Tag: Soviet
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Yakovlev 6 – Part One -The Orphan

I discovered this Yak 6 model sitting forlornly under a pile of junk in the storage room of the model club. There are any number of derelict kits in there – some abandoned half-built, and some just unwanted. The simple ones could be turned into basic trainers for young modellers, but the dreadful short run…
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Ilyushin Il-10 – Part Three – Sleeker Than You’d Think

My stable of Soviet fighter planes of WW 2 is very small – one Yak and one Lavotchkin. Not even a MiG yet. But they all seem to share a similar look – the look of fighters that have been developed by people who don’t quite know what the shape should be. Oh, they are…
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Bell P-39 Airacobra – Part One – The Soviet Twins

For the first time ever I am doing a group build. Not an exercise where I’m going to be a member of a group of modellers, but one where I make a group of models. Related items, if you will, and all made at the same time. They are being made for a purpose –…
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MiG 15 – Part Two – Bring On The Clowns, Popov

Well, I stared and stared at the colour call-out and decal sheet for the MiG 15 and just couldn’t get excited. The entire outside of the airplane was aluminium colour – with only a little red or blue on a tail or nose. I am not against aluminium colour per se but I’ve recently built quite a…
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Lavotchkin 5-FN – Part Three – Decalling The White Bird

The paint job on the Lavotchkin was simplicity itself – if you discount the fact that you spend a lot of masking tape doing it. Fortunately the bigger bits can be done with the cheap DIY store stuff instead of the thin hobby shop rolls. They do the details. Now, remember I was nervous about…
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Lavotchkin 5-FN – Part Two – The Russian Jig

It’s like an Irish jig…but with vodka. My first impressions of the Zvezda kit were not wrong – it is well-built. The cockpit was adequate, without being overly complex, and Ivan, the pilot, fit well into his seat. Unlike Airfix aircrew, I did not have to Douglas Bader him to get him into his seat…
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Lavotchkin 5-FN – Part One – First Russian

I was idling though a hobby shop that has few aircraft – they specialise in figures and games – when I remembered that they sometimes have cheap airplane kits. I think they are stocked as a sop to the shoppers rather than a serious attempt to earn money…but I am prepared to be condescended to…
