This is the most known image of MiG-3. It represents a line of aircrafts taken on March 7, 1942, when 120 IAP of the Moscow Air Defence (PVO) was made a Guards unit as12 GIAP. Let's look at the second aircraft of the line, black 12.  It is under the same light and perspective of the first one, red 02; despite this, it shows completely different reflexes, particularly on the nose. The overall look is that of a silver aircraft.

This silver look is even more distinguishable on this darker version of the image, in contrast with the flat surface of the other winter camouflaged aircrafts.

Something like this. This was the first version of my profile.

This interpretation became unsatisfactory when I received this strongly darkened scan. A demarcation line between upper and lower color is visible, behind the shadow of the horizontal tail plan on the fuselage. Don't mistake the identification please, compare with the image of 02 to see what is the shadow and what is the demarcation line. Besides, we see clearly that the metallic look is limited to the nose and few other panels.

Then I thought that, if there is a demarcation line, then the uppersurface has to be white and the undersurface light blue, as on most other MiG-3s with winter scheme. This profile was shown on this site till April 2004.

The idea of silver surfaces was substained again by Alexey Matvienko some time ago.  While I had to check again the presence of a demarcation line under the tail and under the wingroot, I had to admit that the strange look of the fuselage under the tail surfaces could well be explained by silver surfaces.  This look is completely different from the light blue on 02 on the corresponding position. It looks that the part immediately below the tail surface is light because it reflects the sun lightened snow surface, while the dark shade below it is the reflex of the shadow of the tail on the ground.  In fact, its longitudinal extension corresponds exactly to it.

Another author suggests that what seem metallic reflexes or shadows on the nose and undersurface of black 12 is due only to a non-uniform layer of white, that let traspare the summer camouflage under it.
I think that this interpretation is unlikely, because:

• the exact correspondence of light zones and black zones with those due to a metallic reflex would be a too surprising coincidence;
• there is not any trace of color disuniformity in any other point of the uppersurface; is it possible that disuniformities are only where they look metallic reflexes or shadows, and not in other places?
• to explain the dark shade under the tail as green or black paint trasparing under white coat would mean that the fuselage undersurface was green or black camouflaged, but this looks absurd;
• when comparing this dark shade under the tail to the corresponding part of red 02, we see that light blue paint can't give a so dark shade.

To tell the truth, there are some photos of Soviet winter aircrafts that look to show metallic reflexes, as this of MiG-3s of 120 IAP close to an Il-2 of 65 SAP. In this case, the metallic appearance could easily be an illusion: the sun is low behind the MiGs, and some parts of the uppersurface are nearly on shadow, and this could justify the metallic look. Besides, the Il-2 looks metallic too, but it is very strange that a very rare silver finish is applied on three aircrafts of two different units appearing casually on the same image. So I think that, in this case, lightening conditions create an illusion of silver finish. The photo where red 02 and black 12 appear shows well different lightening conditions: the sun is high, and no metallic reflex appear on aircrafts of the line other than black 12, so sunlight is not creating any illusion.

At the end, I think that both the nose and the undersurfaces of this aircraft were painted silver, while the uppersurfaces where white.

Let's try to imagine how such an unusual configuration could have been originated.
Perhaps the aircraft belonged to an ace (someone suggests that it was of Sergey Rubtzov, but I have not any proof of this) that asked to repaint it silver overall over the summer scheme.
Silver overall is an acceptable winter and air-to-air camo scheme, and this paint was employed on I-153s, SBs and DB-3s just after the war outbreak.
Then he saw that the silver paint created too much reflex from above, and, as a compromise, repainted its upper and side surfaces with a thin layer of gloss white that let transpare a bit the silver, giving it a look that was brighter than the other aircrafts of the line, as we see on the photo.
Besides, the nose panels and undersurfaces were let silver as a personal characteristic.
 

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