Tri-jet from Tatarstan - Tulpar Air Yak-42D in 1/144

[Skodadriver]

Sometimes it’s nice to take a stroll off the beaten track and that’s exactly what I’ve done with my latest offering, the Rus-Air resin Yak-42D in the simple, attractive scheme of Kazan-based Tulpar Air.

 

I’m no expert on Russian airliners and I haven’t done any checks on dimensional accuracy but to my eyes the Rus-Air kit really captures the character of the Yak-42. The kit itself is gorgeous and one of the easiest kits in any medium I’ve ever built. In the usual Russian style the fuselage is split vertically like an injection-moulded kit but with a separate one-piece fin and central intake. There was a small bit of slightly awkward filling below the intake and the split engine pylons were a minor irritation (think Airfix BAC 1-11) but otherwise everything assembled easily helped by Rus-Air’s thoughtful provision of marks to drill for locating pegs. In fact the only issue I had was with the undercarriage. I managed to break both main legs while I was cutting away the surplus resin and had to resort to pinning with fuse wire. The side struts were useless and I replaced them with plastic strip. Enthusiasts of super-detailing could go to town on the undercarriage but in light of experience I decided to play safe and content myself with drilling out the torque links (very carefully!) and adding lamps to the nose leg which I promptly lost and had to fabricate a replacement. Needless to say, as soon as the replacement was finished the original part turned up.

 

Although they provide a choice of several schemes including Cubana and Aeroflot, the kit decals are thick, matt, yellowish and utterly horrible. They went straight into the bin. The Tulpar Air decals are by Ascensio. I had seen rather mixed reports about Ascensio decals but I found them straightforward to use and anybody with previous experience of laser printed decals should get on fine. Ascensio are one of the very few manufacturers who provide after-market decals for the Yak-42 so we should be grateful to them even if the decals aren’t without their flaws. Although the sheet says it was designed for the Rus-Air model, some items such as the windscreen and the large grey anti-glare panel (which I ended up over-painting) bore only a passing resemblance to the kit and required significant modification. Ascensio have mistakenly printed the main cabin door the same size as the other doors instead of the bottom edge being noticeably lower. I dealt with that by using a section from one of the doors provided for the alternative livery on the sheet. It’s actually dark grey rather than blue but the subterfuge isn’t noticeable on the model.

 

The decals generally are a little stiff and virtually impervious to decal solvent. Drawdecal’s trick of pressing into place with a cloth dipped in just-off-the-boil water helped considerably. On the plus side they are very robust and will take a lot of abuse as I discovered when I had to reposition one of the Skynet Aero titles after it was firmly stuck. Mistreatment like that would have made most other decals disintegrate but the Ascensio decal took it in its stride. Overall I was much more impressed with the decals than I had expected.

 

I kept weathering to an absolute minimum since all the photos I could find of RA-42555 in this livery showed her looking immaculate. That might be because Tulpar Air, apparently a rather dodgy operation, was grounded before their four Yak-42s had time to get dirty!

 

I enjoyed building the Yak-42 so much that I have bought a second one to keep it company. I intend to finish it in Kras Air livery (again by Ascensio) but with the forthcoming Group build and various other ongoing projects it will be a while before I get round to it.

 

Thanks for looking and as always constructive criticism is welcome.

 

Dave G

 

 

 

 

 

.... and with the PAS An-72

 

[MikeW]

Admirable result achieved Dave. As you say, quite an attractive scheme ( for a dodgy carrier).

In my limited experience with resin, that has been my memorable take away too - detaching the part from the sprue / extra resin ( or in my case, I resort to hacking, carving and shredding ) seems to generally lead to damage of the smaller parts. Always. Today, small resin bits, and P.E., stay unmolested n the box.

Attractive pair of Russians.

Cheers,

Mike

[Viking]

Sometimes it’s nice to take a stroll off the beaten track

Couldn't agree more Dave!

Not an aircraft I am that familiar with, but its a tidy looking design,sort of half Trident and half 1-11. I love the An-72 as well, it's even more off the beaten track!

Lovely job on both of them, thanks for posting, I'll have to look into getting some of these.

Cheers

John

[mitchem]

Excellent stuff Dave.

Having built an AN-72 in 1/72, I'm rather surprised at the size of the Yak-42. BIgger than expected.

Thanks for sharing.

:thumbsup2:

[pinky coffeeboat]

Very nice build Dave.

I've got a couple of Eastern Express Yak-42 get stuck into.

I was interested to read your experience with Ascensio decals. My one and only dabbling with them mirrors your initial impression (stiff and solvent proof). I didn't use any hot water.

What I found was the sheet I used was thick and very glossy so much so that when it was applied, it actually had the look of a self adhesive sticker that was losing a bit of its stick, like a toy bought at Christmas with the stickers peeling off by about mid-February (childhood memories here!) . Nothing I did made it conform.

I may try them again and use some hot water.

