Romanian Airplanes

[Mad Cap Romanian]

I just wondered if anyone built or converted any of the Guillow's kits into Romanian Markings?

Romania had Nieuports in WW1

In WW2 they had the following:

He 112B
Hawker Hurricane Mk 1
PZL P.24E
Bf 109E
Arado Ar196A
Polikarpov I16 - They captured 1 of these and used it as a trainer until they crashed it.

And they also made their own fighter, the I.A.R. 80 and I.A.R. 81

Does anyone know if any company makes the I.A.R. 80/81's?

[SteveM]

Does anyone know if any company makes the I.A.R. 80/81's?

http://www.warbirdkits.com/IAR-80A/IAR-80.html

[SteveM]

And here is a build log of that kit:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=446637

As far as Romanian markings go, I don't recall seeing them on any of the Guillow's kit, but it would be easy enough for you to do. Some of use get decal paper from Micro-Mark and print out our own decals for custom projects. Over on the Virtual Aerodrome one fellow likes to make Russian versions of planes so you'd be more than welcome to post your build pictures and broaden our knowledge and exposure to history.

[planejane]

Steve, I'd like to know more about printing your own decals...is that like on a color laser printer? or?

[supercruiser]

You can print your own markings directly onto tissue paper very easily.
I'll see if I can find a video on it. Basically, you attach the tissue to a regular piece of printer paper and send it through the printer.

[SteveM]

Go here: http://www.micromark.com/decal-paper.html

They have clear and white decal film. If your decal has no white then you can use the clear, if the decal image has white you'll have to use the white paper and carefully trim off the unwanted parts. There are a few "Alps" printers out there that can print white but most of us use an inkjet printer and some a laser, just make sure to get the paper for your type of printer.

The "fixative" they sell is nothing more than a can of Krylon "1313 Clean Satin Finish" that you can get at a local store. It can also be used to seal tissue which is what people are using when they say they used "Crystal Clear".

The Mico-Mark directions say to spray this on the decals straight away then let dry. I found that when trimming off the excess paper the ink was breaking up and flaking off which ruined the decal. I had all but given up when I saw John Oshust (over at the Virtual Aerodrome) getting stellar results with the same paper. Based on his advise I let the ink dry for 24 hours or more, a couple of days if I am not in a rush. Then I dust off the paper with a tack rag that does not leave a residue then spray with the crystal clear fixative and let dry for another day or two.

Oh yes, and do not touch the paper on the side that gets printed on, the oil from your fingers will leave a lovely finger print in the decal. Also, print on plain paper till you are satisfied with the decal then switch the paper type to "glossy photo" or similar then run the decal paper through.

The decal sheets may seem spendy, buy when you consider that for maybe $2-5 you can make your own decals and create a model that no one else has.

[SteveM]

Some kits like that IAR 80 do not come with decals (or at least it appears it does not). If you follow the link to the IAR 80 then scroll to the bottom of the page there is a link to a PDF of the decals. Also notice that these decal tell you to use a white film for the first sheet and a clear on for the second. If you look at the decal imagines and think about how printers use the decal film to produce white you may more easily understand when to use clear and when to use white.

[BillParker]

A pair of IAR-80 fighters on patrol during World War II


WWII Aircraft marking

[Mad Cap Romanian]

ThanX for the speedy reply and for the link to the PDF markings.

Those are the "King Michael" markings, the letter "M" formed into a cross. There were several versions of this monicur as well. At the begining of WWII, the Romanians sided with Germany and used this logo to show they were part of the Axis.

Under this alliance, the Romanians fought on the Russian Front against the Soviets and also against the Americians.

Half way through the war, they joined the Allies and removed the King Michael cross, yellow wing tips and the yellow cowling. They replaced these with the old Romanian Roundell and used white wing tips instead.

Also, I'm not sure where he got the 4 leaf clover from, but most of the Romanian planes used Disney Characters on their planes. The 4 leaf clover MIGHT be right though, but I haven't seen it.

[Greyhound]

Also, I'm not sure where he got the 4 leaf clover from, but most of the Romanian planes used Disney Characters on their planes.

Disney Characters?

[Mad Cap Romanian]

Yeah. Strange as it sounds, I've seen Bambi, Pluto, Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse on the sides of the Romanian airplanes.

Donald Duck is shouting "Mack" and Mickey Mouse is riding a horse with a javelin in hand.

Pluto was painted just under the front windshield of a He112B belonging to Squadron 51
Donald appears before the yellow stripe near the tail on Bf-109E-3's of Squadron 52, 57 and 58
Mickey is on the Hurricanes just in front of the King Michael Cross and on the nose of the Bf-109G-2's of Squadron 53
Bambi appears on the cowl of I.A.R. 81C's of Group 6
And there is a final Disney-esque bull fighter character in front of the canopy on I.A.R. 80C's of Group 4

[Mad Cap Romanian]

Here's one with Bambi on it.

[Mad Cap Romanian]

I found the one with the 4 Leaf Clover.



And a very curious IAR 80M - obviously a reconstructed airplane using parts from some wrecked planes.



Note the Junkers Jumo 211Da engine. Early 1942.

[Mad Cap Romanian]

Links for above pics :

Clover http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/f/312/12/0/6

80M http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/f/312/12/1/19

[thymekiller]

Cool links! Cool pics! Gonna have to look into that deeper. I dont like to look like everybody else. Did not know Romania switched sides.

Disney did other stuff also. The tiger was a gift from Disney. They were called the Flying Tigers in ww2.




These pics arnt entirely accurate, but they give a good idea.