VPAF MiG-19 crews met the enemy for the first time in early May 1972 and during this month they claimed seven US aircraft destroyed (all were identified as F-4 Phantom IIs). Only two of these victories can be corroborated by American records, however. USAF Phantom II crews claimed three MiG-19 kills during the same period, and two 'Farmers' were also credited to the US Navy's VF-161, flying F-4Bs from the USS Midway. During the following months, further intense clashes have reduced the VPAF MiG-19s/J-6 fleet to only a handful machines, therefore the VPAF 'Farmer' operations quietly fizzled out until reinforcements (second batch of aircraft) arrived in 1974.
Three pilots serving with the 925th Fighter Regiment became well known for their similar names: Nguyen Hong Son, Pham Hung Son and Nguyen Hung Son, who were quickly dubbed 'Son A', 'Son B' and 'Son C', respectively. All three were successful in downing enemy aircraft and they became the best-known MiG-19 airmen of the war. The number 6011 was flown Pham Hung Son, which downed one F-4E on the 10th of May 1972. Thirteen days later he claimed a second Phantom II over Yen Bai, which the communist regime propaganda stated was the 3600th enemy aircraft shot down over the North Vietnam. This second kill has not been confirmed by US sources.
By May 1975 it was clear that military action was coming to an end in the region, even along the frontline in South Vietnam. Flying activity was reduced accordingly and the MiG-19s were now equipped only with training weaponry. The handful of surviving 'Farmers' were further used as lead-in fighter trainers until the end of the 1970s.
The known serial numbers of the VPAF MiG-19/J-6s are ranging between 6010 and 6069, although this does not match the higher number of delivered aircraft. Almost all Vietnamese MiG19s/J-6s wore no camouflage painting and were left in their nautral metal finish. The number 6066 is apparently the only known Vietnamese MiG-19 to have carried any camouflage painting at all and initially was the first choice for this project. This machine had presumably large dark green stripes applied directly on the metallic finish, leaving large areas of the metallic finish visible. The color profile of the number 6066 originates from the "MiG-17 and MiG-19 units of the Vietnam War", Osprey Combat Aircraft, by Istvan Toperczer. The same author suggests in two further publications ("MiG-17/-19 Aces of the Vietnam War" and "Silver Swallows and Blue Bandits") different painting schemes for this aircraft number. It is strongly assumed that this specific machine was delivered directly from a Chinese unit while already having camouflage painting. Istvan Toperczer, the author of the previously mentioned publications, did traveled several times to Vietnam and developed a certain relationship with the authorities there. He was one of the very few foreigners to be given access to VPAF archives, including to unique historical photographs and has had several times the opportunity to interview the surviving VPAF pilots of the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, there is no published photograph of this intriguing machine with serial number 6066 in any of his books related to the VPAF. Nevertheless, my impression is that all the aircraft color profiles from (at least) the above publication are based on actual photographs or descriptions from interviews and are not the product of someones's imagination. Altogether, I found it odd that from all the additional photographs and videos newly available on the internet, not one VPAF MiG-19/J-6 shows any camouflage painting. My assumption is that there might have been a confusion during some interview and a similarly camouflaged MiG-17 might have been mixed with the intriguing MiG-19/J-6 number 6066, which in my opinion, most likely was left in its natural metal finish like all other VPAF MiG-19s/J-6s.
For a nice touch of the era, here is a short and rare Vietnamese propaganda movie of the 925th Regiment operating MiG-19s during the Vietnam War: Youtube Video
References:
T. Copper, D. Nicolle, et al., "Arab MiGs Volume 1", Harpia Publishing
T. Copper, D. Nicolle, et al., "Arab MiGs Volume 2", Harpia Publishing
T. Copper, D. Nicolle, et al., "Arab MiGs Volume 3", Harpia Publishing
T. Copper, D. Nicolle, "MiGs in the Middle East, Volume 2", Helion and Company
I. Toperczer "MiG-17 and MiG-19 units of the Vietnam War", Osprey Combat Aircraft
Peter E. Davies, "USAF F-4 Phantom II MiG Killers 1972-1973", Osprey Publishing
Peter E. Davies, Brad Elward, "US Navy F-4 Phantom II MiG Killers 1972-1973", Osprey Publishing
Jan Peters
Robert Podkoński
Sylvain Vernier
Marius
Michael Kohl
Jakub Fiala
Neuling
