1:48 Jak-1

A fighter of wood, fabric and steel

The Yakovlev Yak-1 came about shortly before the war broke out in the east and was designed so that even workshops with no experience of all-metal construction could build it. The spars were of steel, the wing wooden, the rear part of the fuselage covered with fabric. The result was a light and agile machine that matched its rivals at low altitude and was easy to repair under field conditions. Later examples received a cut-down rear fuselage and a molded teardrop canopy, which substantially improved the view to the rear.

A number on the fuselage instead of a squadron code

Soviet markings were economical. Instead of letter codes a tactical number was used, usually white or red, sprayed through a stencil on the side of the fuselage or on the fin. In the first years the stars were drawn with no border, later they received a white one and still later a white one with a thin red outline. Over Stalingrad machines also appeared with inscriptions donated by municipalities or work collectives, and with pilots' personal markings. Winter camouflage was applied in lime white, which washed off by the spring, so the same aircraft looked different every time during a year.

How the set simplifies the work

The canopy frames on this type are thin and rounded, and a strip applied by hand breaks on them. A die-cut stencil fits and leaves a clean edge. The insignia mask enclosed is useful especially with the star, whose points adhere badly over rivets with a decal and often show a glossy edge. Winter white can be drawn over a sprayed star and then sanded back in places, which with a decal is not possible.