Sovietwarplanes

The Lavochkin La-5f advendure has come to an end. Now its time to move on to the next victim, the LaGG-3.


Its the 1/48 ICM kit 48091 of the LaGG-3. This kit portrayed the first four series of the LaGG-3 and in particulair Galchenko's plane. Some of the detail is oke, but some are a bit disapointing. I think i got a socalled "mondaymorning" type, because the detail differs so much and one of the hull parts are warped. The left hull detail is quite oke, but the right part is horrible. It looks like if the pressure while injecting the plastic, was less when making the left part. I have my fair share of scratchbuilding so i don't mind it that much, and i can fix it. Never the less, its not a nice discovery when you open up the box...


Although Vector resin also makes two resin LaGG-3's, they made a resin cockpit for the ICM kit. This is done very nice. I only have a bit the idea that the wall parts are a bit curved...


The Eduard PE set is exelent. If you upgrade your aircraft, Eduard PE is the first thing you go to. I have (almost not)seen a plane without Eduard upgrades.


The engine i will use, comes from the Zvezda Yak-3. This kit is buildable with or without the engine. I want to build the Yak without the engine, so i can use this for the LaGG-3. The engine is a true masterpiece. Zvezda outdid itselfs with a kit and engine, for the price under the ICM LaGG. The engine used in the LaGG is virtually the same as in the Yak. The engine struts, frame and panels i have to build myself (yes, were going a level further in aicraftbuilding).


I bought also a nice canopy from Pavla. Looks clear and more on to scale than the ICM canopy. The wheels i use are from True details and are better than the ICM wheels.

I will post some photo's soon

Regards,

Remco

Hi Remco,
If you going to build Galchenko's plane, may be this page about its camouflage could interest you http://sovietwarplanes.com/board/index.php?topic=1445.0 (http://sovietwarplanes.com/board/index.php?topic=1445.0)
Regards,
    66misos

Hi Remco and Misos,
yes, that page is interesting. I will update my page on Galchenko taking into account the new informations of that research.

Remco, thank you for your list of aftermarket items, I've one of these kits and I'll build it some day. I've noted the strange thing around the canopy hatch on the right fuselage half. It is a tooling problem, as if some panel lines were made heavily out of register.

Regards
Massimo

Hi Remco

just a quick thing to check, I think, from  having read this somewhere, the ICM LaGG -3 is a bit short in rear fuselage, around the hatch,  and the wings are too narrow in chord, I compared one with a Zvezda La-5 and this seems to be the case, as the Zvezda La-5 is accurate, well, I've never seen anyone say it's not!

EDIT - funny, today google was my friend...
http://www.network54.com/Forum/149674/thread/1248100158/ICM+LaGG-3
from Sergey Kosachev

Now, from you La-5F build you only used the nose of then La-5, so you might want to compare parts, from memory the difference in the wing is  1 or 2 mm in chord.
You may find it easier to use the remains of the Zvezda La-5 with some parts from the LaGG-3 kit as you already have that spare.

I can, if you wish dig out the respective kits, I also have the South Front and LTD LaGG-3 kits, the SF kit is over size, the LTD is a bit basic, but have not compared the LTD kit with the others as yet.

Hope of interest,  look forward to your build

cheers
Troy

I have all three of those kits , Troy.

so I am interested in your comparison

and forum members need to remember the the LTD kit represents a later series than SF or ICM

Hey guys!

Thanks for the response.

@ 66misos - i want to build the later version of Galchenko's LaGG-3. Its the version with the stars on the side. I will post a photo of it soon

@ Massimo and Troy- the detail on the ICM kit is sometimes rough. I was searching for that post Troy. Thank for posting the link. I was stunned to see that the scale difference was quite big. I have a Zvezda La-5 in my stock, and i wil try to convert it to a LaGG-3. A nice challange Troy. I have a scraped Eduard Yak-3 in the spare parts box, and have an idea to convert the intakes at the wingroot on the La-5. Is that the right size?? think i have to change the title of this thread into Zvezda la-5 conversion into LaGG-3. Hahaha! The only ICM parts i think i use, are the spinner and cooler under the belly...

