pvanroy

The pilot was lying prone, and in case of emergency intended to slide out of the aircraft with his berth through a trapdoor on the underside of the cockpit.

Seems release may be imminent: Sale link on Aviation Megastore - with complete sprue shots

First renders of the Polikarpov I-185/M-71 "etalon" (a.k.a. I-186), the fourth and last prototype that was constructed and was intended to be the standard for the production model: I-185/M71 "etalon" first renders

Excellent!!!!

Totally agree regarding production numbers - the LaGG-3 and La-5 certainly were much more important in that respect. The point I was just trying to make is that non-combat types like utility aircraft, transports and trainers do play a crucial role in any military, and they are often overlooked because they are not as charismatic as combat types. So, I'm just happy to see them getting some love too. Again agree that the entire Yak family should be much more widely covered - it is, in fact, the most widely built fighter aircraft family, outstripping the Bf 109. And it also includes the ubiquitous Yak-11 trainer, and the Yak-15 and -17 jets - making it one of only two piston-engined fighter families that was (relatively) successfully developed into a jet fighter. So, I absolutely agree the entire family merits to be treated much more generously than hitherto has been the case! As regards common subjects vs obscurities: it depends on the manufacturing niche. KEPmodels is a small business of enthusiasts that basically prints kits on demand. If they are going to spend time designing a common subject, they run the risk that for all their efforts, a mainstream injection manufacturer may announce the same aircraft in mass production for half the price. Furthermore, they have limited production capacity. So, for them it likely makes sense to focus on niche subjects that are very unlikely to be ever mass-produced by a mainstream brand. On the other hand, a mainstream manufacturer could definitely look at an LaGG-3 as a possibility, and as you point out, it's fairly well covered in smaller scales. However, the La-5 is much more widely known, and likely has considerably greater commercial potential. Add to that the fact that LaGG-3 production is a bit of a nightmare with many very different series, add further differences between various production plants on top of that, and you get an airframe that requires lots of research to get right. So, from the perspective of a mass-produced mainstream kit, any of the Yaks not yet covered, or an La-5 or -7 are lower hanging fruit. Therefore, I can see any of these being produced in 1/32 before an LaGG-3. And if we ever see an LaGG-3 in styrene, I'd still rather expect it to come from Special Hobby or the like - in fact, an LaGG-3 seems something totally in their wheelhouse.

Apologies for being unclear - the LaGG-3 is being worked on for a future release by KEPmodels. Not sure which series they're considering though - although it would make sense to do more than one. For anyone interested, here's an Excel file with all KEPmodels releases current and planned in all scales: KEPmodels kit list I do think the Yak-6 and Shche-2 are important types - the former having a production run of close to 400 aircraft, and the latter having over 500 produced. They were essential utility types, and saw widespread service as liaison, light transport, casevac, supplying partisans... Maybe not very glamorous, but important nevertheless. The Shche-2 is also quite interesting from a technical point of view, as it was intended to be as cheap and simple to produce as possible - that way, it ended up using undercarriage parts from the La-5 and Il-2, props from the Po-2, and , if I remember correctly, the tailplane of the Pe-2. And while I agree that the LaGG-3 is a very important aircraft, and will be a welcome addition, I can also somewhat understand that no-one has produced one so far in 1/32: it's not very famous outside of the former Soviet Union, limiting sales prospects, and, let's face it, it was a pretty mediocre design (even if it laid the basis for the excellent La-5 and La-7). I agree it would be nice to have a Yak-1, -7, and early -9 variants. On the other hand, a Korean War Yak-9P would also have my attention! And of course the La-5...

Indeed, good models of those already exist. No experience with HPH, but LEMkits tend to be pretty nice!

Actually, it seems an LaGG-3 and two I-180s are planned for the future, although considering their release schedule, I'd not expect to see any of those this year. Also, while the I-185 and BI-1 may be considered left field, the MiG-9 and Yak-15 are historically important as the first Soviet jets, and 'inglorious' utility aircraft like the Yak-6 and Shche-2 are indispensable to any air force. So, I don't think those are weird choices.

I just ordered directly from KEPmodels - you can contact them at kepmodels@mail.ru . In my case, I paid them through an intermediary.

The Yak-6 looks really nice, but one thing that worries me a bit from looking at the images is the strange way that the fabric-covered structure of the wing and tailplane are depicted - it appears it's rendered as recessed panels?... Anyway, I don't have the kit yet, so I'll reserve judgment for now. I can definitely vouch for the MiG-9, quality and detail are incredible, and it's obvious a huge amount of research went into getting it right.

Just want to draw attention to the rather impressive 3D-printed kits KEPmodels is bringing to market. They currently offer a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-9, Yakovlev Yak-6 utility plane and Yakovlev Yak-6NBB light night bomber in 1/32 scale: KEPmodels current aircraft models I have the MiG-9, with the Yak-6NBB on order. While the MiG-9 suffered some postal rage (all repairable), the quality and detail of that kit are VERY impressive to say the least. Next to be released in 1/32, probably by the end of this month or sometime March, is a Yakovlev Yak-15. After that, planned releases include the Bereznyak-Isayev BI-1 rocket-powered interceptor, Polikarpov I-185 (both M-82 and M-71 engine variants), and the Shcherbakov Shche-2 utility plane. Apart from the full aircraft models, KEPmodels also offer an entire range of both Soviet/Russian and Western ordnance, several large-scale engines, and other stuff: KEPmodels complete current catalogue

MikroMir has announced the release of a Yokosuka Ohka Model 11 in 1/32 - first test sprues here: MikroMir 1/32 Ohka Model 11 Note that the sprue seems to have a skid included, which hints at an Ohka K-1 in the future.

I totally agree - as any reasonable person would. Someone arguing the opposite, using arguments that are demonstrably logically fallacious, is unreasonable.

Trying to reason with someone who's unreasonable is an exercise in futility.

In principle, yes, adherence to the last IV. Luftflotte guideline on tactical markings includes the suppression of the rear fuselage band and V under the left wing. However, the order did provide for permissible delays in implementing the order in view of weather (and, no doubt, battlefield realities). So, surely, there were aircraft with a mix of markings. RLM 77 is a very enigmatic color. It's inclusion in the 7X range clearly indicates it was intended as a camouflage color. However, the only times it is mentioned in formal documents is as a color for night fighter codes, and a topside camouflage for high-altitude reconnaissance planes. However, it was quite widely used on upper surfaces of day fighters, as both shown by wartime color photographs, and wreck sites. A very interesting discussion of the topic can be found here: Luftwaffe Camouflage Commentary 1 – RLM 77 - Air War Publications And some pilots had the outer wing guns on the Fw 190 A aircraft removed to improve roll rate. So yes, it's not that unusual to find Fw 190 As with only the inner guns installed (in fact very common with the A-5 in particular, as the outer MG FF/M cannons by that point were of little practical use, and their ballistics were quite different from both the inner MG 151s and cowl MG 17s).