LAVOCHKIN LA5 FN

[Wizzel]

Afternoon all,

I'm new to the site and fairly new back into modelling so I thought I'd better show willing and start posting my current project.  In June last year, I finally finished what was my best bit of modelling to date, a 1/72 scale Lavochkin LA5 FN by Revell.  It took over 2 years to build on and off (hiding it away for months at a time when I reached a bit I got too stuck or too scared of to go any further for a while) but I got it done in time to go on our club display at a model show.  On the way home, due to a bad bit of stacking on my part, another heavier model dropped on top of it and so it sat at the back of my display cabinet until I got up the courage to try and resurrect it and incorporate it into a little vignette as I'm not one to make a model and simply place it on the table - I prefer to show it in some sort of context even if it's just on a piece of runway like the first picture below.

 

 The scenario was originally going to be the aircraft having suffered a wheels up landing on the airfield after mechanical failure and so I purchased a resin Russian pilot to stand by it, waiting patiently for transport back to the mess.  When assembled, his arm positions looked as if he was describing a dogfight to someone so the scenario evolved in my mind to an aircraft that had suffered minor battle damage, made a wheels up landing on the airfield with the pilot explaining the combat to the ground crew who had come to recover him and the plane.  I looked about and duly purchased the other bits I would need to bring this to life; 1/72 scale GAZ 42 truck by Military Wheels and 1/72 scale Russian ground crew by Zvezda (which just happened to have an LA 5 on the box art!).

The first task was to convert the canopy from "fully closed" to "slid open" which having not played with clear parts much was not something I was looking forward to.  Surprisingly, once I had prised it off the fuselage I managed to carefully cut it into the 3 separate components quickly and easily which is as far as I've got so far.  Next stage will be to clean the edges up ready to put it back in the "slid open position BUT, after checking out a few pictures, I think I'm going to have to knock together the suggestion of a radio for the area behind the pilot as that bit will be a touch more exposed to scrutiny now.  I'd already made a seat cushion and harness so was slightly ahead of myself with the detailing - twas as if I'd known!!! 

In the background I'll be working on the GAZ 42 which comes in a box with a lift off top (the box type somehow seems to be important when one is reviewing a kit!!!) and on first look seems well enough detailed though smothered in flash and seam lines.  The cleaning up of the parts will likely take longer than the assembly but THAT'S what modelling is all about, eh?

 

Work in the hobbies room moves at a very slow pace most of the time, but I'll try not to keep you waiting too long for updates.  Here are some pictures to be going on with though - the first two being the LA5 before and after the "crash"!....

[Badder]

Hi, Wizzel.

I like the sound of the scenario... describing the dogfight. I look forward to seeing the results.

 

Rearguards,

Badder