The Little World

I was just going to Hobbytech for a pot of paint…I told myself…I noticed that my lacquer bright silver was running very low and I wanted to stock up.

The paint aisle was easy – I found the Mr Color Bright Silver and grabbed it. They make a number of other forms of silver paint as well, but I wanted to see if this one would give a good bare metal effect without tedious buffing or metal foils. Then I rounded the end of the aisle and headed for the cash register…but happened to glance to the left.

The end of the aisle is stocked with out-of-the-ordinary kits. Some are short-run, some are unusual makers. Some are just unusual models. The reason the Amodel Yak-3 fighter caught my eye was that I had a new pot of silver paint in my mitt and nothing much to spray it on. And the pure silver with red stripe just called out…

Well, once home with it, I found that it is, indeed, a short run model – with many of the characteristics of the breed. No location tabs for most parts and fairly thick castings. Some flash here and there, but nothing too severe. Intensely small detail combined with debatable moulding decisions.

I was given two options – a production-series fighter or the prototype in silver and red that was pictured in the box art. No contest – I can build a stock standard Yak some other time. The clear canopies were even duplicated with minute framing difference – and my choice had fewer things to paint.

This is the first Polish kit I have built, having racked up examples from Ukraina, the Czech Republic, and Russia so far. Amazing how well the hobby has expanded past the old Iron Curtain. Plastic will do that. The fact that this opens up a new world of prototypes that we never saw in the 1950’s is wonderful – though I see some catalogues are now getting a little nose-heavy with Warsaw pact and Russian jet aircraft. Still, if they will continue to give us 1930’s and 40’s planes I shall not complain.

Now all that is needed for the 1:72 scale enthusiast is for someone to decide to make more civil aircraft of the period as well as the military stuff. I long for colour on my airfields.