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Arma Hobbies 1:72 Yak-1b In the famous markings of Lydia Litvyak (The white rose of Stalingrad) 73 GIAP This is for the Interesting Modelling Cos, Arma April and taking exactly a week to finish (being off work with covid didnt hurt) it was just a great little build all round. This is the base kit so no etch or masks but you do get a canopy mask template on the instructions to cut around. Painted in Tamiya colours, eyeballed AMT-4, AMT-7 and Nato Black for the Night Black. Weathered in oils, enamels and a bit of pigment. Would recommend it and no doubt any of Armas stable as a perfect pallet cleanser after a long or tough build. Cheers.

Just finished Yak-1b and BZ-38, 1/48 Yak-1b from Zvezda (AMT) and BZ-38 from UM. My first time to use DIY flockator. More fotos https://photos.app.goo.gl/urt13fifiFYFuQT9A

Here's my sixth completion of 2020, the Arma Hobby Yak-1b from the Expert boxing: Representing No.2 of 148 IAP, flown by Ltn. Mikhail Shkomplektov, an unfortunate pilot who mistakenly landed at the Luftwaffe airfield at Anapa on 11 May 1943. You've got to feel for him, I've no idea of his eventual fate but it could well have proved fatal one way or another. I built it out of the box with the exception of the addition of a set of QuickBoost resin exhausts designed for the kit - I didn't intend this but I lost one of the kit exhausts so it was lucky for me that there was an alternative; I wouldn't have bothered otherwise as the kit exhausts are fine and you can't really see the difference in the end. I used Infini white lycra thread for the r/t aerial wires. Colours used were Colourcoats ACS21 - A14 Steel Grey for the interior and wheelbays etc., ACS17 - 4BO Army Green (which I unintentionally used in place of ACS08 - AMT-4 Olive-Green which I think would have probably been more appropriate), and ACS04 - AMT-6 Black for the disruptive pattern uppersurface camouflage and ACS02 - AMT7 Blue for the undersides. Decals were for one of the six options as provided with the Expert set, they are printed by Techmod and worked very well, but as a word to the wise, don't use very hot water with them as they have a tendency to crumple if they feel the temperature excessive; warm water is fine. The kit is lovely and through some unfortunate events of my own I don't feel I really did it justice, I may have picked out the wrong green for the camouflage and somehow lost my varnish-fu at the final hurdle which resulted in small flakes of varnish coming off and necessitated some repainting, but we are where we are... Cheers, Stew

Here is my Arma Hobby Yak-1b finished as No 107 from the 1st Fighter Aviation Regiment, late 1945 subsequently in the given to the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw. OOB except for Tamiya tape seat belts and telephone wire buckles. Painted with AK Interactive Russian colours & W&N oil paint fading (Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna and Paynes Grey). In these challenging times where every distraction is welcome, this was a very enjoyable and generally straightforward build.

