Time for a quickie - zvezda 1/144 lavochkin la5 fn

yak face

Wossupwidee?
Staff member
Moderator
SMF Supporter
Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
12,261
Points
113
Location
sheffield
First Name
tony
Here’s something I couldn’t resist after seeing it on eBay for £3.59 free postage! It’s the zvezda snap fit la5 fn , a dinky little kit designed for wargaming . It’s not a thing of many parts but what few there are are nicely done . The canopy is solid however , but the chances of seeing anything on a cockpit this size make this irrelevant. ( the Kovozavody Prostejov kit of this aircraft in 1/144 has more parts and an actual cockpit , and you can even get a PE fret for it from Brengun ! Folding a pe seat in 1/144 ! That’s going to take a delicate touch!)
Anyways here’s the box and contents , sadly the image on the box isn’t represented by the simple decal sheet , and the instructions leave a lot to be desired re. painting ( ie none) Luckily soviet aircraft schemes are no stranger to me so I’m planning on doing it as ‘white 25’ from the 19 IAP. 4969FFFD-B4F6-4096-83D0-8A59A6922BC3.jpeg2D8942DA-3E1C-4DFF-8277-B5E0B4A3D917.jpeg4A86FE5A-37C8-437D-B964-218B37DAF9E9.jpegBAF6F197-358D-4199-BAB2-C64EA53339FF.jpeg
 

PaulTRose

Dazed and confused
SMF Supporter
Joined
Jun 13, 2013
Messages
5,741
Points
113
Location
limbo
First Name
Paul
that looks a whole lot less complicated than my Hind lol
 

adt70hk

I know its a bit sad but I like quickbuild kits!!!
SMF Supporter
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
9,438
Points
113
First Name
Andrew
Looking good Tony!

I love their click together kits. I've got some of their 1/72 ones and they're fantastic. Their 88 in particular is lovely.

Looking forward to seeing the paint fly.

All the best.

Andrew
 

yak face

Wossupwidee?
Staff member
Moderator
SMF Supporter
Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
12,261
Points
113
Location
sheffield
First Name
tony
Got the first bits of paint on . Primed first with Halfords grey then the underneath had a coat of hataka amt7 and masked and its now had a coat of amt11 grey . These were both sprayed but the dark grey will be painted on by brush. Ive also decided to do a different version as the white 25 i intended to do has a red outline to the numbers whereas the decals dont . So its now going to be white 93 of the 32 IAP. 432CC80C-F3CE-4A53-8D8F-7FCB6003C9F3.jpeg
 

tr1ckey66

SMF Supporter
Joined
Mar 6, 2009
Messages
3,684
Points
113
First Name
Paul
The scheme you’re going for looks really cool. It will be interesting to see it in 1/144. At this scale you could do a reasonably-sized squadron diorama (not that I’m suggesting that). At any rate, with this scheme it will make for a really attractive looking little model.
Cheers
Paul
 

yak face

Wossupwidee?
Staff member
Moderator
SMF Supporter
Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
12,261
Points
113
Location
sheffield
First Name
tony
The scheme you’re going for looks really cool. It will be interesting to see it in 1/144. At this scale you could do a reasonably-sized squadron diorama (not that I’m suggesting that). At any rate, with this scheme it will make for a really attractive looking little model.
Cheers
Paul
Cheers paul , the one im doing now is virtually the same as the pictured white 25 , just minus the triangular red areas behind the cowling and stripes on the rudder instead of solid white. They are really finely detailed to say theyre meant to be snapped together and used for wargaming , im definitely going to get their I-16 as well. Ive now got the dark grey areas done and the steel panels behind the exhaust slits .and unmasked the underside. Tomorrow i am going to get the red on after ive given the cowling a coat of white. E3CCF022-9499-4873-83F8-B26AD564F344.jpegD1F9A39A-C4CF-4C6E-9A7C-8657929D5B63.jpeg
 
D

Deleted member 7181

Guest
Wow, I can work out just how tiny this is with the cotton bud up its nose!

Lovely neat paintwork on such a small subject.
 

yak face

Wossupwidee?
Staff member
Moderator
SMF Supporter
Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
12,261
Points
113
Location
sheffield
First Name
tony
Cheers andy , the clothes peg further up is a giveaway too
 

prichrd1

SMF Supporter
Joined
Apr 27, 2018
Messages
614
Points
93
First Name
Paul
Blimey - that is small - I've lost bigger bits of PE to the carpet monster!!
I would need a microscope to place the decals!!
:smiling2: :smiling2: :smiling2: :smiling2:

Paul.
:smiling2:
 

adt70hk

I know its a bit sad but I like quickbuild kits!!!
SMF Supporter
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
9,438
Points
113
First Name
Andrew
Tony

Looking very good so far!! What strength optivisor lens are you using?

