FINNISH FROGFOOT

[kitbasher]

.....coming soon.

[Dizzyfugu]

Uh, that sounds sexy! 

[kitbasher]

The Winter War  of 1939-1940 between the Soviet Union and Finland in 1939–1940 saw the Soviet Union seek to conquer (and in a sense recover) parts of Finland, which had been part of the Russian Empire as the Grand Duchy of Finland.  During the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War of 1917–1920, Finland had become independent from Russia. The Soviet Union demanded amongst other concessions that Finland cede substantial border territories in exchange for land elsewhere, claiming security reasons, primarily the protection of Leningrad, which was only 40 km from the Finnish border.  Finland refused and the Soviet Union declared war.   At this time the Soviet Union established a Communist puppet government for Finland.

Finland repelled Soviet attacks for several months, much longer than the Soviets expected.  However, after reorganization and adoption of different tactics, the overwhelming numbers of Soviet forces overcame Finnish defences. Hostilities ceased in March 1940 with the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty. Finland ceded territory representing 11% of its land area and 30% of its economy to the Soviet Union. While the Soviet Union did not conquer all Finland, Soviet gains somewhat exceeded their pre-war demands. They gained substantial territory along Lake Ladoga, providing a buffer for Leningrad, and territory in northern Finland.

The Continuation War between the two countries started on 22 June 1941, the day Germany launched its invasion of the Soviet Union. Open warfare began with a Soviet air offensive on 25 June. Subsequent Finnish operations undid its post Winter War concessions to the Soviet Union on the Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia, and captured East Karelia by September 1941. On the Karelian Isthmus, the Finns halted their offensive 30 km from Leningrad. Eventually, in summer 1944, the Soviet strategic offensive drove the Finns from most of the territories they had gained during the war, but the Finnish Army later fought the offensive to a standstill in July 1944.  A ceasefire ended hostilities on 5 September and was followed by the Moscow Armistice on 19 September, by which time Commander-in-Chief of Finland's Defence Forces Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim succeeded Risto Ryti as President of Finland.

The 1947 Paris Peace Treaty concluded the war formally, although Mannerheim had already (in 1946) resigned as President.  Finland ceded Petsamo Province to the Soviets, leased Porkkala peninsula to them, and paid reparations. While retaining its independence, the Moscow Treaty obliged Finland to adopt a strict code of neutrality, limit the size of its armed forces, and for these to be equipped solely for defensive purposes. Finland recognized that the Soviet Union was unlikely to be satisfied with the Finnish territorial concessions as a means to increase its security.  Recently released documents reveal that Moscow saw the control of Finland also as ultimately being necessary. Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov reputedly told his Lithuanian counterpart at the time Lithuania was effectively absorbed into the USSR, "Small states will disappear...Baltic states, including Finland, will be included within the honourable family of Soviet peoples."

While Finland avoided 'liberation' by the Red Army, even before the Paris Peace Treaty the Soviets actively encouraged the rise of the Finnish Communist Party.  In the 1947 parliamentary election, the Communist Party of Finland made impressive gains in the territories abutting those lost to the Soviet Union.  In February 1948 Mannerheim's successor, Juho Kusti Paasikivi, was assassinated and the Communists seized power. Meanwhile Mannerheim, who at the time of the coup was visiting Finland following treatment in Switzerland for a perforated peptic ulcer and duodenal ulcer, was arrested and in March 1948 executed.

So the Communist takeover was complete, achieving what years of war had failed to do.  On 14 May 1955 Finland was a signatory of the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual Assistance, more commonly known as the Warsaw Pact.

[kitbasher]

The Sukhoi Su-25 (NATO reporting name: "Frogfoot") is a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. It was designed to provide close air support for the Soviet Ground Forces. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 22 February 1975. After testing, the aircraft went into series production in 1978 at Tbilisi in the Soviet Republic of Georgia. Russian air and ground forces nicknamed it "Grach" ("Rook").

Finland was the fourth Warsaw Pact country to obtain the Su-25, acquiring the first of 50 examples of both Su-25K and the Su-25UBK in 1986. The aircraft replaced the obsolete MiG-17F Fresco-C which had been the backbone of the Finnish Air Force fighter-bomber fleet for many years.

[Captain Canada]

This is gonna be sweet. Is the Finnish roundel going to be the same ? Would look great on a winter based camo a/c ( like the Frogfoot )

[kitbasher]

Looks like a bit if expectation management will be needed here!

Yes Captain, roundels will remain the same. But winter camouflage? Hadn't thought about that, probably not at the moment but let's see how things progress.

[Army of One]

Oh....looking forward to this......

[kitbasher]

Possible change of plan.  The Finnish markings that I thought should fit are too big, so it may become a French Frogfoot (the French Communist party seized power in the June 1968 coup that followed the May '68 civil unrest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_1968_events_in_France)).

I've the right sized markings (but if I get the right Finnish markings I'll stick with Plan A).

[Leading Observer]

Stick with plan A

[kitbasher]

OK Plan A is still on, courtesy of an Academy MiG-21.  That will get the French markings!

Maybe. 

[kitbasher]

Now that I have a temporary modelling man cave (TMMC) I've taken 10 minutes out to assemble the underwing stores.  Hilarious bombs that look like old style British letterboxes with fins!  To be fair I've seen pictures of the real things that do look like dustbins.  I'd toyed in the past with the idea of the RAF operating them post fall of the Berlin Wall as a cheap alternative to the A-10.  Western avionics and weapons, of course.  And because we Brits like to re-engine things then perhaps a couple of Adours?

The Frogfoot's no looker but if someone presented me with a decent 1/72 kit I think I'd actually enjoy building another.  But not a second Maquette kit though.

[kitbasher]

PSR is essentially complete.  Stores pylons attached.

Need to tidy up and fit the bang seat, attach aerials, clean up and paint stores, prime airframe and paint the undercarriage next.

As it's OOB apart from the paint job and markings I'll only post up pictures of the Finnished item.

As I think I've mentioned on my blog, the Maquette kit isn't the best in the world - quite an oddity actually in quality terms - but I am enjoying the build, despite the slow progress.

Two more Soviet-themed builds to come (neither are started, and one involves a bit of recycling), but neither in Russian markings.

[kitbasher]

The Frogfoot is essentially assembled. 

• Some work still to do with the stores before painting and attaching
• Undersides painted Humbrol 165 Medium Sea Grey; tidying up will be necessary but doesn't look much to do
• The canopy was a fiddle to fix but hopefully is setting into position ready for masking
• Tyres painted (hat painting tyres, especially in a hurry), tidying up needed prior to fitting main wheels
• Aaargh!  Not enough time and the only real saving grace of this clunky Maquette kit is that it was cheap.
• OK another saving grace is that it's still better than the PM Ta154!

[kitbasher]

Thankfully the canopy appears to have set in the right position.  A fair amount of gap filling with Krystal Klear has been necessary though.  Took the precaution of masking the framework before KKing, though.

Main wheels tidied up and fitted.  Nosewheel needs a bit more tidying up paint-wise.

Most of the first of the greens (Humbrol 150) has been applied to the upper surfaces.  I'm taking the classic Finnish MiG-21 green and black scheme as my inspiration.  Won't be using black though, rather a mix of a very dark green and a very dark brown with probably a dash of black for the contrasting colour.  The difference in colour won't be so dark and will be closer to the sort of weathered colour seen in several photos on the internet, e.g.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-21_operators#mediaviewer/File:MiG-21_bis_MG-127.JPG and http://www.militaryimages.net/photopost/data/689/MIG-21_-_6.jpg

[kitbasher]

Painting almost done, but not progressing quickly enough with the stores.