Smallest and nimblest of the World War II Yakovlev fighters, the Yak-3 entered frontline service in 1944. It was famously flown by the Normandie-Niemen Group, a French fighter squadron that fought alongside the Soviets on the Eastern Front. Favored by French and Soviet pilots, it was a successful dogfighter that overmatched Germany’s Bf 109.
Zvezda’s Yak-3 is the first all-new 1/48 scale kit of this aircraft in more than 15 years. The parts are cleanly molded in neutral gray plastic. The kit provides parts for the cowling to be closed or open with complete engine detail. Along with parts that the kit supplies to pose the plane in flight, a display stand and a seated pilot figure are included to help show your Yak in the air.
Following the instructions, I started the build with the wing assembly. The top and bottom wings are molded as one part, completing the wing assembly with just two main pieces! I liked the separate inserts for the wing-root intakes. It makes for a neat, clean look where the wings join the fuselage.
The cockpit side consoles are molded with the top wing. Adding the pilot’s seat, instrument panel, control stick, and rudder pedals finishes out the rest of the cockpit details.
The fuselage parts went together easily. This assembly attached to the completed wing with a precise fit. There was no need for any filler at the wing roots — that’s how good the fit was.
The kit includes separate parts to allow for positioning the canopy open or closed.
The landing gear legs and doors are multipiece assemblies faithful to the original design. Surprisingly, the small wheel-well covers (parts B3/4) don’t have retraction arms included.
I chose the open cowling to display the engine; this is where a lot of my time was spent in construction. Study the instructions carefully, as the diagrams are somewhat unclear. Also, take care with the parts; many of them are scale-thin and fragile.
I painted my Yak with a combination of Tamiya spray-can and bottle colors. Decals are given for three aircraft. The sheet is beautifully printed with very little carrier film. Decals applied well with a little bit of solution.
My primary reference was Yak-1/Yak-3, by Robert Bock (AJ-Press, ISBN 978-83-86208-99-9). The completed model looks good against the photographs and plans.
I finished the kit in a quick 14 hours. If you use the closed cowling, it will go even more quickly for you.
This kit can be handled by modelers of all skill levels. However, I would recommend the open cowling option only to more-experienced modelers, due to the complex engine assembly.
Overall, this is a great addition to the roster of available WWII Soviet 1/48 scale aircraft kits.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the September 2013 FineScale Modeler.