Jeff

[Skodadriver]

Thanks for your encouragement everybody - much appreciated

...

Attractive pair of Russians.

When the An-72 was in RFI in its own right last year, I casually referred to it as "Russian" and JWM pointed out, politely but firmly, that Antonov is based in Kiev which is in the Ukraine, not Russia! Oops

Very nice build Dave.
I've got a couple of Eastern Express Yak-42 get stuck into.
I was interested to read your experience with Ascensio decals. My one and only dabbling with them mirrors your initial impression (stiff and solvent proof). I didn't use any hot water.
What I found was the sheet I used was thick and very glossy so much so that when it was applied, it actually had the look of a self adhesive sticker that was losing a bit of its stick, like a toy bought at Christmas with the stickers peeling off by about mid-February (childhood memories here!) . Nothing I did made it conform.

I may try them again and use some hot water.

Jeff

Good luck with the EE version Jeff. I think Ascensio must have improved their manufacturing, either that or I was very lucky. The Tulpar sheet wasn't glossy nor was it particularly thick. Once I used Greg Drawbaugh's hot water trick the decals settled right into the panel lines and the carrier film vanished. I got a result that is every bit as good as I'd expect with 26, F-DCAL or any of the other better known manufacturers. The Kras Air sheet which I also have looks just as good and even has a "photo real" windscreen which unfortunately the Tulpar sheet didn't.

[MikeW]

When the An-72 was in RFI in its own right last year, I casually referred to it as "Russian" and JWM pointed out, politely but firmly, that Antonov is based in Kiev which is in the Ukraine, not Russia! Oops

Oops - and well it should be pointed out. For a while there, the map of Eastern Europe was as fluid as the map of Africa in the 60s in my youth - every day in geography class, something was changed it seemed.

Anyone remember the video from about 10 years ago - Numa Numa - where the group "Ozone" from Moldova are dancing all over an An-72?

[MikeW]

And oops again - I just watched the video - it has been years, and not an An-72 at all - lots of prop action. ( a shot of a Yak in the background though )

[Graeme H]

A very good Yak there, nice to see those resin kits done

[Vince1159]

Lovely job SD,great photo's as well...

[woody37]

I too know bvery little about Russian airliners, but sometimes, niavety is the best assett a modeller can have, you crack on and enjoy instead of getting hung up on things that to most would think you've gone barking mad!

Gorgeous build

[Mountain goat]

Very nice result that stroll gave you! Interesting subject, indeed not one you see very often - therefore great choice! The smooth-as-silk finish and details in the undercarriage make the Yak-42 look like it's ready taxy away.

Jay

[stringbag]

Lovely result there Dave.

Can't really add much more to the positive comments you have already received except to say thanks for posting and bringing this one to my attention.

All the best.

Chris

[Luis Alfonso]

Nice Build of this pair!!!

I have remembering those days when Cubana used to fly here and this noisy jets make a difference in the now quiet skies...

Thank you very much for sharing,

Cheers,

Luis Alfonso

[Turbofan]

Great to see something different every now and again. I like it, Dave! Unusual aircraft and unusual airline. They say a change is as good as a rest!

Interesting about Ascensio decals I'm sure I heard they were really, really thin and so transparent that they were virtually unusable, but maybe that was a long time ago.

I know the feeling of losing something then spending ages scratch building a replacement only to find the original piece soon after, usually sat right in front of you on the bench!!

What's coming next?

Cheers,

Ian

[Radleigh]

I do love a Yak-42... Really looking forward to the Amodel 1/72nd kit, really looking forward to it!

Lovely model you have there, looks great along side the An-72/74.

[Skodadriver]

Cheers everyone - your encouragement really is appreciated.

I too know bvery little about Russian airliners, but sometimes, niavety is the best assett a modeller can have, you crack on and enjoy instead of getting hung up on things that to most would think you've gone barking mad!

Gorgeous build

Yes, ignorance really is bliss sometimes! I keep waiting for someone who knows their Russian airliners to pop out of the woodwork and point out all the model's faults but I seem to be getting away with it so far

What's coming next?

An ICM IL-62M in Interflug livery and, sublime to the ridiculous, an Easyjet Boeing 737-700! The Ilyushin needs a few more decals and the Boeing needs weathering but hopefully both should appear in the next few weeks.

[Val]

Beautiful work!

[Alex1978]

Some very nice russian classics are showing up here recently.

Your YAK-42 looks spot on,great job.

I just bought me the Eastern Express YAK-42 kit,wonder if this one will come out as well as yours.

[The 3rd Placer]

Did you apply a panel line wash or mark them with a pencil?

Really nice build and finish.

Ryan

[Skodadriver]

I always use a pencil for panel lines or control surfaces and pastels for exhaust staining and the like. I just can't do washes - must be a character flaw or something!

[The 3rd Placer]

Then I am flawed as well, I hate washes too!

Ryan

[Turbofan]

I'm with you both on the washes, pencils are the way to go!

Cheers,

Ian