Canopy and wheels for La-9 of Mikromir

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi all,
I've bought a La-9 of Mikromir, 1/48. The impression of the kit is fairly good, apart for the wheels with heavy sink marks and the canopy that is not very smooth.
I've had a look to what aftermarket offers, and I've seen expensive Russian resin kits to make all the cockpit and landing gear anew. I am not interested in so massive replacements.
I've seen that Quinta Studios offers a vacuformed canopy, but for ARK kit.
Does anyone know if this canopy is compatible with the Mikromir kit?
Please, suggestions are well accepted.
Massimo

[John Thompson]

I don't have the MikroMir kit or the Quinta canopy, but I'd be tempted to give it a try. I've got the Ark La-9 and La-11, and I don't see anything unusual in the way the canopy is designed to fit, so it might work on the MM one. Here's some images of the Quinta canopy that might help you to decide:
https://www.super-hobby.com/products/La-9-11-vacuformed-clear-canopy.html

Regarding the wheels, La-7 ones are available in resin from Res/Kit, so you could consider that possibility, although I think the La-9 wheels and tires might be narrower than those of the La-7.
https://reskit-models.com/scale-plastic-model-kits?product_id=2506

Don't forget to look here:
https://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/board/index.php?topic=976.0

John

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi John,
I'm practising to polish old canopies with sandpaper and Pledge, and the first results are quite good. So I think to recover the original canopy, even if I won't cut it open because I think that it is too thick to slide back.
About wheels, they are different from those of wartime fighters. I've seen that A-resin makes a replacement, but I fear that it would result expensive, including the mailing, so I'll try to repair them with putty. Luckily, it is the side hidden by the covers and not on the whole perimeter.  On this side the wheel hub is safe, pity that it is unaccurate, it should be flat.
I've read some reviews, this kit won't be easy as a Tamiya.
What about Ark Model kits?
Regards
Massimo

[John Thompson]

Hi Massimo! Regarding the Ark 1/48 La-9 kit, it looks good to me in the box, but I haven't built it yet. It's very neatly molded, with no flash that I can see. Some of the panel lines are deeper and/or wider than we might like, but as usual, a layer of paint should take care of that. Is it better than the MM kit? I don't know - I haven't got the MM kit to compare it with. The Ark kit does look like it will build easily into a good model of the La-9.

John

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi John,
I've polished the canopy with fairly good success. Now it is smooth, but some parts show that the thicness is not rigorously costant. Anyway now it is not worse than the average canopy, but not Tamigawa level.
Regards
Massimo

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi, I've started the kit but it looks impossible to build. The landing gear bay interferes with the wingroot part on the fuselage for a pair of millimeters. Never seen such thing!
Regards
Massimo

[John Thompson]

Sounds bad - I'm sorry to hear that! Maybe it's time to start grinding away some plastic?

John

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi John,
I've worked a lot and I think that I'll manage to build it. I have removed a lot of material, so the inner face of the fuselage fillet will be visible through the bay.
Knowing this before, one could cut a millimeter of material of the bay box where it has to be glued inside the wing.
The model has a terrible fit. I suppose that this had to be expected for a short run, but the first look of the sprues was good and I hadn't realized these problems.
Regards
Massimo