Gudkov Gu-VRD - Now Finished

[McGreig]

Like Dizzyfugu's Sukhoi I-2M107, the Gudkov VRD was a real Soviet project. However, unlike Dizzyfugu, I'm not scratchbuilding. Instead I'm going to take the much more difficult route of trying to complete a Unicraft resin kit  

Gudkov was one of the design team which created the LaGG-3. As well as proposing a jet powered version of the LaGG-3 (LaGG-3 RD-1: LaGG-3 converted to jet power à la Yak-15) he also designed an entirely original jet fighter bearing no relationship to the LaGG-3.



This was the Gu-VRD. It retained the pod and boom configuration of the LaGG-3 RD-1 and was to be powered by a Lyul'ka turbojet.



The project was submitted to the Scientific Research Institute of the Air Force (NII VVS) in March 1943. Their conclusion was that, while the aircraft would probably fly with the claimed speed, there was, at that time,  no suitable engine. This was because, while Lyulka had designed and partially tested the prototype RDT-1/VDR-2 centrifugal engine, this was still at an early stage of development with a thrust of around 700 kg which was only half that required for the VRD.

Work on the engine then stopped to allow Lyul'ka to concentrate on a new axial flow engine,  the VDR-3/S-18, which would not be ready for another two years and Gudkov's design bureau was closed in Summer 1943.



The kit is typical of Unicraft – the resin is hard and brittle, the detailing is quite neat, but the fit of the parts and the definition of the smaller parts is very poor. Although you get a pilot's seat, an instrument panel and a control column, there is no cockpit floor and no jet pipe for the jet exhaust, just a very crude, vaguely circular hole in the fuselage underside.

In the picture of the kit parts you can see the plastic tube jet pipe which has been added.



The fuselage has now been assembled and filled and a cockpit floor added. The gaps have been filled and sanded down and a coat of white primer painted along the joins to highlight the areas which need further filling and sanding.





As I haven't yet added the wings, you can't see how dreadful the fit is (it fits where it touches and it doesn't touch in that many places   ) but here are a few shots of another Unicraft kit under construction (which may be included in this build if I retain my sanity after doing the VRD) to illustrate Unicraft's precision engineering where the outer wings fit (using the word "fit" in the loosest possible sense) the centre section, and the amount of filler needed on the wing roots and fuselage.

[Dizzyfugu]

Oh, ah! 

[NARSES2]

You have my sympathy . I've been contemplating a Unicraft build for a while and will continue to contemplate for a while longer  It will get built this year......when it stops raining 

[McGreig]

Well, the wings have now been added and you can see that Unicraft's fine tradition of precision engineering and fit continues:





However, despite the gaps, the positioning and fixing of the wings was relatively straightforward and didn't take as much time as I expected. The wing roots are now filled and will be sanded down tomorrow.

[Captain Canada]

Woah...what a neat looking aeroplane !

[McGreig]

Slow but steady progress. The tail planes and the odd, four-segment nose intake have been added and the wing roots have been sanded down (although some  more filler will be needed to touch up some areas  ).

[Captain Canada]

Great job on getting it all filled in ! I love the look of this thing....all sorts of ideas come out of it

[ysi_maniac]

Looks great!

[pyro-manic]

A braver man than I....

An interesting design, for sure, and I look forward to seeing it complete.

Wonder how it would look with a close-cowled radial on the front? ASh-82 perhaps?

[Mossie]

Good work so far, lot of work but your bludgeoning it into submission.

I picked up a Unicraft kit cheaply at the Huddersfield show, a Cheranovsky BICh-17 which I might enter into this build....

[NARSES2]

Good work so far, lot of work but your bludgeoning it into submission.

I picked up a Unicraft kit cheaply at the Huddersfield show, a Cheranovsky BICh-17 which I might enter into this build....

I'll extend the timescale for you mate  Seriously go on, you know you want to 

[Weaver]

Good work so far, lot of work but your bludgeoning it into submission.

I picked up a Unicraft kit cheaply at the Huddersfield show, a Cheranovsky BICh-17 which I might enter into this build....

In fact Mike McEvoy was selling a bag full of them: if we'd know you were a member of the fan club mcGreig, we could have picked a few more up for you....

[JayBee]

Y' know compared to my Unicrap kit of the Lockheed YO-3A your kit looks GOOD!

[McGreig]

Thanks, Gentlemen  

Basic cockpit detail - seat, harness, control column, instrument panel - has now been added and the vacform canopy has been fixed in place.



Predictably, this is not a good fit   So I have had to seal the gaps with Clearfix and thick white paint which I will leave for at least another day before sanding it down:

In fact Mike McEvoy was selling a bag full of them: if we'd know you were a member of the fan club mcGreig, we could have picked a few more up for you....

Well, I'm about to introduce another Unicraft kit (or possibly two) into this GB - - - -

I picked up a Unicraft kit cheaply at the Huddersfield show, a Cheranovsky BICh-17 which I might enter into this build....

I'll extend the timescale for you mate   Seriously go on, you know you want to  

Yes, you should build it - Cheranovsky's designs are wonderful - they look like real world Whiffs. For example, (going off topic for a moment but, hey, its my thread):

I have this (unbuilt) Unicraft kit of the early BICh-3



And, back in 2009 for the "Sovietise it" GB, I kitbashed this "BICh-110" (based on drawings in Yefim Gordon's Soviet Secret Projects - Fighters") from an old Frog Sea Vixen



And I recently came across this on deviantART - it's inspired by Cheranovsky, rather than being an actual project, and was created from paper, card and wood by Rekalnus. I'm very tempted to try it in plastic starting with a MiG-3 and using a laminated plastic card wing.



Next update on the Gudkov once the canopy sealant has set hard enough for sanding - - -

[Captain Canada]

She's really coming along ! Love the way this thing looks....what a great idea !