1:48 Yakovlev Yak-3 wheels

Armory 1:48 Yakovlev Yak-3 - resin wheels

A set of cast resin wheels from the Ukrainian brand Armory in 1:48 scale for the Soviet Yakovlev Yak-3 fighter. It is not an aircraft kit or a part of one - it is a replacement part for a model already built or under construction. The casting is in one piece, so there is no seam from two glued halves to fill, and the tread and the hub hold a sharper edge on it than on injected plastic.

The real subject

The Yak-3 was the culmination of the whole Yakovlev line and went into action in 1944. The designers took the opposite road to most wartime programs: instead of adding power and armament they made the machine smaller and lighter, shortened the wing and reduced its area. The result was one of the most agile fighters of the war at low and medium altitudes, of which German pilots were told not to get into a turning fight with it low over the ground. It was made best known by the French airmen of the Normandie-Niemen regiment, who flew out the war on the Eastern Front on Yak-3s.

Use and painting

• First dry-fit the wheel in the bay; a resin pin tends to be thicker than a plastic one and wants sanding down.
• Cut the casting block off with a saw and level the remainder so that the contact patch stays flat.
• Degrease the parts before gluing, or neither the paint nor the primer will hold on them.
• Glue with cyanoacrylate glue (super glue) and wet the resin while sanding.
• Separate the hub and the tire with masking tape or a circular mask; on a small wheel a line drawn by hand with a brush shows.

Who the set is for

For more experienced modelers of the Soviet air force of the Second World War who want the landing gear to be on the level of the rest of the model. The aircraft, the glue and the paints are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.