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A had been married
for 4 years and a half already; my father-in-law happens to be Algerian.
Initially, I didn't paid to much attention to that matter until I visited my
wife's family in France during February 2003. I was amazed by they rich
culture and kind character. They all come from a region within Algeria
called Kabylia, which makes them people which are truly proud of their heritage.
After some days with them, I decided to build an Algerian Air Force (AAF)
airplane.
The Mig-15 happens to be one of my favorite "post-war" jet airplanes.
I found a set of decals containing what it appears to be the early markings of
the AAF. According to my references, in 1962 Egypt donated five Mig-15's
to the newly formed Nation of Algeria. Later on, more units arrived and
were use extensively for patroling Algeria's borders. It was difficult to
find references regarding the markings and look of the airplane, but if you'd
like, I found a site containing some information about the AAF at
http://membres.lycos.fr/algaf/menu.htm
which it is all in French. I manage to read it and understand, maybe, a
half of it.
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The kit was excellent. Everything
went just fine. I decided not to build the engine's interior and as I had
read in other reviews, in order to keep the plane away from being a "tail
sitter", I didn't include the engine parts inside of the plane. I
also wanted to note that this is my very first Natural Metal Finish. It
was a "painful" process because every time I painted, a new scratch
popped out. In the end, I followed the various remarks and suggestions of
my friend Jaroslav Hajecek - an already well known contributor of ARC-.
Basically, the kit was built right-out-of-the-box, except for the decals added
and harnesses made out of lead foil that came from a Champagne bottle.
As a WWII modeler, I had always
liked the "weathering" issue. So, I wanted this plane to look
extensively used in service. I could imagine that a young Nation,
struggling for freedom, stability and budgets, would have placed its priorities
on keeping the engines running well and markings for another day... well, I
"wanted" to imagine that. I will be pleased to receive any
comments from you all at Federico_Kunz@web.de
This plane represents a tribute to the members of the family of my wife and, of
course, to my wife herself, thanking them for the hospitality and friendship.
Federico
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