Vector 1/48th Lavochkin La-5
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Background
Things were grim in “Zavod 21”. Engineers often say that
it is better to be lucky than good, and in Russian aviation industry even
better than that, to have strong political ties. It looked like Lavockin
ran out of both, luck and ties. The directive came to scrap the “Lakirovannyi
Garantirovannyi Grob“(LaGG) and start production of the competitor’s
Yak-7 aircraft instead. Lavockin Design Bureau was being reduced to the
Yakovlev production facility. To further deepen the gloom, engineers were
told to pack their bags, and prepare to move to Tbilisi. It was 1942,
Germans were pressing, and uncle Josif orphaned them to the opposed clan.
Life must have seamed a bit wretched...
But unlike many classic Russian novels, this tale didn’t end on
a tragic note. Lavockin diehards had something hidden underneath Yak-7
blueprints. Their last hope: an old LaGG-3 airframe with new Shvetsov
M-82 radial engine strapped on it. A desperate measure for desperate times
maybe? In short, this controversial idea, after numerous development and
production problems, turned the faiths in Lavockin favor, and ultimately
produced one of the most successful fighters of the WWII.
LaGG-3 M-82, dubbed LaG-5, and finally christened La-5 was first in
line of Lavockin’s robust radial engine fighters, which will carry
Soviet pilots to victory and produce some of the greatest allied aces
of the war.
Wind Of Fresh Air
La-5, a significant airplane by any measure, lived for decades in oblivion
of the hobby industry. To my knowledge there were no mainstream kits of
this aircraft in any scale. Fortunately, some people started thinking
that there maybe better things out there then releasing oh-so-much-needed-and-exciting
new FW-190A-8 kits every week. I was delighted to come by a perfect pair
of companions recently:
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Excellent book by MBI: Lavockin La-5
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Outstanding full resin 1/48 La-5 kit by Vector
First things first, the new monograph by MBI is a captivating read about
development and subsequent war service of this pivotal Lavockin design.
It covers all La-5 versions (early razorback, F, and FN), including different
prototypes and training aircraft. For those not fluent in Czech, the full
text is provided in English as well. It contains well-written history
of the type, rich with details that bring to life less-than-rosy reality
of war; for example whole units of fresh-from-factory La-5s being thrown
into battle and annihilated the same day.
Additionally, and most importantly, this volume has an excellent technical
description of the airplane, numerous authentic period photographs, color
profiles and line drawings, to satisfy all the avid detail-seekers. This
book is simply a single pit-stop needed for a boost of enthusiasm and
knowledge about La-5.
The Kit
Most people will be familiar with company name Vector through an excellent
and ever-growing line of resin engines in all three major scales. Now
Vector expands ambitions further, and brings us a full-fledged 1/48 resin
kit of Lavockin 5.
Let me start by saying that this is very well researched, superbly mastered,
beautifully engineered and produced kit. Resin medium is utilized here
in the best possible way, to the point that not being an injection styrene
kit may be considered an advantage. I am not writing these words lightly.
Kit comes in a compact top-opening box made of thin cardboard. Company
logo and nicely rendered color profile of La-5 adorn the box top. My sample
came with further reinforcements made of thick cardboard on the inside
of the box. This is very thoughtful considering the uncomforting ways
of modern long-distance mail.
Inside the box resin parts are packed in ziploc bags. All part surfaces
are smooth, and void of any casting imperfections. Resin is light, elastic,
and very “workable” (it can be cut and sanded in a controlled
way). All the casting gates are carefully made, so that the parts can
be separated with very little effort, and just by applying minimal force.
Fuselage is conventionally split in left and right half, with nose cowling
and ruder being separate parts. Inside surfaces show structural detail
of the cockpit in full glory.
Wing is cast as a full resin piece, with absolutely straight and sharp
trailing edges. Ailerons are well defined with restrained canvas surfaces
and sharp hinge points. No dihedral and alignment issues, no complicated
wheel-bay assembly. This one-piece “plug and play” wonder
is worth a round of applause.
The rest are what I would call small parts, and they are equally well
made, if not better. Even the smallest bits, like the trimming wheels,
and throttle group for the cockpit are perfectly defined. Pilot’s
seat is another impressive piece that will come to life with careful painting
and weathering.
Nose cowling is again superbly cast with a nice deep supercharger inlet,
gun troughs, and closed engine cooling petals. There are two symmetric
pinholes present inside the cooling petals, which I couldn’t explain
at first, so I asked Sergey from Vector about them. He kindly replied
that these are genuine, and represent openings for Venturi tubes installed
behind the shutter, inside the cooling channel. Surely enough, when I
checked the drawings and detail photos more carefully, I found these details
in place.
