YAK-3 1/32 Special Hobby

[Dpgsbody55]

Looking good so far.  That wing joint is a bit of a pain, isn't it, especially around the nose.  But it looks like you're getting it sorted properly. 

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[mc65]

I hope so, Michael! but as we will soon see, I solve one problem, but create two more! in the meantime, thank you all for your interest, it's stimulating to know that what I do can be of interest or useful to someone else.

 

therefore, I placed the tail planes, which leave an ugly groove, despite several blows with file and hammer. in the end I opted for a cap of his wood: sprue from the same kit spun and glued into the groove. amen.

 

then I put the radiator flap back in its place, reconstructing the side walls which were obviously missing.

 

and finally I sprayed some color. the AMT-7 AK was adjusted with a hint of yellow and lightened with a drop of white.

 

I managed to do some damage with hairspray... 

 

I'll spare you the 12 step by step photos of planing, restoring the primer, alclad and color after inserting sections of aluminum into the holes. the end result is this, nothing special, also because I forgot the primer layer between aluminum and light blue.

 

the idea of using hairspray between one layer and another (remembering to insert the primer between aluminum and light blue) was to achieve this result:

 

while in the upper part I finished the cockpit by adding what was missing.

 

only the gunsight and the accessories connected to it are missing.

 

the transparencies are a little thick, but well made and sufficiently clear. here I added the guides to the central part to match the rails on the fuselage.

 

in anticipation of placing them and painting the top, I masked them off and painted them inside and out. It's a shame that when handling them a nice fracture was created in the back piece. now I think I should go to vacuform, rather than ask SH for a replacement sprue of the transparencies during the holidays.

 

 

modeling, as we know, is suffering.

I-can-do-it. 

 

cheers, a not so happy Paolo

 

 

Edited December 29, 2023 by mc65

[mozart]

What an absolute bummer Paolo! 

[dennismcc]

Clear parts can be such a pain, I know to my cost ,not a good experience.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

Edited December 31, 2023 by dennismcc

[MikeMaben]

You'll get around it one way or the other Paolo .

[mc65]

thanks everyone, let's see if I managed to fix it: I made a plaster cast of it, equipped with a handle to better use it. considering that the original piece is slightly narrow compared to the fuselage, I will print on the outside of the original piece.

 

obviously I printed a certain number of them (4) one will be sacrificed for the various tests, two others as a reserve, and one, the best, will go on the model.

the problem of the base frame here is a bit complex, having a rounded and angled shape. I traced it on the original piece with paper tape, and then I returned it on plasticard, it's that sort of  white "U" on the wing.

 

well, as measures we should be there. now I could glue the frame to the transparent, and the whole thing to the fuselage, BUT masking such a thin transparent makes me worry, so I would have decided this way: I glue the frame to the fuselage, and only after having given the camo's final colors will I fix the transparent inside.

mmmmh... the smiley face with the fingers crossed is missing.

 

then I glued the frame in its final position, dirtying the radio in the process, bravo.

 

and then I gave it a coat of AMT-12, which will cover most of the clear area.

 

then I tried to improve the gunsight provided by the kit. not that I succeeded, or much is understood, in all it is "large" about one cubic mm!

 

in addition to having glued it in position, I also placed it under the shelter of the canopy, in view of the colors of the upcoming camouflage. along the way I stripped the radio for the necessary repairs.

 

and that's all for today, we're getting closer to the colours, the phase in which I usually do huge damage...

cheers, Paolo

[MikeMaben]

On 12/31/2023 at 12:56 AM, MikeMaben said:

You'll get around it one way or the other Paolo .

See

[mc65]

Hi everyone, little update, I've worked on the upper colours, lightening the AK colours, which in my opinion are a bit dark. I started using some Patafix masks

 

which however did not satisfy me, so I retouched using cardboard masks, still obtaining strange halos and irregularities

 

in the end I went with low pressure and freehand, obtaining a mediocre result, but I'll make it work and I'll play the rest with weathering. I finally freed the seats of the fuel level indicators

 

instead of using the parts supplied by the kit, whose lenses are not only over 1mm thick but also larger than the hole in diameter, I would have decided to use the dedicated Yahu parts, with scratchbuilt flanges and lenses.

