Yak it up!

strobez · January 17, 2017, 06:49:19 PM

Basically just marking my spot. But my entry for the Soviet Group Build will be a pair of Yaks... no, not the furry arctic tundra types...

First up will be a Yak-38 Forger decked out in Area 88 "anti-government forces" colours.

However, instead of the 1/100 kit from Takara, I will be using either the venerable Hobbycraft 1/72 offering

or the Tsukuda Hobby re-pop of the Revell molds

I haven't made up my mind yet. Anyone have any preference between the two kits?

In keeping with my re-interpretation of WWII-era planes, I also plan to deck out a Yak-3 in similar colours. For that I'll be using the Zvezda kit that I've been dying to "snap together".

If I've somehow mis-understood the interpretation of the rules and these are not eligible for the GB, someone should tell me now. It won't stop me from working on them... but I'll need to make sure I post them in the appropriate place.

strobez · February 26, 2017, 03:09:32 AM

Ok, real life got in the way and made it a bit tricky to get out of the gate, but we're off and running on the Soviet GB finally.

So I decided to start on the Tsukuda repop of the Revell mold. First, the obligatory box pic...

Won't be using much, if any, of the decals, but the sprues look pretty clean.

I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with the cockpit, so I just decided to warm up by just cutting and glueing a bunch of bits together. Mostly got the armament done, but the engine weirds me out a bit. Once it's in place, it's completely enclosed in the fuselage and you can't see it at all. Not sure what the point of spending any time on it is, but I glued it together at least.

First thing to do with the cockpit is close it off from the engine area. I also added a bit of an angled back to the firewall that goes behind the chair. Not sure if it's going to work, but we'll give it a go...

sandiego89 · February 26, 2017, 04:59:39 AM

I have a soft spot for the Yak-38, by all accounts a pretty useless fighter in real life, but with those lift jets and interesting layout, it is a neat aircraft.

Perhaps save the engine for the spares box....

Looking forward to this one...

strobez · February 26, 2017, 07:34:50 AM

Heh, it is a weird looking duck, that's for sure... but there's something endearing about it. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who feels that way.

Made a bit of progress on the cockpit. It's not the easiest to work with, but I think a few details will actually improve the look.

zenrat · February 27, 2017, 03:05:21 AM

It was apparently unable to take off on warm days.
And when it managed to fly it only had enough fuel for a quick lap around the ship before landing.

Compared to the A Model kit that one looks amazing!

Captain Canada · February 27, 2017, 05:00:15 AM

Great start ! And that is some beautiful box art ! Makes me want to build one.

strobez · February 27, 2017, 07:23:07 AM

Thanks for the encouragement guys! I'm surprised that you think the kit is better than the Amodel one. I was under the impression that one was "the best" in 1/72 scale. I haven't seen it up close and personal though. I do have the Hobbycraft one and that seems a bit inferior (but better than the crazy Chinese one I found in Taiwan that was actually a modified version of a 1/100).

Anyway, I think I've crammed in about as much as I can to the cockpit now. By changing the back firewall I can no longer have a closed canopy, so I'm going to have to cheat a bit and just attach it to the side I guess.

strobez · February 28, 2017, 06:37:02 AM

Just ran across Dizzyfugu's Yak-38 Whif from a few years ago. Something to aspire to.

http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=37929.0

And by aspire, I mean steal all the good ideas... like, for example, opening up the intakes and boxing them off.

strobez · March 02, 2017, 05:59:03 AM

I decided to add some fans on the underside instead of just the non-description vent grill. Didn't have any fans lying around, but a couple of sanded down Spad XIII wheels seem to have done the trick.

Rick Lowe · March 02, 2017, 03:12:36 PM

Quote from: strobez on March 02, 2017, 05:59:03 AM
I decided to add some fans on the underside instead of just the non-description vent grill. Didn't have any fans lying around, but a couple of sanded down Spad XIII wheels seem to have done the trick.

Nice re-purposing!

strobez · March 13, 2017, 06:11:14 PM

So, after a bit of a travel delay, I'm back at the bench...

Not too much progress. Basically just got some paint down in the air intakes and the cockpit. There seems to be some discrepancy in regards to the Yak-38's cockpit colours. I've seen everything from dark grey to that wacky Soviet turquoise, but I had a bottle of Tamiya XF-71 Cockpit Green burning a hole in my... uh... shelf. Wasn't sure, but I also sprayed the turbine blades the same colour.

strobez · March 14, 2017, 04:51:18 PM

Got the seat mostly painted and then added a spare set of modified Academy F-8E Crusader decals for the cockpit. Fits well enough after a bit of jamming and cursing.

I also cut out the secondary vents on the air intakes. Hopefully I won't regret doing that.

Rick Lowe · March 15, 2017, 04:08:44 PM

Quote from: strobez on March 14, 2017, 04:51:18 PM
Hopefully I won't regret doing that.

Hopefully you haven't Taunted Murphy with that remark...

strobez · March 15, 2017, 05:46:45 PM

I'm pretty sure Murphy has a rep office in my house already...

Anyway, I got out the glue last night and got the main fuselage together. Fit was not too bad.

The air vents look alright in place I think. Technically they should be a bit further forward, but the ratio of realism to work required over possible outcomes didn't work in favour of trying anything more intensive. All very scientifical.

strobez · March 21, 2017, 09:25:49 PM

Putty... sand... repeat...

The fit was not bad, so it wasn't too onerous, but as always, I seem to have difficulty attaining a bump/diver-free finish. I keep trying though.

Once I got it as close as I think I can manage, I rescribed a few missing panel lines. Not perfect, but looking a lot sharper than it did. Now to figure out what colour paint I want to use... one of the darker Tamiya XF blues I think.