1/72 Yak-9 Kits to Avoid

[John Thompson]

Over the past couple of days, I discovered (on ebay) a couple of 1/72 Yak-9D kits I was previously unaware of:

(1) Manufacturer is called CI: I contacted the vendor, and he tells me that this is a copy of the old Airfix Yak-9D. The box art shows a rather poor painting of a Yak-9D parked on the ground, in brown and green camouflage.

(2) Manufacturer = Kitech: Another Airfix copy; I was hopeful this might somehow be the Dakoplast kit, because the box art is a copy of the Dako/Modelist artwork, but it's Airfix - go here to see a built example:
http://www.war2hobby.cl/modelismo.php/id/237

John

[JP]

Thanks for the tip . . . but who builds 1/72?

[Dark Green Man]

if you want the Dakoplast model look for it under the Dakoplast name (DUH!) (just kidding there!) or Modelist or Eastern Express.(EE for short)
as far as I know Modelist only does the "D" version but EE does the "D" and the "T" version so it depends on if you want the early versions or later ones.
(the early version has parts for the D, B , and R versions ; whereas the later version can be built as the T or M )
if you find a suitable cannon barrel you can also do the K version (I stole mine from the ICM kit) and if you extend the main radio mast and add a short one to the top of the fin you can do the DD.

[John Thompson]

I believe there's also a shell ejection chute on the left side of the Yak-9K nose which is not present on other variants. I saw a photo of this somewhere, but I can't find it at the moment. For your Yak-modelling enjoyment, here's a link to some drawings which I think are the ones from the book "Yak-9 - Soldier of the Sky" - you'll like to see these if you don't already have them:
http://www.airwar.ru/other/draw/yak9-1.html

John

[Dark Green Man]

yes those are from Radovye Nebes (spelling?)
better drawings are stolen from Aircraft Monograph # 14 by Robert Bock (AJ Press) and the drawings were done by Jacek Jackeiwicz and can be found here: (images 05 through 17)[/color]
http://wunderwaffe.narod.ru/Magazine/AirWar/34/Draw/index.htm

since you are more familiar with the 'Velem' kit and it's re-boxings I think it might also be a good idea to inform the masses of these things as well.
(perhaps we should start a kit review thread to help other modelers avoid these pitfalls?)[/color]

[Troy Smith]

Hmm, this one is probably for John.

the Airfix Yak-9, seems to be dismissed.  Is it that bad?   The reason I ask is i just got a couple, cheap, they are the starter kit with paint, brush and glue for 1.99 GBP each. they were filler a cheap add on for a couple of the New 1/48 Airix Spitfire PR XIX which really is a good kit in the box, they were on offer at 11GBP which is a good price for a new kit with a 16GBP RRP

Now, i got them as for testing out the sea camo Yak scheme, but on a breif inspection and a crude comparison to the drawings Dark Green Man linked to the basic shapes seem reasonable.

Obviously the are classic 60's vintage kits, crude, basic, no or poor detail, but hows the basic shape?
it's late and basic searches have not turned up the the answers i want.

(perhaps we should start a kit review thread to help other modelers avoid these pitfalls?)

This is a really good idea.  I'd suggest by type,and then a list of kits and reboxings. 
A lot of this info is already here, but scattered through threads.

cheers
Troy

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi Troy,
the most visible shape defect is that the canopy is too narrow. Maybe one can have fun to build them all the same...
Regards
Massimo

[John Thompson]

Hmm, this one is probably for John.

the Airfix Yak-9, seems to be dismissed.  Is it that bad?   The reason I ask is i just got a couple, cheap, they are the starter kit with paint, brush and glue for 1.99 GBP each. they were filler a cheap add on for a couple of the New 1/48 Airix Spitfire PR XIX which really is a good kit in the box, they were on offer at 11GBP which is a good price for a new kit with a 16GBP RRP

Now, i got them as for testing out the sea camo Yak scheme, but on a breif inspection and a crude comparison to the drawings Dark Green Man linked to the basic shapes seem reasonable.

Obviously the are classic 60's vintage kits, crude, basic, no or poor detail, but hows the basic shape?
it's late and basic searches have not turned up the the answers i want.

(perhaps we should start a kit review thread to help other modelers avoid these pitfalls?)

This is a really good idea.  I'd suggest by type,and then a list of kits and reboxings. 
A lot of this info is already here, but scattered through threads.

cheers
Troy

Thanks for the nod, Troy - I claim no expertise on any subject! Paul is the real Yak expert. From what I've seen of the Airfix Yak-9, it appears to me that the nose is too bulbous, including the spinner. One day I decided (for reasons, probably bad ones, that I can't remember now) to build either the Airfix or the ICM/Alanger/Encore 1/72 Yak-9 and went with the ICM one. It was a bad idea - for all the time I spent correcting it, I could have built and finished two Dakoplast ones. And it's still not done. Maybe one day I'll try the Airfix kit - that might be fun.

Re the Airfix 1/48 Spitfire XIX, I've seen nothing but good things about it on Britmodeller - it sounds like an excellent kit, probably the best Spitfire of any mark in that scale.

The kit review thread idea is a good one. At one time, Matt Bittner was working on something like this. The idea was what Paul said about "informing the masses" - to try to identify all the reboxings and outright copies of various VVS kits, so the unwary would know what they were buying or what to look for if the kit was good but only available from a secondary source like Eastern Express. The EE LaGG kits in particular can be a problem - two of them are Dakoplast reissues; the other is some godawful old Communist-era thing. Likewise the EE Il-2 kits - some are Dakoplast, some are Toko, although with all the really good 1/72 Il-2's that have been released lately, there may be better options now (cue Learstang!). 

