Profile Photo
Spiros Pendedekas
156 articles

Eduard 1/48 Yak-3 Normandie Niemen

June 15, 2021 · in Aviation · · 39 · 2.3K

Hi everyone!

This is my Eduard 1/48 Yak-3 that I finished some time ago.

Petite and lightweight, with its high power-to-weight ratio, the Yak proved to be a formidable dogfighter.

Robust and easy to maintain, it was much liked by both pilots and ground crew. It was used, among others, by the famous "Normandie - Niemen" Group, during the war, with French Ace Marcel Albert, who then flew with the Group, considering it a superior aircraft to the Mustang and the Spitfire!

This is the now venerable Eduard kit of this important plane. I can recall how positively this kit was received by the modeling community upon its debut a good two decades ago.

Apart from missing parts numbering molded on (which is not a big deal, after all) and also apart from some (manageable) clunkiness in some areas (like the "scale thin" landing gear, per instance), this is a solid, sweet, still great kit!

I decided to finish it as Commandant Louis Delfino's plane of the Normandie Niemen Group.

I went a tad heavier on weathering and, especially, engine and gun gases staining, kind of presenting a dramatic effect...might not be totally out of place, taking into account the harsh harsh harsh conditions those planes were subjected to...

If you are interested to read some more about the build, and also some linked history of the type and the famous Normandie Niemen Group, please refer to the full review at my beloved site Modelingmadness:

https://modelingmadness.com/review/allies/ussr/fighter/penyak3.htm

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Modeling!

Reader reactions:
15  Awesome

39 responses

  1. Very nice camo scheme!

  2. Great job, Spiros! Looks like a fun build.

  3. Very neat work, Spiros, and I think the weathering is great, definitely liked.

  4. Very nice work Spiros!
    I’m no expert on VVS planes but some are genuinely attractive and interesting modeling subjects.
    I believe I have an old Carpena decal sheet that contains these same markings or some very similar

    • Thanks my friend @holzhamer!
      You should have this sheet:


      Seems it also contains decals for a Normandie Niemen Mirage F-1!

  5. Nice looking Yak Spiros! Love the camo and the underside color.

  6. Oh, that is so fine Spiros! I love the paint work and the weathering looks appropriate to me! Great job on a cool fighter @fiveten. 🙂

  7. Spiros: Your Yak is a total winner. Saw this parked over at MM as a featured article. Eduard’s Yak is indeed a wonderful kit - easy to assemble with no problems and a whole lot of fun. You nailed it, like always.

  8. Nicely done! I need to build some more Russian subjects... (your inspiration here doesn't hurt!)

  9. To Russia with Love. . . great to see a French Yak with a little flair and élan.

    Spiro's you've brought out the best in this Eduard kit.

    Two thumbs up.

  10. Nice looking Yak 3 Spiros. It looks great from any angle.

  11. A great build my friend! I saw it In the MM site.

  12. Very nice Spiros. Russian planes are not covered often . I remember seeing the film On French TV when I was very young. France kept glory alive with that bunch !

  13. Fantastic build, Spiros @fiveten
    I do love the extra weathering because, like you said, they were used extensively and there was just no time to get them cleaned.
    An absolute gem next to all the others you have built.

  14. Nice work, Spiros. That kit was indeed a big deal when it appeared. It still holds up well.

  15. Lovely job, Spiros! Nice and dirty!

  16. Sharp work Spiros and up to your usual high standards!

  17. Nice job on this Russian fighter, Spiros! I was struck by how clear the canopy is, was it quite thin?
    I think pretty much everything in the old Soviet Union was treated harshly!

  18. Lookin' good in the neighborhood as usual Spiros! Nice build crisp lines.

  19. Super job. Makes me want to break out my Zvesda kit.

Leave a Reply