HOBBY BOSS 1:72 YAKOVLEV YAK-3
'INBOX Review'

 

Reviewer: Hrvoje Schaffhauser  (rec.models.scale)   

Kit Details:  

Aircraft History:  

The Yak-3 was a further development of the Yak-1 series, through a Yak-1M model. Wing span and area were reduced, airframe lightened for some 200 kg, and aerodynamic refinements included removing chin oil cooler and splitting it and placing into wing roots, together with engine air intakes, more streamlined windshield and underfuselage radiator, and some other things like removing the antenna mast. Fabric rear fuselage skin was replaced by plywood skin to enhance streamlining. Although using VK-107 engine was planned, it was not available in time so testing were made with a 1240 HP VK-105 PF. Prototype first flight took place in February 1943, and factory and state testing were performed in June and July same year respectively. First prototype was armed with a 20 mm ShVAK cannon and a 12.7 mm UBS machine gun, but a second prototype and series fighters were armed with a 20 mm cannon and two 12.7 mm machine guns. Series fighters also were engined with slightly higher-power 1310 HP VK-105 PF-2 driving VISh-105SV propeller. Late in production the all-metal construction was introduced together with VK-107 engines, giving even higher speed, and some of them being armed with three 20 mm cannons. Production amounted close to 4850 before production being terminated in 1946.

Units of Soviet VVS (Air Force) were equipped with Yak-3 in summer 1944, and (together with La-7) finally got a fighter with performances equal or even better than their German adversaries. Soviet pilots were in position to use German favourite tactics – combat in vertical plane at low and medium attitudes with success.  Small wonder that French-manned Normandie-Nyemen regiment selected Yak-3 for conversion from their Yak-9s in summer 1944, retaining them in service until end of war. High manoeuvrability at the medium attitudes, mostly due reduced wing area, had cost in higher landing speeds and less than ideal handling at low speed. Mock fighting performed in 1947 by JRV (Yugoslav Air Force) between the Yak-3s and Spitfire Vcs shown British fighter being dominant in horizontal plane while Soviet-one performing better in vertical plane. After WW II Yak-3s were gradually replaced from first-line service, both due their wooden construction and appearance of new jets. Besides some countries in Eastern Europe, Yak-3s served in post-WW II French Air Force, 37 fighters given as recognition of a French regiment combat achievements. Yugoslavia was also equipped with some 60+ fighters, at the end of war. JRV used them as first line fighters until spring 1953, when they were passed to training units and being taken out from service at the beginning of 1957. A Yak-3, ex-JRV 2252/52 is preserved and exhibited in Aviation Museum in Belgrade, Serbia.

Kit Parts: I have purchased this kit, together with some more Hobby Boss kits of similar class, while being on a business trip to Manila early last December (2007). To spare my luggage space, I have repacked them to the resealable PVC pouches and dismantling the box top, and that is why is photo showing the kit parts out of a packing tray. Otherwise, the kit is packed in typical Hobby Boss fashion, in a top opening box with parts firmly held within a tray. Box top is adorned with a VVS's Yak-3 in flight and model brief data, while at the sides there is some small artwork of the same plane with photos of the finished model and some basic historical data. 

Parts are arranged as a light gray sprue, a clear sprue with single piece cockpit canopy, a fuselage and wing with rear lower fuselage. There is some flash to be found but can be cleaned up easily, as well as the molding seams. Tail wheel doors are molded jointly with fuselage, so wheels-up is obviously not an option offered with this kit. Ejector pin marks are mostly non-troublesome except four being placed in main landing gear covers interior and one in seat back. Cockpit is consisting of a floor with a pilot seat and the rudder pedals being molded on, a separate seat back and pilot's stick. There is no instrument panel, nor decal for it, although kit arrangement offers possibility for placing one. The decal sheet offers the markings for two aircraft. The A4 folded to A5 format instructions comprising a part location diagram and three easy to follow construction diagrams. Painting and marking guide is providing two full colour 4-view drawings. The kit can be built as only one version.

