Korea War GB: Lavochkin La11 Fang, ARK models, 1/48
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/
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!
@fiveten, thank you, Spiros
It was a pleasure to have you on board during the build.
This turned out really great, John. Interesting subject, well executed. Great build thread, too!
@j-healy, thanks a lot, John. A bit more weathering than I usually apply. Not sure how they looked in real but I can imagine that during the Korean war they did not clean those aircraft thoroughly.
Well done John, you certainly improved what appears to be a rather basic kit. Rock on man.
@tom-bebout, thank you, Tom. Quinta did help to improve the appearance of the interior as well.
Very nice build, John
@blackmopane, thanks, Rafi. Really appreciated.
I had never seen a model of this aircraft. Nice work
@jimmiesteve, thank you, Steve. I coincidently ran into this kit during a modellers contest and for this price I could not refuse to take it home. Not sure if other brands provide the La-11 as well.
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.
@chinesegeorge, thank you, George. Your comments are always appreciated a lot.
Really like your model. 3D bits super-impressive. All good.
@bails, thanks a lot, Bob. Quinta studio does produce some very nice products.
Great! Very nice paiting!
@lis, thank you, Bernard. Glad you like it as well.
I'm waiting for Your Avro lancaster build! 🙂
She is next on the todo list, Bernard @lis
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!
@alfred, thanks a lot, Alfred. Usually Russian aircraft are also not my first choice but for this group build I thought it would be a nice candidate. Next build is a Dutch Buffalo 😉
👍
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.
@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.
@brithebuilder, thanks a lot, Brian. The weathering was more intense than what I usual apply but I thought it would break down the monotone grey color of this aircraft.
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.
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!
@gwskat, thank you, Gary. Glad you like it. You should definitely try those 3D panels. I used them for the first time on this kit and they are great to work with.
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.
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
@blackadder57, thank you, George. I'm using the Fine size, 0.02mm
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.
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
@holzhamer, thank you for those generous comments, Pedro. Glad you like it.
Nop, Not Pedo 🤔
@holzhamer, my appologies, Pedro ofcourse. I corrected it.
This is seriously great looking, John @johnb! Lovely and very realistic weathering. Not too much but spot on.
@fxrob, thanks a lot, Rob.
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.
@gblair, thank you, George. I'm glad you followed the thread with great interest.
Great work on this fighter plane … turned out excellently John @johnb !
@ssgt, thanks a lot, Jay.
Excellent work, my friend @johnb!
With a little TLC and some extras, you've made a fine model out of a nice, basic kit.
@tankgrrl, thank you, Anna. A basic but enjoyable kit. Not exactly sure what the abbreveation TLC stands for.
Oh, sorry - "Tender Loving Care".
We’ll done John! You’ve achieved an amazing finish.
@bapowellphys, thank you, Brian.
Great job!
@roofrat, thanks a lot, Robert.
Looks great! I haven't seen many La11's built, so nice to see something different. Well done!
@gkittinger, thank you, Greg. Not an often chosen subject indeed but I thought it would do great in the group build.
Hi John,
Looks great! You captured Lavochkin fighter's line well. Great job!
@ferrw, thanks, Bill. It does indeed have a unique shape.
Awesome build and result John- looks like you got the most out of what was in the box and then some! Top notch results
@dbutlr, thanks a lot, David. Even though the kit was spartanic, you can still get a decent build out of it. Not too much of a hassle.
John, I have to say your La-11 is absolutely gorgeous.
@milantesar, thank you very much, Milan