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Azur + Lift Here 1/72 Rogožarski IK-3 (No.2153)


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Greetings!

This is one of my models built to commemorate the 70 anniversary of the April war and all the brave Yugoslav aviators who gave their lives to protect the homeland.

Rogožarski IK-3 was an indigenous design, in performance somewhere between Hurricane and Spitfire. Due to it's relatively underpowered engine, it was slower that Bf-109E, but had far better manoeuvrability. Before the war, special dogfight tactics were developed in mock dogfights against Bf-109E-3s, which were also purchased by the YRAF. Using IK-3's agility, the pilot would make a series of tight-turns, quickly evading the pursuer ang getting on his "six".

Axis attack began on April 6th 1941, overrunning the country in just two weeks. Out of 12 machines produced, only 6 were ready to fly, while others were in shop for scheduled maintenance. The plane achieved a relatively high success (11 planes shot down, and 4 IK-3s lost). Sadly, the planes that were captured were damaged by sabotage and later sent to the scrapheap, while the remaining RYAF machines were burned on Veliki Radinci airfield on April 12th, to prevent them falling into enemy hands.

the model:

Azur's new 1/72nd kit is currently the best choice of an injection-molded kit, but has several accuracy issues:

The most apparent mistakes are the vertical rudder (trailing edge not slanted enough), and the spurious central flap (unless if you have the Azur FR014 kit, where you also get the correct lower wing half with two flaps)

Other minor mistakes include the canopy (the border frame between windshield and main glass should be slanted); nose contour (upper contour a bit flat and a dreadful spinner, which should be more pointed); the prop blades (that turn the wrong way) and the missing gun openings at the top of the nose.

Plenty errors I agree, but still it is far better choice than AZ kit (which has poorly moulded fuselage sides, wrong rear fuselage section and spine shape, etc).

Also, most of the errors are pretty straightforward to fix (except the canopy)

It also helps to have Lift Here detail set, comprising of a resin spinner and etched details...

List of modifications:

- scratchbuilt new rudder (lower "fork had to be extended")

- cockpit frames scratchbuilt using the boxes from the etched ones

- new vac canopy made by vacforming over modified AvUSK kit resin master

- nose reshaped (really a subtle error)

- exhaust pipes scratchbuilt from 0.9mm syringe needle

- scratchbuilt radiator flaps and rear grill

- wheel wells sanded (edges are inclined, should be perpendicular to the surface)

- repositioned elevators and trimmers

- scratchbuilt wingroot intakes

- scratchbuilt landing gear (wheel forks and various small details) and tires "flatened" a bit over hot stove

- propeller reshaped and thinned

Work-in-progress pics (in Serbian):

Maketarski Kutak

Colors were mixed to my own preferences. The ochre should be somewhat darker...

Decals are a combination of kit decals and home-made serials printed with a laser printer on a transparent decal film.

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The model was completed exactly on April the 6th. Plus, it was my birthday, so double the fun :D/>

Cheers!

Aleksandar

Edited by Aleksandar
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  • 2 months later...

Excellently done! :clap2:

But I have one question - what's with the wing angle (dihedral):

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On all finished AZUR-FROM Ik-3 models I have noticed the lack of dihedral angle, which is very unusual for a classic WWII fighter plane... The same problem I have noticed on some Ik-3 drawings... Is it possible that the model was prepared on the basis of wrong drawings?

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  • 4 months later...

After a quick GOOGLE search and a peek at my Profile Publication booklet, I see that the IK-3 had no dihedral angle. In front profile, the top surface of the wing is flat and level. The bottom surface does have a slight upward angle, as the wings get thinner toward the tips.

Chris

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