Accuracy: I compared kit parts with the 1/72 scale drawings published in an AERO magazin issue listed in references below. Wings are OK in both span and shape. Only the air intakes for the engine and oil cooler are some 1 mm short and it would be fun to build them up. Panel lines are engraved, and there are more like for an all metal plane, which is wrong for most of the production having all-wooden plywood covered wings almost free of any panels. Some filling and sanding would be required here for making a 1944 Yak-3. Old Emhar Yak-3 had same issue, but panel lines were of easily removed raised variety. Pitot probe is placed wrongly, it shall be at port wing, and a grid is missing at lower surface. Fuel caps and fuel gages at wing upper surfaces are overscaled. Horizontal surfaces are looking OK. As can be seen from photo below fuselage is of correct width, but not height in rear. To make things even worse it is some 2 mm shorter, measured from spinner base, although shape is acceptable with minor corrections at fin base. There is an extra panel line in front of the windscreen and there are the inspection panels at both rear fuselage sides, while real plane got them at port side only – so more filling and sanding. Same applies for an extra panel at starboard side beneath rear cockpit. Engine exhaust pipes do not have spacing typical for Hispano Suiza 12-Y / VK-105 engines. Single piece cockpit canopy is clearly molded and some work in kit interior would be seen, but is little shorter in top view and lacking some 1.5 mm in height, being too shallow. So spare parts bin or aftermarket replacement should be sought after. Some of the smaller parts are thicker molds, especially main landing gear retraction arms which shall be thinned or replaced. Man landing gear covers are molded single piece and it would be difficult to separate them as at the real thing although there is shallow line at the exterior. Smaller covers are looking somehow undersized. Spinner appears to be little pointed and propeller blades are pretty anaemic comparing to drawings, although are of correct diameter. Underfuselage radiator is of wrong shape and is too shallow at intake side.

Painting & Decals:  Kit instructions are not stating any interior color. However, magazines from former Yugoslavia are stating "pigeon gray" AMT-11 for cockpit interior and black instrument panel for both all round vision canopy Yak-1 mod 1943 and Yak-3.  Landing gear wells and presumably cover interiors should be in undersurface color, i.e. light blue AMT-7, and landing gear should be dark gray with black tires. For exterior, "green pearl"Hxx/152 & "light blue" H51/11 upper surfaces and "light blue (flat blue)" Hxx/20 lower surfaces are given for both options, and reference given in Gunze Sangyo range(s). I would personally go for other sources. Maybe these are the colors used at Northern area of operations. For aircraft used in Southern area of operations, i.e. Ukrainian Front, a Yugoslav author in 1981 stated dark green & brown upper surfaces and light blue lower, not stating the AMT-numbers. Other Yugoslav authors in 1990 stated "pigeon gray" AMT-11 & dark gray AMT-12 for upper surfaces and light blue AMT-7 for lower. In all cases propeller blade fronts should be in a spinner color, and blade rears should be in black.

Decals are provided for two aircraft: one "East Russia, 1944"(???) OO & white lightning with French blue-white-red spinner, and other "157 Squadron, 1944" yellow 15. Although not stated, the first option is obviously for a French-manned Normandie-Nyemen Fighter Regiment; and for second one I do not know that squadrons within a regiment were given individual numbers like this (rather 1st, 2nd, and 3rd), so I think that the 157 IAP (Fighter Regiment) is in question here. Yellow in decal sheet is much darker then one shown in painting instructions, and distinctive sign to be carried at both fuselage sides and accompanying text is far from being sharp so inscriptions are not so readable in my copy and colors are darker. There are no servicing stencils nor decal for instrument panel provided.

Conclusions:  Like other Hobby Boss kits, this is to be a simply build providing the one is not after correcting the accuracy issues mentioned above. Although the old Emhar 1/72 kit has issues of its own and raised panel lines I would still recommend it over this one, especially considering prices asked in Europe and US for Hobby Boss kits.

Review courtesy of my valet.

References:: 

 

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