Landing gear components are also cast in resin, with excellent detail
and appropriate scale thickness. Main legs have steel struts running through
them, so there is no fear for structural integrity. Tail wheel fork is
however only a fragile resin piece, and this is a concern. Unlike the
real aircraft, the model will have a significant part of its weight resting
on the tail wheel, so this piece will be highly loaded. Gentle handling
after completion of the model will be vital.
The wheel set comes from “Equipage”. My La-5 box is something
of a pre-production sample, and it came without wheels, but I hear from
Sergey that a set of rubbers is coming my way. Cheers mate;) Another change
in “series production” kits, I hear, is inclusion of printed
instrument film, to lay under already nice resin instrument panel. Nice
touch!
Yet another fine detail is hollow exhaust pipe, cast with part of the
exhaust manifold. This will look particularly good with half-open cowling
flaps.
What more do you want? How about alternative canopies? Kit comes with
two vacu-form pieces: the early double curvature windshield, and the later,
flat-panel version. Both are very clear. Sergey tells me that he further
improved transparencies for the production version, although mine already
look just fine.
Two small omissions in the kit are Pitot-tube and the antenna mast.
Discerning modeler will have to produce these from scratch. Mind you,
I would much rather make my own Pitot out of steel tubing, then wait for
some resin needle to brake. The kit has no age limit written on it, but
I doubt that any 8-year-olds will be playing with Vector’s La-5…
Subject selection is another strong point of the kit. There are three
decal options, and all of them are superb, well known aircraft.
First one is the box-top selection, and my favorite. White
“55” was the personal mount of Arkadii Selyutin -- the
4 GIAP's second ranking ace. It wears “Valeriy Chkalov” dedication
on the port side, and the Guards emblem, probably on both sides of the
fuselage. Classic Green/Black camouflage is partially covered with worn
white distemper, which makes for a challenging airbrushing task, but a
stunning model without a doubt.
Second option is equally glamorous. White
“75” belonging to 240 IAP was flown by no other than Ivan
Kozhedub, greatest allied ace of WWII, It too wears “Valeriy Chkalov”
dedication on the port side, and sports classic defensive Green/Black
camouflage.
Third one is a winter white La-5 without a number. This one is said
to have belonged to a Spanish volunteer pilot, Francisko Meronjo, an ace
with 20 victories. The aircraft was adorned with big red inscriptions
on both fuselage sides, spelling the name of the Soviet hero, Aleksandar
Chekalin.
Decals are printed by Begemont. They are in register, with good saturation
and hue. I have no experience with this brand, but I heard positive words
from others. I did notice slight yellowing of the decal film on my set.
This can be easily corrected by exposing the sheet to sunlight for couple
of days. In other words, if you live inside polar circle and it’s
wintertime, you are bummed.
All three painting options are given as black and white profiles, without
color callouts. Nevertheless, on the VVS web site in the “Research”
section one can find all the necessary information (including 3 views
for the updated Green/Black disruptive template) to accurately make any
of these three options. Therefore you have no excuse...
Finally, I made the acid test, and tried how it all fits. After cleaning
the major parts fuselage halves were taped together, and the cockpit floor
clicked in place. After this, only the light sanding of the joining lines
was needed to achieve perfect fit of the wing-fuselage seam. It almost
brought tears to my eyes; if only Classic Airframes kits had such good
fit.
And yes, if you have to ask, it does look like an La-5. You may notice
that I didn’t try to compare the parts with any drawings. Sergey
tells me that he mastered this model based on drawings by Voronin, and
this is enough for me. For my eyes this is the best-looking and most authentic
Lavochkin model I’ve seen, and here I consider Gavia and Hobbycraft/Academy
offerings too.
Conclusion
Vector’s La-5 is a superb kit from any perspective. It is not
made in injection plastic, but this fact should not distract a willing
modeler. All resin parts are of the highest standard, and the accuracy
and precision surpasses many short run styrene kits in my stash. The single
difference in finishing will be to use two-component epoxy glue instead
of the classic plastic welder. I do recommend epoxy glue instead of super-glue,
for a simple benefit of its slower curing, which can be a big help in
aligning major components of the kit.
Vector’s La-5 can be obtained online in two shops:
While I wouldn’t call the kit cheap, the price is quite reasonable
in my opinion, considering the quality and exclusivity of the subject.
If you visit one of these two web sites, you will notice that they also
have another Vector kit on offer. It is the La-5F. A necessary period
of posted packet travel separates me from this new Vector offering. Expectations
are indeed high, and I hope I will have another superlative review for
you very soon.
I would like to congratulate Sergey and his Vector company for a job
well done, and wish him much success in the future. May he bring us many
more interesting modeling subjects, made to the same high standard. |
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