Regards,

Remco

Hi Remco,
not the engine cowling, then? I would make the panels, maybe on the ground, if the engine is shown. Else, the plane looks uncomplete.
Regards
Massimo

Massimo,

That was indeed the plan to make the panels loose on the ground. I have a couple photo's of panels, but that is not much. I am going to try to make them as good as possible, so i can refit some panels on the engine. This build is going to be wild already. I love this challange....

Alright,  i have a Zvezda La -5. Now i have to do some cutting, filling and sanding... are the supercharger intakes oval? Galchenko's lagg was a first series and heavely upgraded to a fourth series. Are there some photo's of behind the seat of the pilot? Especialy the part of the cooler in the fuselage. I noticed a window in the ICM kit behind the cooler. Inhave looked at some photo's of Galchenko's plane, but i can not find the window... Also the oxigen bottle switched places. First at the rear by the pilot seat, then it was moved to the right wall (as on La-5 types). There is a case also behind the pilot seat. What was that or what was in it?

Regards, Remco

Hi Remco

Wish i knew more about the minutae of this, but I'd just be reffering you to this page
http://mig3.sovietwarplanes.com/lagg3/lagg3drawings/lagg3drawings.html

I don't know if any more information has been turned up since.   

HTH
T

Hi Remco, do you mean the cooler outlet? It is closed by a movable flap, it could be invisible on photos when it is closed. The same for the oil cooler outlet under the nose.
Regards
Massimo

Thanks for all the respose guys!

@ Troy- I have seen the drawings. Most of the drawings refer to the La-5. It shared a lot of construction plans, but not the fuselage. Especialy the cooler part under the belly. Also the construction of the motormount is a bit blury. I think it looks a bit like the MiG-3 or Yak-1.  I am now busy rebuilding the La-5 wing section. I have cut a bit from the front of the ICM wing section, and glued it tougheter with the charger inlets (i cut of the inlets first because i thought they supose to be oval...not...). I made the housing of the landinglight on the left side. I am now busy with the cooler inlet under the belly. Progress is slow due research and ofcourse not to much time. When the wing section is complete, i post them here.

Regards,

Remco

Hi Remco,
did you see this? It has photos of the restored engine mount and other details.
http://sashapak.livejournal.com/52302.html (http://sashapak.livejournal.com/52302.html)
Regards
Massimo

Perfect Massimo!!!! Great! Best photos ever! Just what i need!

Regards,

Remco

I shall follow this build with interest, Remco! Good luck with it!

Regards,

Jason

Hi Jason!

I hope you will enjoy the build. With Massimo's photo's i really want to build the frame right now. Its hard to focus, because there are so much thing i wanted to do with this kit.

This is the type i want to build

(http://s20.postimg.org/gto9w39vd/tmp_16272_galchen11_903053109.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/gto9w39vd/)

...and a little progress on the panels

(http://s20.postimg.org/i4rfqtg3d/tmp_12101_DSC_0397_487340980.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/i4rfqtg3d/)

Regards,

Remco

Hey guys,

Progress is slow. This due very close examining of the photo's i have (thanks for the brilliant link Massimo!!!). Altough i said that i would focus on the hull, but that's impossible. Sometimes you have to work on the frame before i can work further on the wing section. This is not a really bad thing because everything gets worked on. I saw that the Vector upper part of the instrument panel is early and the lower part is late. By the Eduard PE, this is vice versa. I will use the Vector parts because the instrument panel of the Eduard PE is black. The instrumentpanel photo's of the early LaGG's displayed a lighter colour (A-14 maybe?? its not that shiny as silver). Currently i am busy with the fuselage parts, wingsection and frame. I decided not to use the Vector sidewalls, but parts of them. Its better to use the Zvezda frame due oncoming fit issues. I have to make everything spot on and perfect, so if i join the fuselage halves, we don't see seams and cracks. If this hapens, it will be impossible to do some fill and restore this. I think that the biggest challenge is to build the belly cooler in the hull (very difficult with al those curves) and the motor frame (i have nice photo's, but you have to build it in 3D, in your head with all the different angles of the tubes). O, anny colour sugestions on the engine bay are very welcome  :D
Regards,

