Airfix Yak 9d starter set

[Doggy]

Ok so I picked up a Yak 9d for £4. i thought it looked easy to build and would suit my beginners level. It came with some crappy paints and experience has told me they might not be accurate. So it came with Humbrol 29, 30,33 and 65. These are for the camoflage and the tyres, I have some of these colours already for airbrushing, the ones I don't have I'll buy this week.

My question in is this are these clours accurate and good to go?

Thanks.

 

[michaelm]

Hi Doggy,

I take it that these paints are the sort that come in little plastic pots. These paints are fine and the colour should be a good match to what you want.

If however, you want to airbrush these I'm sure you will find you need to thin them down.You could do this with a purpose made thinner for acrylics which will have a retarding agent in making it cure more slowly and hence more airbrush friendly, but I would be tempted to use simple tap water,I have used these small pots with an airbrush with great success thinning with tap water. Look to get a consistency like milk.

I would advise priming first. Also don't thin all the paint as you may need some to apply with brush later.

Hope this helps, please ask if you need help. good luck M

 

[Doggy]

thanks michael. ive starting building it and its the worst kit ive seen, pure crap.

 

[Doggy]

I've just had a Google at airfix yak and I was led to a YouTube video by basic modelling. He has the same kit as me and all the same problems. The kit is from 1963 and has been stuck in a new box. I feel like complaining to airfix about the quality, but would it do me any good?

I suppose its all part of the experience. But I must say the air ram thing at the front is a joke. I suppose its air brush practice.

 

[yak face]

Unfortunately kits like this arent doing the revitalised Airfix any favours at all! Dont get me wrong , they have some great older moulds but this definitely isnt one of them! The new kits theyre producing are excellent (the Zero a6m2b for example , which can be bought for £5 or £6 ,probably about what you paid for this). I think Airfix should take a good look at their ancient old clunkers and consign them to the bin, after all ,its supposed to be a starter set- if this was someones first foray into the hobby ,it could well put them off straightaway and for good. The only thing i can advise is put it down to experience , and if theres a kit youve seen or are thinking about getting, ask about on the forum or have a quick internet search , any duds should be well known. p.s. for what its worth , the paint colours are fine ,and not all yaks are disfigured ,flaky and ancient (well thats what i keep telling myself!!)lol cheers tony

 

[Doggy]

Thanks Tony. I paid 4 quid and it's been an eye opener. I will do my best with it, I would like another go at a better yak but that's maybe in the future.

I'll have a look at the new zero, I have a zero already partially built so it's all fresh in my mind.

Ideally airfix should bin these, like you said if this was my first airfix I wouldn't go back.

 

[Dave W]

I'm not a big fan of Airfix.I made loads of them in my youth and enjoyed doing so.But these days I will only make an Airfix if no other manufacturer does the kit I want.I haven't made any of their recent kits though,I've heard they are a lot better.Got their 1/48 spitfire mk12 in my stash which looks ok.It pays to read a review of a kit before buying it though.As most manufacturers have some old dogs in their ranges along side the latest state of the art mouldings.Modellingmadness.com is a good review site.

 

[1275GT]

No, the early Airfix stuff isn't that good. But the thing is, you get pretty much what you pay for. I had the same thing with the Revell Hurricane I've just done, but I treat them as base for any ideas or techniques that I want to practice and at the end of the day, it's all experience, which can only be a good thing. If they work, all well and good. If it all goes a bit Pete Tong, then I haven't lost much.

Cheers, Neil