John

[learstang]

Did someone mention me?  Yes, it is indeed looking up to be a good year for Shturmovik-enthusiasts, especially in 1/72nd scale, A/K/A God's Scale.  I already have the "new" Academy straight-winged two-seater ("new", in quotation marks as Academy have been sitting on these Accurate Miniatures' moulds for at least five years), and the new Easy Assembly Hobby Boss arrow.  Once I get the Tamiya 1/72nd scale arrow (their downscaled 1/48th scale kit), I'll do a thread comparing and contrasting the three.  That's the idea at any rate.  I do remember that at one time, someone had a list of all the at the time available Il-2 kits, with their relative strengths and weaknesses, and this list was possibly from the Modeling the VVS site.  It was actually very helpful for me in the beginning of my long strange trip down Shturmovik lane.  At least I knew what I was going to be getting when I bought these kits.  I've done something similar to that in my legendary book ("legendary" in the sense that for all anyone knows, it doesn't actually exist) where I review every Il-2 kit I've been able to get my hands on, but that other list was very handy in that it was in table form.  Matt or Paul (DGM), do you remember this list, or did I dream it?

Regarding the Eastern Express kits (EE), you never quite know what you're going to get.  If it says Dakoplast on the box, it may or may not contain the Dakoplast mould; it may have the Toko mould instead.  Likewise, I have at least one Eastern Express Dakoplast rebranding which didn't say Dakoplast on the box, yet, there it was when I opened it.  Ask anyone you buy an EE Il-2 from to open the box to know what you're getting.  The Modelist Il-2's are all from the Dakoplast moulds, I believe.  Although the Toko kits are nice enough kits (they look the part once built), their kits have been pretty much superceded by the Academy single-seater, the "new" Academy straight-winged two-seater, and the soon-to-be Tamiya arrow release.  The Dakoplast moulds are still the only game in town if you want to do a wooden-winged (and of course wooden-fuselaged) Shturmovik, and they had kits for all three variants; the single-seater, the straight-winged two-seater, and the arrow.  

Regards,

Jason

[John Thompson]

I do remember that at one time, someone had a list of all the at the time available Il-2 kits, with their relative strengths and weaknesses, and this list was possibly from the Modeling the VVS site.

It's here:
http://vvs.hobbyvista.com/Modeling/Ilyushin/Il-2/Comparison/index.php

John

PS - Sorry; I meant to ask where you bought the Hobby Boss kit, or was it supplied as a review sample? In spite of its simplified design, that's the one of the three new 1/72 ones that interests me most.

[learstang]

That's the one, John!  I may do something like that for my book, in addition to the reviews as I have them now (they are listed in encylcopaedia form, with a paragraph or two review, and with no rating system).  As I said, these tables were very helpful to me when I was just getting started in the strange and wonderful world of Shturmovik-building.

Regards,

Jason

[Dark Green Man]

**about the Eastern Express Il-2 kits**
with an EE kit you can tell by the parts count.
if it only has 70-something parts it's the Toko mold.

if it has 90-100 parts you have scored a Dakoplast kit !
(learned that lesson the had way after getting burned)

[learstang]

**about the Eastern Express Il-2 kits**
with an EE kit you can tell by the parts count.
if it only has 70-something parts it's the Toko mold.

if it has 90-100 parts you have scored a Dakoplast kit !
(learned that lesson the had way after getting burned)

Good tip - thank you, DGM!

Regards,

Jason

[learstang]

I do remember that at one time, someone had a list of all the at the time available Il-2 kits, with their relative strengths and weaknesses, and this list was possibly from the Modeling the VVS site.

It's here:
http://vvs.hobbyvista.com/Modeling/Ilyushin/Il-2/Comparison/index.php

John

PS - Sorry; I meant to ask where you bought the Hobby Boss kit, or was it supplied as a review sample? In spite of its simplified design, that's the one of the three new 1/72 ones that interests me most.

John, I bought it from Hobby Link Japan (www.hlj.com), where I also bought my Tamiya 1/72nd scale kit which is hopefully on its way (and the 1/48th scale Tamiya kit also).  They get these Far Eastern kits as quickly as anybody, and the prices are reasonable.  The Hobby Boss kit has its good points and bad points, but I'll go over those in my threatened new thread.  By the way, I just had a look at that old list of Il-2 models - having now seen all the kits in question, I have to say that overall it's still a pretty good list to go by. 

Regards,

Jason

[John Thompson]

the Airfix Yak-9, seems to be dismissed.  Is it that bad?

I checked a bit more carefully - the nose itself is not too bad, despite my "bulbous" comment. The spinner and prop are wrong, though - spinner too big, prop blades too narrow. Unfortunately, there are several other things that would need correcting if you wanted a really accurate Yak-9; this is just from making a very brief comparison between the kit parts and the 1/72 drawing linked here:
http://www.airwar.ru/other/draw/jak9ravioz.html
(1) Fuselage too short, by at least 3mm - most of this is between the cockpit and the fin.
(2) Rear part of fuselage too shallow, by about 2mm. Could be corrected by building up the underside of the fuselage, then reshaping the fin and rudder, which will be (in effect) displaced upwards by deepening the fuselage bottom.
(3) Wing tips rounded (like a Yak-1 or Yak-3) - should be almost square at the leading edge of the tip.
(4) Wing chord is too narrow, especially at the root.
(It's starting to come back to me why I chose the ICM kit to play with, instead of the Airfix one...)

Those are just the things that jump out at me - there are lots of other smaller details that could be added or corrected. My suggestion would be to replace the prop and spinner (no ideas for a source, though) and just build it out of the box - at least it will "look like" a Yak-9, or at least moreso than it will look like a Hellcat or a Bf-110, or an F-16! I'm sorry, Troy!

Now it should be more obvious why I keep hammering on about Airfix replacing this kit with a brand-new 1/72 Yak-9!

John