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John vd Biggelaar
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Korea War GB: Lavochkin La11 Fang, ARK models, 1/48

June 4, 2023 · in Aviation · · 60 · 0.6K

Herewith my finished Lavochkin La11 Fang from ARK models. This build is part of the “Korea : The Forgotten War“ group build. It is a fairly easy kit which was already mentioned in the review of Tom Cleaver @tcinla here on iModeler in April 2021. Although the kit is very basic, for the price of just €9, I had a lot of pleasure building it.

This build included two new experiences for me, ARK models and Quinto Studio 3D decals. I have to say that both did impress me positively. No surprises from the molds provided by ARK, the rare fit issues were mainly caused by myself but in the end only a bit of filler was required. The quality and looks of Quinta Studio are amazing, beautiful 3D printed panels and harness give the interior a realistic look. Besides the use of the 3D interior panels, the other improvements I did on this aircraft are:

  • Separating the flaps to be able to mount them in lowered position
  • Paint the white/red stripes on the rudder instead of using the decals
  • Opening the air inlet on the cowl
  • Adding antenna wires using Ushi thread

The grey color used is a mixture of RLM84 (Vallejo 71.103, Grey blue) with white (Vallejo 71.001) in a 5:2 ratio. Although the white/red striping on the rudder was provided as decals, I decided to finish it with paint, Vallejo 71.085 (Ferrari red) and 71.001 (White). Painting it gives it a more natural look than decals to my opinion.

This basic kit from ARK models was a real pleasure to build, quite a nice result can be achieved without too much hassles. Lots of thanks to all who did follow the below mentioned thread and for their feedback making it even more enjoyable build.

The building thread can be found here:
https://imodeler.com/groups/korea-the-forgotten-war/forum/topic/lavochkin-la-11-1-48-ark-models/

Reader reactions:
28  Awesome 4  1  4 

19 additional images. Click to enlarge.


60 responses

  1. Fantastic build, John! The Ark seems to be a great kit and your skills created an excellent model.
    Painting and weathering rocks!
    Amazing build thread, too.
    Congratulations!

  2. This turned out really great, John. Interesting subject, well executed. Great build thread, too!

  3. Well done John, you certainly improved what appears to be a rather basic kit. Rock on man.

  4. Very nice build, John

  5. I had never seen a model of this aircraft. Nice work

  6. You’ve certainly made the most of this kit, @johnb, the Quinta interior and the painted rudder markings certainly help, along with your perfect weathered finish and attention to detail.

  7. Really like your model. 3D bits super-impressive. All good.

  8. Great! Very nice paiting!

  9. Although I’m not very much into Russian aircraft I must say you really did a wonderful job on this rather basic kit my friend @johnb
    Congrats with the result!

  10. Excellent John, overall well done, A unique and rarely seen variant that operated in the Korean War Theater. Also most were not aware of this aircraft as the MiG-15 is always on the forefront. The Quinta details always the cockpit, love their stuff, so far have used on 2 builds and each were a pleasure to apply. Your attention to detail and keeping in mind it's environment, you have presented a well done model. Thanks for sharing.

    • @uscusn, thank you very much, Chuck. The MiG15 is well known during that war indeed, not sure how effective this La-11 was during that time. It is likely one of the last piston engine fighter used in war time.

  11. @johnb - Fantastic build John. The 3D decals really do provide excellent results. Your paint and weathering are the truly outstanding part of the build though.

  12. John vd Biggelaar (@johnb)
    This has to be your very best model to date. I thought that of your Mustang previously, but this one is now the top contender. You always build excellent and do very nice work, but there's something that stands out about this one that makes it "extra" special. Maybe it's the weathering or the 3D parts in the cockpit, maybe it's a little of everything.

    It was a lot of fun to follow along with you as you posted your progress in our Korean War group.
    Thank you very much for the continued support.

    Well done !

    • @lgardner, thank you very much, Louis. Those compliments are overwelming, they definitely keep me motivated to further improve my next builds even more. It was a pleasure to be part of this excellent group which revealed some great models already.

  13. Great job and results, John. I have yet to try some of the 3D printed instrument panels. Yours came out really nice. Again, Well done!

  14. Your models get more amazing with each posted build, John @johnb. Excellent weathering. Never heard of ARK models before, but this one looks like a very decent and enjoyable kit. Congrats on a fine job!

    • @eb801, thanks a lot, Eric. ARK models was new to me as well and I did not expect too much from it. In the end the kit did surprise me in a positive way, no issue at all, except for the ones I created myself.

  15. Very, very nice @johnb Love the innards. Which diameter of Uschi thread did you use? I've been using Super-fine for my 1:48s

  16. Great looking build and paintwork John. The Quinta 3D cockpit decals are really great. I've used them on my last 5 models. I have the ARK Polikarpov I-185 with Quinta decals and vac canopy in the stash. I hope to get to this year. The kits panel lines seem to be somewhat thick but as your model shows after a coat of paint the lines don't look too bad.

    • @dtravis, thanks a lot, Dale. The panel lines are a bit on the large side but that is the only thing that could be improved on this kit. I bought a vacuform canopy as well for this kit because I expected the original one to have fitting issues. In the end I used the original one because it did fit perfectly. Looking forward to your I-185.

  17. Awesome results John @johnb
    The weathering of the distempered white is quite appealing and the painted rudder gets the thing much more realistic!
    I second Eric’s opinion- your last posts reveal a steep learning curve, models get better in each new project

  18. This is seriously great looking, John @johnb! Lovely and very realistic weathering. Not too much but spot on.

  19. Really nice, John (@johnb). Your paint and weathering on this one is at a whole new level. It was a real treat to follow your build. Well done.

  20. Great work on this fighter plane … turned out excellently John @johnb !

  21. Profile Photo
    said on June 5, 2023

    Excellent work, my friend @johnb!

    With a little TLC and some extras, you've made a fine model out of a nice, basic kit.

  22. We’ll done John! You’ve achieved an amazing finish.

  23. Looks great! I haven't seen many La11's built, so nice to see something different. Well done!

  24. Hi John,

    Looks great! You captured Lavochkin fighter's line well. Great job!

  25. Awesome build and result John- looks like you got the most out of what was in the box and then some! Top notch results

  26. John, I have to say your La-11 is absolutely gorgeous.

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