Yakovlev Yak-1B (Expert Set) 1:72 Arma Hobby Prior to the outbreak of WWII, the Yakovlev Design Bureau was best known for designing and building lightweight recreational and sporting aeroplanes. Starting with the Yak-2/Yak-4 light bomber, Yakovlev used this experience to create a sequence of successful, lightweight aircraft which used composite construction to reduce weight. The fighter aircraft produced during this period were largely compact and highly maneuverable. While the development of the new aircraft was not without difficulty, by the time Operation Barbarossa got underway over 400 Yak-1s had ben constructed, although not all were operational. In contrast to the MiG-3, the Yak-1 excelled at low altitude combat, with just 17 seconds required to perform a full circle. Although lightly armed by western standards, the Yak-1 was popular with Soviet pilots. It went on to be developed into the Yak-7, Yak-9 and Yak-3, with over 37,000 examples constructed in total. Arma Hobby are a manufacturer of kits from Warsaw, Poland. Although a relatively new name in the hobby, I have to say I've been mightily impressed by the kits of theirs that I've seen so far. This kit looks to be no different. The plastic parts are as well-made as anything I've seen from any of the big names, with fine and crisp panel lines and no obvious flaws anywhere. The decals look excellent and the full-colour instructions are equally impressive. One of the main differences between Arma Hobby and the likes of Eduard is the engineering and breakdown of parts, which is nowhere near as complex as the Czech manufacturer. This makes for a kit that seems immediately appealing and shouts 'build me' as soon as you handle the plastic. As this is an Expert Set, you get extra decal options, paint masks and a small fret of brass parts too. Construction gets underway with the cockpit. Most of the characteristic internal framework is moulded onto the inside of the fuselage halves, but there are separate parts for some of the structures which helps to add depth and realism. Some of the photo etched parts are used to add extra detail. The instrument panel also benefits from a multi-layered photo etched enhancement. The pilot's seat also benefits from photo etched harnesses. In common with other kits of this type, the lower part of the cockpit, including the pilot's seat pan, rudder pedals and control column, all have to be fitted to the area between the wings, which is moulded in place betwen the wing halves. As both the upper and lower wings halves are moulded with both port and starboard joined up, aligning the wings should be no problem. Detail isn't compromised by this approach, partly because the level of moulded detail is so good and partly because the aeroplane is so small anyway. Moving away from the wings, the upper cowling is moulded as a separate part to the fuselage, while the engine exhausts slot in from either side. All of the control surfaces are moulded in place, which means although they are beautifully detailed, they can't be posed. There are photo etched parts to add extra detail to the radiator and oil cooler. Although the undercarriage doesn't benefit from any such treatment, it is nonetheless nicely detailed. The canopy is nice an clear but is moulded in once piece, which means it can't be finished in the open position - a surprising decision for what is otherwise a very nicely detailed kit. The decal options include: Yak-1B No.4, 1 Squadron, Polish 1st Fighter Regiment, WO Edward Chromy, Zadybie Stare Airfield, Summer 1944. This aircraft is finished in two-tone grey over blue; Yak-1B No.13, 2 Squadron, Polish 1st Fighter Regiment, Sgt Patryk O'Brien, Operation Berlin, 1945. This aircraft is also finished in two-tone grey over blue; Yak-1B No.2, 148 IAP, Capt. Leonid Smirnof, Kuban, Spring 1943. This aircraft is finished in two-tone green over blue; Yak-1B captured aircraft (as per Capt. Leonid Smirnof above) in German markings; Yak-1B No.26, 31 GIAP, Maj. Boris Yeryomin, Soldovka, Stalingrad Front, December 1942. This aircraft was overpainted with white; and Yak-1B No.6, GC3 Normandie, Albert Durland, Khatenki, Summer 1943. This aircraft is finished in two-tone green over blue with 'fish scale' mottling on the cowling. The decals are superbly printed and a full set of stencils is included. Conclusion Just like the other Arma Hobby kits I've seen, this is a very high quality model. It is apparent that Arma Hobby have produced a model that should be easy to build without compromising on detail. The quality of manufacture is excellent; I'd go as far as saying that if these sprues had fallen out of a Tamiya or Eduard box, I doubt you would notice much difference. The decal options are excellent too. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Okay, I'm tossing my ushanka into the ring; I'll be attempting to improve and complete the ancient but not completely horrible ZTS Mikro 72 1/72 Yak-1b. This was reboxed more recently by Mastercraft. Here's the box and what it contains: The brown thing is what used to be a tube of glue included in the kit; it's long ago gone dry. The sprues: Here are some parts from the spares box and elsewhere, intended to dress the thing up a bit. I balked at using the Part photoetch set I've got - maybe next time... http://www.postimg.cc/image/6svezk9iz/ Clockwise from top right are: - Rexx Yak-1/Yak-7 (early) metal exhausts - Parts 29 and 30 from the Toko 1/72 LaGG-3 to be used in reshaping the underside of the cowling - Tailplanes from a Dakoplast Yak-7 - the ZTS ones are not correctly shaped. I'd post a scan of a drawing, but I'm still working on how to make my printer speak to my PC. The PC makes advances, but so far the printer won't reply. - Prop and spinner from Toko LaGG-3 - that kit is a great source of spares! - Pavla vacuformed Yak-9 canopy, all trimmed and ready to go. I'm thinking that I might have to cannibalize the landing gear from an Amodel Yak-1; the ZTS parts are pretty crude. We'll see... Now a progress photo: This is intended to show several things, within the limitations of my ability to take useful photos: (1) The fin needs a bit of reshaping at the tip to give it that classic Yakovlev outline. Actually the rudder hinge line slopes very slightly too far forward, but I decided not to correct that, since reshaping the fin makes it less obvious, and I didn't want to attempt reworking it by (for example) stealing a rudder from elsewhere. Although if I do use the Amodel Yak-1 landing gear, I could also use the rudder - hmmm... (2) The stabilizer roots on the ZTS kit are part of the stabilizers, not the fuselage. In order to adapt the more accurate Dakoplast Yak-7 stabilizers, I had to cut the roots away from the ZTS parts and glue them to the fuselage halves. (3) Not really visible here, but I removed the gun breech bulge and gun barrel trough from the right fuselage half. The Yak-1b had only the left-hand machine gun in the cowling decking; the Yak-1 had guns on both left and right sides. The kit was designed to be built as either the "razorback" Yak-1 (using a clear part meant to be glued to the fuselage spine to deepen the fuselage - see the box contents image, above) or as the Yak-1b (subject of the current thread, obviously). (4) Even though the molded exhaust stacks on the fuselage halves are not all that bad, I elected to cut them out in preparation for the Rexx parts. I also added the shrouds above and below the resulting slots with very thin styrene sheet from the packaging of a chocolate Easter bunny! I think that's all for now... John

Good day, gentlemen! Let me present you my next model. This is the new resin kit from Ukrainian producer, named "Armory". The kit consist from main resin details, vacuum formed glass cabinet cover, photoetched and metal details. It is new but not easy to assembly. I'm not satisfied from it. Probably it need more time and more accuracy from modeller. I'm sorry, but I can't to do better.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/EduardCompany/photos/a.122154977799458.21995.116570475024575/1089018924446387/?type=1&theater V.P.