Accurate's Yak-1a

Accurate Miniatures set new standards for model detailing and molding with the P-51, SBD, Avenger, Sturmovik, and B-25 series of kits. The Yak series ( Yak-1a, Yak-1a with Skis, and Yak-1b) continued the high standards set by the company. Unfortunately, the original company went bankrupt, along with the second version of Accurate Miniatures. Happily, other companies have leased the molds, and the kits get re-released every so often.

Back to the model. The Yak-1(early or -1a) was the first in a long line of successful designs by the design bureau of Aleksandr Yakovlev Of the three initial “modern” fighters (Mig-3 and Lagg-1) it performed the best and gave the Russian pilots a chance. The Accurate Miniatures (AM) kit made its appearance at one of the former Fort Washington Toy and Hobby Fair. AM brought test shots of the fuselage and wings, and they were very nice.

The kit is finely molded with more than adequate detailing. There were no flash or parting lines found. No warped parts were found. Assembly was easy but you should follow the instructions ( although not the best, they are a huge improvement over the earlier instructions). Remove any sprue nibs and paint from the mounting surfaces or you may have assembly issues. Assembly went very well and was a pleasure. The only filler needed was when I got overzealous in trimming the nibs. The seams were cleaned up with a sanding stick. The kit I was using was Yak-1 with Skis (kit No.3423). I went into the false bottom of the AM kit, out came the decals and (&^^%$$%Y($$##@# the ski package was missing. I bought the kit new and unwrapped it when I started the build. The skis were missing from AM. So I was forced to do a wheeled u/c Yak. This also forced me to go to Scalemates to download wheeled u/c instructions. When all of the seams were done to my satisfaction, the model was wiped down with Isopropyl Alcohol to clean it.

Lo-and-behold I had Pollyscale Russian colors left, and they were usable. Now for a scheme. Well the ski scheme was out, and since AM only gives you one set of markings I had to look for new markings. Linden Hill Imports came to the rescue with the Foxbot Sheet 48001 Yak-1. SrLt Petrenko's Yak-1 was chosen to model.The upper surface was painted Pollyscale Russian Topside Green and Black, and the underside was painted in Vallejo RLM-65 as the Pollyscale Russian Blue was too intense. The decals went over the Future base very easily. When finished the model was sprayed with a flat clear.

The remaining parts were attached at this time. The landing gear was an issue, resolved by using "Fun-Tack", Plastruct Bondiene, and crazy glue. The prop, canopy, antenna, etc were attached with no issues. Now came the exhausts. They are small and need to be attached individually. The first one went on with some difficulty, but the next flew off into the carpet monster never to be seen again. At this time I proved I was a sailor with the purple clouds I generated. So I searched the net and found some Quickboost Resin replacements and waited for their arrival. They were a great disappointment, being too small and the base was not well defined. So I used the remainder of the kit's parts and the one pipe I was missing.

The model represents a Yak-1a, No. 27 was flown by Senior Lt. E.V. Petrenko of the 20th Fighter Regiment, Northern Fleet Air Force, at Vaenga-1 airfield in the summer of 1942.

The AM Yak-1a and the Yak-1b are nice models, they are fairly easy to build and are well-detailed. The main disadvantage of all AM kits is they usually only have one decal option. I can recommend these kits to everyone.

Bruce

5 additional images. Click to enlarge.