Let the good work. Andrew
 

yak face

Wossupwidee?
Staff member
Moderator
SMF Supporter
Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
12,261
Points
113
Location
sheffield
First Name
tony
Tony

Looking very good so far!! What strength optivisor lens are you using?

Let the good work. Andrew
Cheers Andrew , the magnifying lamp I’ve got might as well be attached to my head as I seem to do everything through it ! To think that a few years ago I never even needed reading glasses , doesn’t help when I’m doing things like this though and intending to get the I-16 ,which is about as big as the average bluebottle :smiling5::smiling5:
 

adt70hk

I know its a bit sad but I like quickbuild kits!!!
SMF Supporter
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
9,438
Points
113
First Name
Andrew
Cheers Andrew , the magnifying lamp I’ve got might as well be attached to my head as I seem to do everything through it ! To think that a few years ago I never even needed reading glasses , doesn’t help when I’m doing things like this though and intending to get the I-16 ,which is about as big as the average bluebottle :smiling5::smiling5:
I've been wearing glasses since I was 13, initially for only reading. But I have been wearing them full time for years and even had to switch to vari-focals six or seven years ago......
 

yak face

Wossupwidee?
Staff member
Moderator
SMF Supporter
Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
12,261
Points
113
Location
sheffield
First Name
tony
Red cowling done and airframe given a coat of klear , next up the few decals then i can think about getting the canopy on . Speaking of which , i was going to cut off the locating pin and just glue the canopy on but looking at it the hole in the middle of the clear piece is visible even if the pin isnt in it ,so I decided to paint the pin so it could pass as a pilots head , just a bit of brown and flesh !A3F737E0-9CD2-4307-8B24-6122C1EEE296.jpegA5BF1569-43DC-4AB7-AA14-E11EE9D47C9F.jpeg
 

yak face

Wossupwidee?
Staff member
Moderator
SMF Supporter
Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
12,261
Points
113
Location
sheffield
First Name
tony
Decals on , I decided to use the spare number 1s and 7s to make the two white stripes on the tail , these still need a bit of touching up once they’re dry . Next is a Matt coat then it’s on with the canopy and a very tricky frame paint - obviously it’s too small to mask so it’s going to be a hand painted job . The Lavochkin radial engined fighters and a few of the polikarpov too had a bright metal band ( sometimes two or parts ) round the circumference of the cowling which is a very prominent feature of these aircraft and something I want to try and replicate. I’ve got some self adhesive chrome effect tape ( actually Xmas wrapping tape ) that I’m going to stick onto non stick backing paper and try and cut into very thin strips and apply , we‘ll see how successful that is tomorrow ! Cheers tony30E333E5-DC77-49BC-AD38-6673C7D614B5.jpeg77F99D9C-864E-4EA1-A87F-5A63349AD745.jpeg
 

Tim Marlow

Little blokes aficionado
SMF Supporter
Joined
Apr 27, 2018
Messages
16,540
Points
113
Location
Somerset
First Name
Tim
Nicely done Tony. Always think adding decals to an aircraft brings it to life....bit like doing the face and eyes on a figure.....
 

yak face

Wossupwidee?
Staff member
Moderator
SMF Supporter
Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
12,261
Points
113
Location
sheffield
First Name
tony
Well I found the xmas tape and stuck it onto a bit of sticky label backing paper . I managed to cut a very thin strip and this was stuck round the back edge of the cowling and a couple of short pieces just behind that . It worked very nicely and gives a good representation of this distinctive feature . Ive glued the canopy on and given the frames a first coat of colour roughly by hand . Once theyve had a second coat I can clean up the edges with a cocktail stick and itll be ok . I also tidied up the two stripes on the fin , touching up the edges with white. 30E5C5BB-D7F2-4882-AF85-F899E25FE9CA.jpeg2A34D6F1-8D67-4482-839A-6F42B549A77A.jpegA9FBD224-E366-4757-9F12-E8C3E3CEF278.jpeg96C3FA6C-29DA-4C21-B8FE-B3E9DBB84B86.jpeg
 
Top