dai phan Posted December 6, 2022 Share Posted December 6, 2022 (edited) Hello all, After 4 consecutive builds with after market engine sets, I am ready for something simple and goes quickly together. I still remember in mid 90's AM was the talk of the town with state of the arts kits. Their TBF is still unmatched till today. Too bad poor management folded the company shortly after. Dai Edited December 6, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 (edited) Happy Friday everyone... The build has started. The cockpit tub is good in details but a bit complicated in its construction. Dai Edited December 10, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lost_Erik Posted December 11, 2022 Share Posted December 11, 2022 Good looking Yak-1 front office.👍 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 (edited) Hello everyone... Started to prime the model today. I did not line up the bottom really well so by the time I cleaned up the seam, I lost the rib lines. Added stretched sprue and carefully sand back the original contour. The ailerons did not line up with top wing so some sandings are needed to make them at the same height. The radiator flaps did not fit well and require some cleaver positioning. I really appreciate AM produced some important but ignored by manufacturers of the famous plane's early variants. Dai Edited December 11, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 (edited) Hi all, An interesting note is Modelsvit and South Front both produce Yak 1 in 1/48? I have seen the finished product on their web and the models look sharp and detailed. However the parts look crude and not on the same level as AM. Dai Edited December 13, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 (edited) Greetings, I will be using the Hataka Orange (Lacquer) for paints. The white color is acrylic with the red cap and all others are lacquer with orange caps ! Dai Edited December 22, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nathant Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 I believe south front is is an ICM Rebox? If so it is very crude and less detailed, Modelsvit should be much better and ironically more accurate than the Accurate Miniatures kit. You are making good progress, I’ve always liked the looks of the Yak fighters. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 13, 2022 Author Share Posted December 13, 2022 (edited) 7 hours ago, Nathant said: I believe south front is is an ICM Rebox? If so it is very crude and less detailed, Modelsvit should be much better and ironically more accurate than the Accurate Miniatures kit. You are making good progress, I’ve always liked the looks of the Yak fighters. The AM kit suffers from the wrong upper deck and hence the correction set. I just ordered off EB this rare update and I will compare to see how much off the AM kit is. I also ordered the Modelsvit and if it is worth building I may do the wheel version. Dai Edited December 13, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 Happy Holiday everyone... Excellent link on this not often modelled plane. Dai Yakovlev Yak-1 & Yak-1b profiles (massimotessitori.altervista.org) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 (edited) Greetings everyone... Started the painting process. The lower color is Hataka lacquer AMT-7 Light Blue. If you plan to build this AM Yak 1 buy the Academy rebox. It has the same parts but the sprue gates are different and more refined, less clean up. The clear parts are vastly superior to AM and equal to today's standard. Plus you get multiple schemes quality decals sheet and masking sheet too (equal to Eduard's) ! Dai Edited December 22, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lost_Erik Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 Great progress.👍 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 22, 2022 Author Share Posted December 22, 2022 10 hours ago, Lost_Erik said: Great progress.👍 Thank you. As I progress through the build I start to notice the model has some errors in outline and details. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 22, 2022 Author Share Posted December 22, 2022 (edited) Hi all, On the left side there is a small air scoop (AM's version is too small) and this photo shows the demarcation line between the upper and lower surface. It is noted that left and right sides are NOT symmetrical in details. The right side has longer ribs than the left. Dai Edited December 22, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 24, 2022 Author Share Posted December 24, 2022 (edited) Greetings... Completed painting the main frame today. The HTK 4 green is almost translucent and took multiple coats to achieve opacity ! Dai Edited December 24, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 25, 2022 Author Share Posted December 25, 2022 (edited) Hello all, The main frame is painted. I may do some more weathering as I progress. The landing gear, skis are very poor in enginnering. The front peg of the landing gears do not have connecting points to the wheel well resulted in very fragile and sloppy assembly. Dai Edited December 25, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lost_Erik Posted December 25, 2022 Share Posted December 25, 2022 I'm glad you wrestled the ski/gear into place ok. It's a shame to make such a nice camo pattern as a base for winter wash/camo. 😀 Great progress! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 27, 2022 Author Share Posted December 27, 2022 (edited) Happy Holidays everyone... The plane is now to be decaled. Normally I would leave the small items out until the plane is decaled and weathered. However in this case, since there are not many decals, I went ahead and completed them. Although I like the EZ line for its elasticity, the cross section is flat rather than circular. That means if the line is not perpendicular and parallel to the floor, you will see some twists that are unacceptable. I am looking for an alternative (not stressed sprue) now so let me know what you suggest. The leading edge clear part is undersized and best replaced. I also had to cut off the mounting tabs on the gear doors so they can be fitted onto the airframe. Dai Edited December 27, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vonjhn68 Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 Awesome - another Accurate Miniatures kit build! Great work so far. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted January 3 Author Share Posted January 3 On 12/29/2022 at 2:51 PM, vonjhn68 said: Awesome - another Accurate Miniatures kit build! Great work so far. Thank you very much. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted January 3 Author Share Posted January 3 Hello all, The wing fuel gauges are poorly represented on the kit so I ordered a better replacement. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 (edited) Howdy everyone, The rigging material is Infini Model Aero Black Rigging. I cannot tell if it is flat or circular but the 1/72 (Super Fine) seems to be appropriate for this 1/48 scale model. The 1/48 thread seems a bit too large. The elasticity is the same as the EZ line. Dai Edited January 4 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 (edited) Greetings, Time to start assembling the final small details. Dai Edited January 4 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 (edited) Howdy, The rockets are the RS-82 and the railings are in silver with greenish rocket body. The AM kit does not give color instructions on these. Dai Edited January 4 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 (edited) On 1/3/2023 at 1:26 PM, dai phan said: Hello all, The wing fuel gauges are poorly represented on the kit so I ordered a better replacement. Dai Too bad the diameter is way to big for the circular indentations on the wings. I use the Yak-1b fuel gauge decals from the Eduard rebox of the AM kit. Dai Edited January 6 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted January 6 Author Share Posted January 6 (edited) Howdy fellow modelers... The project is completed. Here are my reviews... PROS: 1. General fair to good fit. 2. Fairly accurate of the early Yak-1 model in 1/48 scale. Some mention the Modelsvit Yak-1 1/48 is more accurate. 3. Detailed cockpit. 4. Fuel tanks and rockets. CONS: 1. Poor engineering of the main landing gears. The front attachment points do not connect to anywhere resulting in woobly assembly. 2. The leading edge clear light is slightly smaller than the cutout. 3. Inaccurate upper deck. AlphaFlight has a correction set. Although I do not see that much improvement. 4. The circular clear parts are slightly bigger than the cut outs in the wings. 5. The left air intake is severely undersized. 6. The decals are not opaque enough. Any defects in the paint will show though. I use the Academy rebox decals. Edited January 6 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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