1:48 Yak-1b

The Yak-1b and the lowered spine

The letter b on the Yak-1 denotes the reworked version from the end of 1942. Besides new armament with a large-caliber machine gun above the engine, it received above all a lowered rear fuselage and a new canopy, thanks to which the pilot could see behind him for the first time. The French Normandie fighter regiment, which fought with Soviet equipment on the Eastern Front, also flew this variant.

The view to the rear as a design change

Lowering the spine was not a cosmetic modification. Behind the seat the solid sheet metal disappeared and rounded glazing replaced it, so an enclosed box turned into a space open on three sides. For a modeler that means the cockpit is seen from behind and from above as well, and everything inside has to stand up from all those directions.

Few bars, all the greater demands

Compared with the older types the teardrop canopy has only a few frames, but for that very reason all the attention falls on them. A single untreated inner edge is as visible here as a scratch on the glass. The inner layer of masks on this type therefore does not save work so much as decide whether the glazing will read as glass or as transparent plastic.

Soviet cockpits used to be painted a light gray-green with a black instrument panel, so the contrast inside is high. Add to that the armor plate with a cut-out outline behind the pilot's back and you have a space where three different tones meet side by side. A sharp boundary on the frame is the only thing that keeps them apart as soon as you look at the model through the rounded surface from above.

What is in the set

The canopy outside and inside, one insignia for spraying and supplementary decals. The kit is bought separately.