Kit: No. 3425-0200
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Accurate Miniatures, 100 Centre St., Charlotte, NC 28216-4064, phone 704-391-1176
Price: $27.49
Comments: Injection molded, 89 parts, decals.
The Yak series was the predominant fighter of the World War II Soviet air force and the first that could hold its own against the German Fw 190s and Bf 109s. The large amounts of wood and fabric made Yaks crude by the standards of the day, but the line developed into all-metal contemporaries of the latest Western fighters.
Accurate Miniatures' kit is cleanly molded in soft gray plastic with excellent surface detail. Noteworthy features include drop tanks, rockets, positionable canopy, positionable oil/cooling doors, optional "weighted" tires, and interior flap detail. A highlight is the intricate framework detail in the cockpit.
A 12-page construction booklet features information on Soviet camouflage colors and an extensive multi-brand paint chart. The witty instructions should be followed to the letter to avoid assembly problems.
Construction moves along quickly. The instructions recommend adding the oil and coolant doors after gluing the fuselage together, but I found it simpler to tack them in place beforehand. The upper fuselage deck was wider in spots than the sides, requiring some sanding above the right exhaust and below the canopy. In retrospect, this may be resolved by allowing the lower fuselage to spread apart a bit when adding the upper deck.
I applied a little filler at the base of the fin where the upper deck meets the lower fuselage. The exhausts require backing plates, so either use the suggested kit parts or fabricate your own from sheet styrene. The exhausts fit tightly in the openings, so you may want to enlarge the openings slightly.
Remove all the molding tabs from the cockpit sidewall moldings (D33/34) - there are seven or eight on each part. Accurate suggests bending the A-frame on part D21, gluing it vertically on the bucket, and adding the seat back. It works better if you glue the back to the A-frame, then bend and glue it in position on the bucket.
The sample's wings were slightly warped, but attaching the assembly to the wing spar established the correct dihedral and fixed the fit. Be careful installing the small leading-edge insert (C86) as it could slip into the fuselage and might not come out again. A touch of filler was required at the wing roots.
The combination of the clear instrument panel and decal works great. Use white glue or rubber cement to mask the dial faces before painting the panel, then pick off the masks when the paint is dry. I like Accurate's rendition of the fuel-tank gauges on the wings; they're clear lenses that fit into recesses.
I painted my model with Polly Scale's line of WWII Soviet colors. The kit decals are beautiful and go on with no problems.
The finished model matches the plans in Robert Bock's Monografie Lotnicze 46 Jak-1/Jak-3 from AJ Press. Another useful reference is Hans-Heiri Stapfer's Yak Fighters in Action from Squadron/Signal.
It took 20 hours to complete a great-looking scale replica. Accurate Miniatures' kit should make beginning or experienced modelers happy, and the good news is that two more Yak-1 kits also have been issued: a Yak-1 with a "razorback" fuselage and another with skis.
- Jim Zeske