Yakovlev Yak-1 "Aces"

Brengun, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

The YAK-1  was the progenitor of a massive series of light fighters, with well over 40000 produced in all variants through to the YAK-7 and later -9. Besides the Soviet AF, these were used by France, Poland and Yugoslavia ( the latter until 1950!). It was a compact, fast and manoeuvrable plane built largely of composite materials and wooden wings.

Lightly armed but more than a match for the Bf 109E, but outdone by the Bf 109F, its main opponent, it was superior to its competitors the LAGG-3 and MiG-3. These aircraft were the steeds of choice of many Russian  aces as represented by this new kit.

Early versions had high fuselage backs but most were of the later type with a bubble canopy on a cut-down rear fuselage. It was this version that was chosen by the Free French GCIII unit ‘Normandie’ when they fought with the Russians in 1943-4. But that is not the one this kit represents.

Previous kits have been from A-Model and five earlier kits from Brengun which have been reviewed here on Hyperscale by Mark Davies (q.v.). These have been boxings labelled 1941 (#72020), 1942 (#72021), Captured (#72028), Winter, with skis (#72033) and Yak-1B (#72038). So brengun is getting the most out of these moulds!

Brengun is giving the modellers some great and varied choices with their range of kits and this, their sixth  YAK-1, is one to savour if you are a fan of WWII fighters. It comes in the familiar flimsy red end-opening box, with a pleasant CAD sketch of Red ‘1’ on the top and colour drawings of the schemes worn by the decal choices on the rear. Inside is a re-sealable plastic bag containing three smallish sprues in mid-grey, a small transparency sprue, four resin parts for wheels and radiator front and rear, a PE sheet, a 110x60mm decal sheet and a double-sided A4 sheet of instruction folded into A5 size. All sprues are nicely moulded with minimal flash, even on the small parts, and the finest parts such as u/c legs , scissor  links and fuselage structures  are very finely moulded but will need care removing from the sprues as the gates are rather thick in some places.

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Thumbnail panels:

Constructions begins with sub assemblies such as the instrument panel, radiator, seat and cockpit floor, all of which are a mix of PE and plastic. No seat belts are provided either as decals or on the PE set, that’s a pity.

These are then added to a fuselage half, where extra interior parts are added and these are enhanced by nice structural members moulded into the interior of the fuselages halves.

Some modification of the tailplanes is required as an error ( or later variation of the kit?) means that a slither of plastic has to be removed for them to fit properly - a clear drawing shows what has to be done.

Note that two different tail ends are provided , one with and one without tail light - study the decal choice to see which one to use.

The wings then have to be prepared. These are nicely done and have no panel lines in line with their wooden construction in real life. The roof of the wheel wells is detailed and there are separate walls for each. Into the underside of the wings the modeller has to attach PE flaps and armoured plates (?) that fit into recessed areas. Wings are then attached and the undercarriage, which is a complicated but detailed item. There are individual scissor links which will benefit from a reaming with a very sharp blade. 

Exhausts are individual tubes - all 8 of them - and care will be needed in lining them all up evenly. The clear sprue includes tiny wing-tip lights and a landing light for the port wing.

The resin parts for wheels and radiator faces are well cast.

PE parts provide the u/c doors, noting that there is a choice of these according to the decal choice. Similarly there is a choice of rear canopy style so the modeller will need to sort out which aircraft he or she wants to build and then pay regular attention to the parts needed. I would recommend going through the instructions and highlighting the choices where they occur. The multi-part canopy may present problems if you want model them open.

Mark suggests a vacform replacement for some segments and Brengun apparently produce one to suit the job.

Marking Options

There are some colour call outs during the build but these are not that detailed, and are by name rather than manufacturer. Decals are for four aces’ aircraft and are printed in-house. They seem to be well printed, with no register problems on the tiny red stars with white borders, and colour density looks good. 

The four choices are:

• #44 of L.V.Litvyak with 12 victories in summer 1943,

• #1 of M.D.Baranov with 25 victories , summer 1943

• #27 of E.V.Petrenko with 17 victories, September 1942, and

• #10 of A.M.Reshetov with 35 victories in May 1942.

All planes are in  disruptive green/black camouflage over a light blue underside

This appears to be an excellent kit of this significant Soviet early war fighter, well moulded, nicely detailed, with very suitable resin and PE accessories. Recommended to any modeller with an interest in this theatre and era.

Thanks to Brengun for the sample

Text Copyright © 2020 by Graham Carter
Images Copyright © 2020 by Brett Green
Page Created 2 December, 2019
Last updated 14 April, 2020

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