Remco

Hi Remco,
about the color of the instrument panel: there is an exhibit of DB-3A on Scalemodels.ru that shows clearly traces of light grey, probably AE-9. I think it is the same colors used on many early types.
I think it's irritating to spend so much money on aftermaret items and then have to discard them because of some defects.
Color suggestions... there are photos of the inner side of the cowling of a LaGG-3 somewhere, you can find one here too:
http://mig3.sovietwarplanes.com/colors/internal-colors-primers/internal-colors-primers.html (http://mig3.sovietwarplanes.com/colors/internal-colors-primers/internal-colors-primers.html) that seems zinc chromate yellow over a layer of red-brown (that should be invisible on a not-worn piece).
Regards
Massimo

Massimo,

Thanks for the color links. The reddish brown is a real surprise. I have to examenate the new info.

The Vector set is not completly useless. The seat, floors and some parts on the wall are useable. You gotta see what i have done with a Wolfpack resin (little bit wrong) wingfold of my Eduard F6f-3 Hellcat... I like to rebuild  or correct the correction set. One of the biggest challanges i have, is the rebuild of the 1/48 Academy Su-27 in to the Su-33.

Hi Remco,
I was surprised too. Such red brown was found on Il-2s too, and is possibly at the base of the past beliefs on Soviet camouflage.
A conversion on a Flanker in 1:48? I fear it risks to become obsolete before its completion. 1/48 Flankers seem popular between Chinese producers.

Hi Massimo,

There are indeed rumors about a 1/48 Su-33. But it is just like rumors about the T-34 STZ (Stalingrad build type), that hit the market in 2007 as a "limited edition". Build by Cyberhobby and better known as the prototype division from Dragon, it was clear that it would be a slam dunk. Sells were great, but they didn't release it under the Dragon flag, leaving people indignant. It would take till 2014 before Dragon released it (again) for series production. So, i think if we getba series production Su-33, it would be definetly two a three years away (beeing optimistic here). There is a very nice Petlyakov pe -2 comming from Zvezda. Their quality is improving every model they make, so i have high expectations. Unfortunally my MPM stash than can go straight to the garbage bin...

Back to the LaGG-3. I have mounted the belly cooler partly under the Zvezda hull. Its a very difficult task due the perfect fit it must have before i finally assamble the hull. Also its wise to paint the cooler and tunnel first before joining the hull. I can't spray the underside of the tunnel inlet then anymore. Also the front were the cockpit windshield is placed on, has been succesfully added. That was a breeze compared to the belly cooler... I think when i am done with this one, i put my MiG-210 project on the shelf, and finnish my plagued MiG-3. Or i can do an easy build, like a
 Yak-9u...

Hi Remco,
about the Su-33, much depends on what is the time horizon previded for the building, and if you have already built conversion kits. The worst thing, in my opinion, would be an announce of a new kit while you are still working on the conversion.
The I-210 project is interesting, but beware: it's not a simple installation of a new nose on a MiG-3. The fuselage of I-210 was fatter, as recognizable from side photos. I don't know if any good drawing exists. Perhaps the best one is on a Polish publication, Migi Stalina, but it's still with the usual rear fuselage.
Yes, if you have still a nose from a La-5, this conversion is a low cost option anyway.
Regards
Massimo

Garbage    no, try ebay.... all sorts of junk sells there.  From what I read the MPM kits are not too bad, just needs new cowlings and canopy....I posted about this on here...

That is assuming Zvezda do a good job....  I also have MPM and Hi PM Pe'2....