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Yakovlev Yak-9 1/72 from Zvezda in 2022


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7 hours ago, Learstang said:

I dunno John, looks pretty nice to me. One I'll be buying.

 

Regards,

 

Jason

Same here. In multiples. I've already got five of them preordered at Hannants. I'm such an addict... :blush:

 

John

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Personally, I'd love a new, highly-detailed Yak-9/VK-105 series of "real" kits in 1/72, but until that happens, this easy-assembly kit will be very welcome. From what I can see, even if it's simplified, it blows all previous Yak-9 kits in this scale right out of the water. This type of kit is supposed to attract new, younger modelbuilders to the hobby; whether it works or not, I don't know. If this type of kit doesn't sell, someone needs to tell Zvezda and maybe HobbyBoss, because they keep making them. I did see a thread on another forum which celebrated older kits for their simplicity - modern kits have too many small parts and are not fun to build for us old codgers with failing eyesight! :winkgrin:

 

John

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5 hours ago, stevehnz said:

I guess I should have at least a couple, especially when I think of all the :Ds I've made on the basis of Johns obsession. ;) :D 

Steve.

 

Thanks for the nod, Steve! As pleased as I am about this "easy-assembly" kit, I'm still hopeful that someone will do a whole Yak-9 series in 1/72. If I don't live to see it, you can all bless my departed soul for wishing it on you. In that case, I expect an "In Memoriam" Yak-9 group build in my honour!  :lol:

 

John

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Opinions on the Russian modelling forums seems to range from mixed to quite negative - it seema this is a mish-mash of different Series. To be honest, even ArmaHobby don't specify what's the exact Series their excellent Yak-1b kit is based on but still, it would be nice if manufacturers did this.

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2 hours ago, Ventsislav Gramatski said:

Opinions on the Russian modelling forums seems to range from mixed to quite negative - it seema this is a mish-mash of different Series. To be honest, even ArmaHobby don't specify what's the exact Series their excellent Yak-1b kit is based on but still, it would be nice if manufacturers did this.

Thank you, Ventsislav! The Russian forums are a pretty tough audience. Maybe it's different for those who can read Russian, although in the case of the Yak-1/Yak-1b, Kouznetsov's excellent book has been available in English for some time now. Regarding the Zvezda kit, it is, after all, a snap-together - how detailed does it have to be? Like I said before, if the basic shapes are correct, then the builder can add as much or as little extra detail as he pleases.

 

John

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3 hours ago, Ventsislav Gramatski said:

To be honest, even ArmaHobby don't specify what's the exact Series their excellent Yak-1b kit is based on but still, it would be nice if manufacturers did this.

 

But then they would need to be REALLY careful about what decals they include with each series... and in this economy, who'd bother with that 😏

 

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On 17/07/2022 at 17:35, Learstang said:

Yes, just what I need - another Yak fighter to go with the 25 or so I already have! Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound!

 

Regards,

 

Jason

Don’t you mean a Rouble ?

 

Wulfman

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20 hours ago, Ventsislav Gramatski said:

Opinions on the Russian modelling forums seems to range from mixed to quite negative - it seema this is a mish-mash of different Series. To be honest, even ArmaHobby don't specify what's the exact Series their excellent Yak-1b kit is based on but still, it would be nice if manufacturers did this.

Can I have a link where they talk about it? The model is a rescale of the model B 48, which is a regular "early" Yak-9D

 

The main questions for simplifications under "assembly without glue"

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I'd love to see a reference, either in paper or online, preferably but not necessarily in English if it has good illustrations, which shows these series variations that are so concerning. Kouznetsov's Yak-1/-1b books are pretty good for this for the Yak-1b, but I don't know of anything for the Yak-9. Maybe I need to review what I've already got, but the drawings in four issues of M-Hobby from a few years ago are supposed to be the best, and they don't show any series details.

 

John

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On 8/11/2022 at 10:38 AM, Ventsislav Gramatski said:

Opinions on the Russian modelling forums seems to range from mixed to quite negative - it seema this is a mish-mash of different Series.

It has to be a huge improvement over the meagre offerings of any previous manufacturer, although the Dakoplast one is pretty darned good, for its age. Maybe they want to debate the series version of the Airfix blob, or the ICM/Encore mess.

 

John

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On 8/11/2022 at 10:24 AM, John Thompson said:

I wonder how close this kit is to being released - I keep checking Scalemates because I hope the instructions have been posted, but so far, nothing.

 

John

Hah - found 'em:

https://zvezda.org.ru/upload/iblock/1ff/btxssjdo80wn5qui4tgipck1m1eecmzl/7313_instr.pdf

 

Looks damned fine to me, although the pathway to a Yak-9T is not yet clear. I'll have to ponder this a bit...  :D

 

John

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On 8/11/2022 at 6:59 PM, John Thompson said:

Thank you, Ventsislav! The Russian forums are a pretty tough audience. Maybe it's different for those who can read Russian, although in the case of the Yak-1/Yak-1b, Kouznetsov's excellent book has been available in English for some time now. Regarding the Zvezda kit, it is, after all, a snap-together - how detailed does it have to be? Like I said before, if the basic shapes are correct, then the builder can add as much or as little extra detail as he pleases.

 

John

I don't like calling someone better informed tough, because I don't like lowering criteria and adjusting to the worse. Whenever I met someone more knowledgeable, I can only listen and "soak" the information.

That is the exact situation here. I read comments about this kit on Scalemodels.ru and they are very well based. This kit is an obvious failure, which doesn't mean it won't have its audience. However, those who will buy it nevertheless should not dismiss the facts given by those who have the actual knowledge. Thankfully the education system doesn't work like that, so the grown ups shouldn't either.

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On 8/12/2022 at 2:00 PM, FFE said:

Can I have a link where they talk about it? The model is a rescale of the model B 48, which is a regular "early" Yak-9D.

 

Of course, as @MarkoZGalready pointed out, this discussion is going on at scalemodel.ru - here are the links: Choice of Yak-1, Yak-3, Yak-7, Yak-9 in 1/72 (general discussion) and Announcement of Zvezda 1/72 Yak-9D "snap-fit".

 

In short, while the overall geometry of the kit is praised, there's a lot of negative feedback regarding the engine exhausts, undercarriage, wheels and wheel wells. 

 

Thanks to @JohnThompson for posting a link to the instructions - I see that there's gratitude to Sergei Kuznetsov, among others. Given the praise the 1/48 Yak-9D kit is receiving on the Russian forums, Kuznetsov having advised (his work on the Yak-1 is excellent and I would love for Kagero to get him to do Yak-7/9 books), it seems that downscaling isn't the problem but rather simplifying and "adjusting" a number of details to allow for a snap-fit kit.

 

@JohnThompson the Yak-9T used the same wing with additional fuel tanks as the -9D, the difference is the fuselage. If you take a look at the last step in the instructions, I'd say they'll provide new fuselage halves for the Yak-9T (hopefully, -9M too) and reuse the rest.

 

Yet another subject over the past decade or so that has great 1/48 kits and either non-existent, inaccurate or expensive/hard to find 1/72 downscales..

Edited by Ventsislav Gramatski
typos
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