1:48 Yak-1b

The lowered spine that cost pilots years of asking

Frontline airmen had been complaining about the limited view to the rear since the first fighting in 1941. The answer came at the end of 1942: the rear part of the fuselage was lowered and a hinged all-round vision canopy with a clear view in every direction went over the cockpit. The unofficial suffix b took hold for exactly this form. The armament changed as well: a pair of fast-firing ShKAS machine guns was replaced by a single large-caliber UBS and a ShVAK cannon stayed in the propeller axis. The machine thus became an equal opponent for what was flying against it over Stalingrad and the Kuban.

Six positions, or only four

Where the star was painted was never as firmly fixed in the Soviet Air Force as with the Western Allies. The basis was the sides of the vertical tail and the underside of the wings, where the marking served its main purpose, that is recognition from below. The upper surfaces of the wings largely stayed clean, because a marking on the top gave the aircraft away to observers above and worked against the camouflage paint. Fuselage stars only became widespread during 1943, and from then on machines with six markings can be met as well as ones carrying only four. The sheet in the set covers both variants; the decision stays with the builder's subject.

About the package

The cockpit masks fit on the outside and on the inside, so the frames look the same from both sides. Keep to thin coats and lift the mask off while the paint is still freshly dry, otherwise the edge of the paint may come up with the film. Any adhesive left is removed by a light wipe with a clean cloth.