Love 'em both!! Been wanting to build something Russian and now I’ll have to go shopping…
Howdy Matt,
All I can say is that you did a solid job on both your builds…!! You know, my LHS has a Zvezda La-5 in stock so maybe I should try one out!!
The over all builds look great especially the finishes… Even though with the minor issues with the masking of the Yak, the finish is rock solid…
IMHO Matt, I really like the Yak myself… By chance, any pix of the office?
Flaps up,
Mike
Rangers Lead The Way
Remember, next time try Aves putty for zimmerit—Squadron’s dries too fast…
Thanks Mike! Yeah, I definitely recommend the La-5. Got mine for somewhere around $20 - an absolute steal at that price. Have to say I had way more fun building it than I did AM’s Dauntless. Both are very similar in their overengineered internals and “trust us, it’ll work” build process, but the Zvezda leaves a lot more room for test fitting before you have to glue too much down.
As for the offices, here are some pics when they were still in the build-up process. A lot easier to see what’s going on.
Yak-3
The kit provides a decal for the IP, but it’s awful, so I scraped it off, repainted and used Mike Grant decals. Eduard seatbelts (think I took them off the French WWII belt set…). I didn’t particularly care for the seat treatment…this is one of those kits that could really benefit from Ultracast or someone doing a resin seat.
La-5
The Lavochkin’s interior is actually pretty great. I loved how it built up in chunks. Felt far more organic than the usual “put seat here, put control stick here, put IP here” process. Love that there really wasn’t a floor, though this was probably a terrible plain to drop your cell phone in…
The seat was again the weak point. I scratched a back cushion out of cardboard that seems to have spiffed it up quite a bit.
Just wanted to say again great work on both of them and thanks as I just picked up the Zvezda La-5 and the 109 F2 which seems to be getting rave reviews!
PS Kudos to you for one helluva recovery from the Play-doh!!
Ya got that right! You kept your cool and got 'er done. Great work on the office too BTW! [Y]
Very nice Doogs! Look just like the ones I saw on the Military Channel tonite.
Tony
I have an LA-5 in the stash, this night inspire me… but I also have like 3 works in progress…
Seriously though, those are gorgeous examples. I cannot believe you’re “just getting back” into the hobby either. Great, great work.
I love your YAK and want to marry it…
Very nicely done! I’m just getting started on Eduard’s 1/48 La7 and you’ve provided me with a little extra incentive. Doogs I also credit you with directing me towards the White Ensign paints for my soviet endeavors and thus my paints have been ordered. Any advice on thinning and painting with them?
Thanks for Sharing, Joe
I’ve got the La-7 profi-pack in the stash. Glanced at it briefly and it looks of an age with the Yak. Sort of like how you can tell certain old Monogram kits were designed alongside or around the same time as others. Need to double-check, but in the case of the La-7, I believe that means the same awful wheels and lack of landing gear locators. The True Details wheels are really nice looking…highly recommended.
As for the White Ensign…I’ve had hit or miss experiences with them. Mostly with AMT Black, which I just hated. But there are plenty of other “almost black” paints in the sea. AMT-7/11/12 all sprayed pretty well. The AMT-7 is just a dream. I thinned everything about 1:1 with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner. Worked well and brought the cure time down to a day or two.
Nice Job! [:D[
great looking builds,nicely done!
Trey
WOW! Those are a stunning pair of builds there, and ones we don’t see here very often. I have wanted an LA-5, but was nervous about the Zvezda kit as I had heard much about them. I shall get one for myself now!
Thanks for sharing the builds, beautiful work!
Nice build Doogs! I agree witht he gear issue on the Yak, I felt like I needed three hands to get it all together. I do have the Eduard La-7 to build, I hope it is not the same. Again I love the green tinted paint on that yak, and considering what the Play Doh did you recovered very well.