 

everything assembled should come out like this, taking care to color the external flange like the surrounding wing surface.

 

actually Yahu provides three types of indicators, of which only one is dedicated to the Yak-3, while the kit instructions provide two, without specifying which is good for which version of the yak. I will use this, following Yahu's directions.

 

next step, decals!

cheers, Paolo

 

 

Edited January 4 by mc65

[mc65]

hi all,

I'm arguing with this kit more than expected.

but it wanted to be a gym, and in this sense it is doing its job, above all excercising my patience. not the best for rediscovering the mojo of modeling, but everything serves the purpose, as it said.

so, what has happened since the last time... I put the cutting plotter aside for the moment, it was becoming frustrating, and I only need one caltrops at a time, so I decided to rely on the kit decals and peace, all the more that in any case I would have used them for stencils and personal and squadron insignia, and then they are Cartograf!

here, exactly. Murpy strikes again:

 

It took them over three minutes to detach from the support in warm water, and this alone should indicate that something was wrong... maybe they were old? the result is a series of big and little bubbles, pleasantly mainly on the irreplaceable decals.

 

and perfect stars, obviously starting from the less visible ones.

 

all of them, however, if they haven't blown bubbles, have a film as thick as a pig's rind.

 

...which I did not trim with the intention of using it as a springboard to drown it in the Future and then plan everything with abrasive pads according to the well-known technique. a great success:

 

maybe if I didn't use brand new pads it would be better...

 

the super bizarre thing is that the pizza in the wood-fired oven effect manifested itself not only after the application, but also after a session of Mr. Softner, a night's rest and a coat of Future!

the only thing I could think of doing (besides whistling it in the plastic garbage pail) was to pierce the leavened parts and insist on the softner in a targeted manner.

it's a shame that while doing this I got distracted and when I looked back at the model I found chasms dug by the liquid that should help them, the decals, damn the world!

 

and then touch up, resurface, repaint with future, and start again... now it's less than remotely good, but I'll carry it on like this and bye bye, augh.

 

the other more than bizarre, but paradoxical thing is that I would have liked to make the mask of the spiral on the spinner with the plotter: apart from the fact that it is a little chubbier than the historical photos, I was afraid of applying this snake to such a mangy surface. and yet here she is, docile as a little lamb.

 

of course, the film is always steep as already said, but I can wax it by immersion like in candy gel, if it's really necessary.

 

in short, I'm not even a little happy with what I'm doing. I don't give up on it due to ringworm and because, as mentioned, it wanted to be a tool, rather than a result. However....

 

cheers, Paolo

 

 

[LSP_Kevin]

That's rather frustrating, Paolo - but I've been there many times myself! Sometimes a tried-and-true technique lets you down, and sometimes trying something for the first time leaves you wondering how anybody makes it work. But persevere, my friend, as it's looking pretty good so far!

 

Kev

[Archimedes]

Mi displace Paolo!

 

I admire your ingenuity but, more than that, I admire your tenacity to keep going with this. In Bocca Lupo!

 

Ciao

Paul

[Dpgsbody55]

This is very disheartening.  I hope you can find a suitable fix and persevere with it. 

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[spyrosjzmichos]

You've done really wonderful work so far Paolo, despite all the hurdles!

Looking forward to its completion! 

[Furie]

There's a huge problem with these models: being in 2024, you can never be sure of having "normal" quality decals in the box that can be fitted "normally"!
When you see the quality of today's kits, and all the progress made to create ever more beautiful models, it's a shame that decals, which are the last stage in the construction of a model, are still a kind of Russian roulette, capable of enhancing your work or, on the contrary, ruining it...

 

You'll get there Paolo! 

[scvrobeson]

I think that it looks really good, despite your struggles with it. Hopefully you keep going with it and finish this one

 

 

 

Matt