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Yakovlev Yak-130 “Mitten” (48052) 1:48 Begemot Decals We’ve been treated to a pair of new kits in this scale what seems to me quite recently, although on checking it, was a fairly surprising 2 years ago. I must have been having fun and just not noticed! Before these two we weren’t exactly spoiled for choice, so by now there should be a fair few of these little trainer/light attack aircraft in the stashes of our modelling brethren. This decal set arrives in an unassuming ziplok bag, with two A3 sheets of glossy paper plus more two full and one smaller pages on matt paper folded in half for the instructions, four sheets of decals split between three for the individual markings and aircraft numbers, with the third smaller sheet for the stencils. The instructions are large due to the fact that there are an amazing 27 decal options, and a sheet is also dedicated to the stencils for the airframe as well as the munitions that the Mitten was capable of carrying. The level of care and attention that has been lavished on this and every set from Begemot is impressive, giving the modeller a fantastic range of decal and colour options to choose from. From the sheets you can build the following: Yak-130, S.n. 94206201001, 1st pre-production batch, Flight Research Institute, Zhukovskiy, 2007 Yak-130, S.n. 94206201001, 1st pre-production batch, Flight Research Institute, Zhukovskiy, 2009 Yak-130, S.n. 94206201019, 2nd pre-production batch, MAKS-07 airsalon, Zhukovskiy, August 2007 Yak-130, S.n. 94206201019, 2nd pre-production batch, MAKS-07 airsalon, Zhukovskiy, August 2017 Yak-130, S.n. 942062013??, 3rd pre-production batch, Flight Research Institute, Zhukovskiy, 2006 Yak-130, S.n. 94206201576, 5th pre-production batch, Sokol aviation factory, Nijniy Novogorod, 2009 Yak-130, S.n. 94206201457, 5th pre-production batch, Main Flight Test Centre Russian Air Force, Akhtoubinsk, 2010 Yak-130, S.n. 94206201409, 1st serial aircraft, MAKS-2009 airsalon, Zhukovskiy, August 2009 Yak-130, S.n. 94206201729, 5th serial aircraft, 4th Centre of Combat Employment & Personnel Retraining Russian Air Force, Lipetsk, 2010 Yak-130, S.n. 94206202105, 6th serial aircraft, 209th Training Airbase, 786th Training Aviation Centre & Personnel Russian Air Foce, Borisiglebsk airbase, 2011 Yak-130, S.n. 130.1001, 1st serial aircraft, Irkutsk, August 2009 Yak-130, S.n. 130.1001, 1st serial aircraft, MAKS-2017 airsalon, Zhukovskiy, August 2017 Yak-130, S.n. 130.11.00.1004, Training Centre, Russian Air Force, Borisoglebsk Airfield, 2013 Yak-130, S.n. 130.11.00.1019, Training Centre, Russian Air Force, Borisoglebsk Airfield, 2013 Yak-130, S.n. 130.11.00.1111, Training Centre, Russian Air Force, Borisoglebsk Airfield, 2014 Yak-130, S.n. 130.11.00.1118, Training Centre, Russian Air Force, Armavir Airfield, 2014 Yak-130, S.n. 130.11.00.1114, Training Centre, Russian Air Force, Borisoglebsk Airfield, 2014 Yak-130, S.n. 130.11.00.1307, Training Airbase Krasnodar Military Pilots University, Russian Air Force, Armavir Airfield, 2017 Yak-130, S.n. 130.11.00. 1320, Training Airbase Krasnodar Military Pilots University, Russian Air Force, Armavir Airfield, 2017 Yak-130, S.n. 130.11.00.1004, 116th Guardian Strike Aviation Base, Republic of Belarus Air Force, Lida Airbase, 2015 Yak-130, S.n. 130.12.01.0106, 620th Training Aviation Squadron, Algerian Air Force, 2012 Yak-130, S.n. 130.12.02.0101, Bangladesh Air Force, 2015 Yak-130, S.n. 130.12.03.1001, Myanmar (Burma) Air Force, 2017 Yak-130, S.n. 00-01, MAKS-2017 airsalon, Zhukovskiy, July 2017 Yak-130, S.n. unknown, Laos People’s Liberation Army Air Force, Vientiane Airbase, January 2019 Yak-130, S.n. unknown, Training Airbase Krasnodar Military Pilots University Russian Air Force, Kushe’vka Airbase, 2019 Yak-130, S.n. unknown, Training Airbase Krasnodar Military Pilots University Russian Air Force, Borisoglebssk Airbase, summer 2018 You can see all of the colour schemes and additional information on each of the choices above by clicking the “available here” link below and clicking on the two .pdf files that are on the page. The penultimate page of the instructions devotes a page to the stencils on the fuselage and overleaf the weapons with their designations above each one. There are plenty of these, and as I always say it’s the stencils that make a more realistic model, increasing the level of visual detail immensely. Conclusion As we’ve come to expect from Begemot the printing is first rate, with good register, colour density and sharpness, with the little red hippo logo in the bottom right of each sheet. They always provide a huge selection of options on their sheets, which gives the obsessive modeller the chance to get massive value, and tempt the rest of us to get a few more of the same kit. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hi there, I'm on a bit of a Cold War kick right now, and everything I know about it comes from being six in 1989 and from reading old copies of SOVIET MILITARY POWER during my first decade. Are there any modern books that talk about the Soviet air arms during the cold war? Topics I'm interested in are: Procurement policies Social histories of the high command and the lower ranks Late 70s to mid-80s -era aircraft Information specifically useful to modellers is nice, but not a priority compared to the above three. It'd be nice to be able to tell the MiG-21 or MiG-23 variants apart, though. I realize not all of this is likely covered comprehensively in one book; multiple books are fine, I read fast; do you have any suggestions for me?

Some wonderful photos from last weekend show in Zhukovsky near Moscow (not mine) http://d-a-ck9.livej....com/57332.html