Lavochkin La 160 Prop & Jet 1/72 resin

[John R]

Not the most colourful or exciting a/c but nevertheless interesting because it was the first Russian a/c to have swept wings. It first flew in 1947 powered by an RD-10F, a copy of the German Jumo 004 fitted with a Lavochkin developed afterburner.  It was able to reach a speed of Mach 0.92 but was lost when due to structural failure of the wing (it sounded like flutter) when attempting to reach higher speeds. It was designed to have two cannons mounted above the intake but these were not fitted for the early flights.

 

It went together quite easily like all Prop & Jet kits. The only problems were self-inflicted. I had great trouble getting the anhedral correct and the same on both wings. Normal procedure is to to lay the fuselage halves flat on the bench and slot the wings into them. The wings can then be adjusted to the correct angle and supported before glueing - something that I find vital when using CA. I also line up the fuselages longitudinally so I can check that the anhedral is the same for both wings. This time I was so concerned about getting the right amount of ballast in the nose that I joined up the fuselage halves first. I should also have thinned the fin and rear fuselage so that it matched the rudder before glueing the fuselage halves together.

 

Finish is Vallejo Sky Grey

 

 

 

[Spitfire31]

In spite of the  "should haves" a neat and very interesting model!

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

[SAT69]

Very nicely done.

[Wulfman]

A lovely Lavochkin, love those early Russian jets !

 

Wulfman

[RidgeRunner]

A very nice one, John