Category: Soviet aircraft
-
Ilyushin IL-2 – Part Two – Czeching Out The Fit
Part-fit stage is looking good. The cockpit has proved wonderful – in Czech terms that means it has a ledge to sit in and fits onto the lendge without hack-sawing anything. The fuselage closes…almost…The wings are in register and they have decided shapes to fit onto the fuselage. And the tail surfaces are such a…
-
Ilyushin IL-2 – Part One – Back On Trackski
This Il-2 is the gift of a club-mate; John. It has been sitting in the stash long enough – the idea has sprouted. This is to be a winter Sturmovik. I shall risk the hazards of the Czech decals and try to put the complete Soviet slogans on the side when it is finished. I’ve…
-
Yak 3 – Part Four _ Speed Is As Speed Does
When you are not bending up connecting rods from brass PE sheets for a 1/72 kit, it seems to go a lot faster in the construction. Not as liable to win Best-of-Show at the Anorak Expo, but you have to be realistic. And Hobby Boss are the most realistic moulders I know. The Yak 3…
-
Yak 3 – Part Three – Portable Yak
When you build model kits you need not do it in just one place. I have four locations at which I can endeavour to cut my fingers and damage table tops; two at home and two in other premises. If I was a travelling salesman who was sleeping in a different hotel every night I…
-
Yak 3 – Part Two – There’s An Hour Of My Life…
Well-spent, as it happens. The Yak 3 basic structure is cemented together with the cockpit painted already. You can see why I like Hobby Boss products – particularly in a case where there is a time constraint. I don’t want to turn out a shoddy model, but I don’t have time for Boola-Boolavarde stops, as…
-
Yak 3 – Part One – Yak On
Do not be frightened off by the complexity of the Hobby Boss Yak 3 fighter plane kit. I shall master it. I snatched it off the hobby shop shelf in relief – I need one more Soviet fighter for a diorama and there is limited time for the build. What better than Hobby Boss. While…
-
Yakovlev 6 – Part Five – A Flying Fin
Not a flying Finn – unless the Finns captured a few of these in the Winter War. The fin is the price that this Encore model cost. And I think it has proved a sterling investment. The green you see here is a lightened and blued form of the Russian Green. The scale effect, perhaps,…
-
Yakovlev 6 – Part Four – Jayne Mansfield
Nothing whatsoever to do with this Yak 6 utility aircraft, but Jayne liked the colour pink as well. She would have appreciated the big nacelles… Now that your mind is sabotaged for the day, we will continue. The Amphibious Twins have been painted and are installed in their little bare cockpit. Fortunately the glazing over…
-
Yakovlev 6 – Part Three – The Beauty Within
The crude nature of some kits is so overwhelming that many people just cannot bring themselves to build them. This is the result of the continuing development of the hobby over the last 70 Years. We in the west have benefited tremendously from the initial efforts of the British, American, and French firms that took…
-
Yakovlev 6 – Part Two – The Amphibious Twins
Pavel and Sergei – the crew of the Encore Models Yak 6. I recognised them – they used to work for FROG in the 60’s, and flew nearly everything that company produced. It was hard work – the long hours wore them down so much that their faces fell off. I suspect that the two…
The Little World 