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Tommy Killander
14 articles

Zvezda 1/72 Yak-130 Mitten – Russian trainer with an attitude

December 21, 2018 · in Aviation · · 12 · 3.6K

I built this kit as a buddy-build on YouTube and I was surprised about the quality and engineering performed by . It's not far behind the top players in aircraft (Tamiya, Eduard, Trumpeter et al.). Decals behaved well and the only drawbacks where some minor fit issues and a bit weak panel lines.

It was a really fun build anyway and the Belarusian Airforce livery was a blast to paint.

Reader reactions:
5  Awesome

8 additional images. Click to enlarge.


12 responses

  1. Very nice presentation Tommy, the camouflage makes it very interesting, no doubt that it was the fun part of your work around the Yak. For a 1/72 it looks quite detailed

  2. A lovely Yak! I love these small "trainers" and have Amodel's version of this on the on-deck shelf. I like that scheme also. Well done.

  3. Nicely done Tommy, a lovely little pet Yak !

  4. Seeing how popular the L-29 Delphin and L-39 Albatross are with civilian operators I wonder how it would work for Yak if they would build a version for civvie use and start taking orders? The other two were bought surplus so the manufacturers didn't see a dime. The factory could make some extra money and operators might have an easier time importing them as they wouldn't be ex-military, but built purely with civilian operation in mind. It is a nice looking little jet. I see a bit of Me-262 in the tail in the it tapers when viewed from the upper rear. Great job.

    • Thanks Josh 🙂
      It's an interesting idea. Yakovlev have tried to minimise the use of expensive material to reduce manufacturing and maintenance cost, but it is still a high-tech trainer built for pilots of 4G/5G aircrafts. Maybe it's still a bit expensive ($15 million/unit) and I have no idea if it's possible to reduce the cost for civilian market. But I agree; it would be nice if the manufacturer could some return on investment from non-military users.

  5. Tommy, that's a great little trainer ... that's loaded for bear! It sure looks a lot like an F-16 without the huge under-body scoop, or is that just me? LoL!

    Lovely built, Sir!

  6. That’s sharp! I’m waiting on the Zvezda 1/48 kit.

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