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Last Updated: Aug 21st, 2020 - 13:06:35 |
I don’t usually appreciate the postman waking me at 7.30am, even on a weekday. But when the parcel he is trying to deliver contains not one but THREE new AM kits, I am prepared to accept the rude awakening! Better yet, the latest kits so delivered were the eagerly-awaited Yak-1s, the three versions being an early/mid-production Yak-1, a late Yak-1b (with bubble canopy), and a ski-equipped early machine.
AM kits’ quality and detail have been lauded ad nauseum in MMM, each new release raising the standards still higher and causing me to run out of superlatives. Has this sequence been extended? Well, probably not - but I wouldn’t for a moment imply that AM’s standards have slipped. It’s just that the real Yaks are rather simple machines, and the kits represent this perfectly. Bill Bosworth of AM is rather dismissive of the Yaks, almost apologising for their simplicity! Me thinks he doth protest too much - these are beautiful little kits, superbly reproducing the lines and details of the real Yak-1, but with the bonus of being very easy to build.
Why all the excitement over the Yak-1 in kit form, however good the kit? Well, this was a MOST significant Soviet fighter, the best of the new ?frontal fighters? coming into service in 1941, and progenitor of the Yak family (-7, -9, -3) which dominated Soviet WW2 fighter production (over 36,000 built). Whilst we now have decent Yak-9s and -3s in 1/48th and 1/72nd, there has only ever been one kit of the Yak-1 (to my knowledge), a rather basic and none-too-accurate 1/72nd offering from Mikro in Poland (fully described in Mushroom Monthly x/y, with plans and detailed corrections). AM have also picked out another historic detail of the Yak-1, one kit providing decals for the mount of Lilya Litvyak, the most successful Soviet female fighter pilot (and thus the greatest female ace of all time!). Litvyak scored 12 kills between Sept 1942 and August 1943, all but three whilst flying Yak-1s. When she was shot down and killed on August 1st 1943 (aged just 22), it took eight Me109s to achieve it, and they lost two of their number in the process.
What of the kits themselves? The one with Lilya Litvyak’s markings (no. 3424), can be built as one of two styles of early Yak-1, with raised fuselage spine. The difference is in the glazing behind the canopy, both the early full glazing and the later partial windows being provided. AM have moulded the upper fuselage itself as a separate part, following a panel line along its lower edge and ending at a natural panel line ahead of the tail, so their Yak-1b kit (no. 3425) has a new fuselage top with a lower spine behind its bubble hood - clever design. Otherwise the kits are mostly identical. Many manufacturers would have left it at that, for simplicity and ease of production - but not AM. They have noted, correctly, that the cowlings (and indeed fuselages) of early and late Yak-1s are rather different, especially the exhaust ports. Early machines had exhaust stubs exiting through holes in the cowling, whilst later aircraft had a shrouded slit. So AM have engineered two versions of the fuselage halves, to reflect these and other (minor) differences. The three-part fuselage construction ensures properly detailed upper cowlings (complete with gun ports), no centre-line joint, and even a moulded-in gunsight mounting. The exhaust stubs themselves are cleverly moulded such that cleaning them up, drilling them out and painting them can be done ?on the sprue?, and they are attached to the model at the very end of construction.
Kit No. 3 (no. 3423) is basically the same as #3424, but comes with alternative ski undercarriage. The conventional u/c in all three kits has optional tyres, weighted or unweighted - don’t waste money on after-market parts! All three kits come complete with drop tanks and RS-82 rockets, as optional underwing stores. Clear parts provide not just the canopies, but also the armour glass for the Yak-1b, the gunsight, wingtip and tail navigation lights, and even the upper wing fuel gauges.
As with most AM kits, you ignore the instructions at your peril! The kit design is very clever but not altogether conventional, so read the clear and detailed instructions CAREFULLY. Typical of the unusual approach is the provision of a wing spar. This not only ensures correct dihedral and gives the wheel wells some solid detail, but it also positively locates the cockpit interior within the fuselage. The super-detailed cockpit (ignore any after-market sets for these kits!) is loosely inserted into the assembled fuselage from below, and then locked in the correct position when the wing is attached.
So these are great examples of the mould-makers art; but are they accurate? From past experiences with AM that is an almost superfluous question, knowing the care and research which goes into their kits. Uniquely amongst kit makers, AM list their sources - and if the Yakovlev design bureau, the Litvyak family, and the many others acknowledged did not put them right, who am I to argue? For what it is worth the kits look spot on to me, and match very closely the best plans I have access to (in the AJ Press book on the Yak-1/Yak-3). My favoured trick of enlarging side view photos reveals no significant error in the basic shapes. So, accurate? YES!
As usual with AM, only one decal option is provided in each kit. I’m quite sure there will be a flood of alternatives on the market soon enough. Apart from Litvyak’s machine, the aircraft are not clearly identified as to unit or pilot, but the decals themselves and the marking instructions are extremely good. Full stencils are supplied. AM correctly note that the white finish on the ski-equipped machine was temporary distemper applied over the standard green/black camouflage, so the painting instructions give this latter scheme in full. It is then up to the builder to decide on how to apply a white overcoat, suitably weathered (I’d go for acrylic over enamel or vice-versa, to make life easier - or slap on an intermediate coat of Klear).
What can I say? These are great kits of important aircraft, and will be a joy to build even if you are not a V-VS fan. AM have done it yet again. Buy, build and enjoy!
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