Prop & Jet 1/72 Lavochkin La-174TK
By Matt Bittner
Introduction
The Lavochkin La-174TK was a development of the La-156 (which itself was a development of the La-152). The engine, which was an imported Rolls-Royce Derwent V, was mounted in the nose like the La-156 but the main difference between the two types was the thin wings. The straight, thin wing had about 6% thickness and was thought to be the thinnest in the world up to that point. The other difference between the types was the mounting of the three cannon at the bottom of the nose instead of at the sides like the La-152/156. There was only one La-174TK built and flown and while it had more impressive specifications than the La-156, they weren't as good as the La-160 that was flown nine months earlier. Because of that the program was cancelled.
The Kit
The Prop & Jet 1/72 Lavochkin La-174TK consists of 28 pieces of gray resin and two vacuformed canopies. Prop & Jet resin is the best I've ever seen, and I've seen plenty. There are no flaws, no air bubbles, nothing that mars an excellent kit. There are decals – the same decal sheet you'll find in their latest releases, which isn't a problem since the only decals you need will be the red stars.
While it shouldn't have to be mentioned, I will anyway. Study the instructions and follow them carefully. While most of the instruction sheet is written in Cyrillic, thankfully the construction steps are also translated into English. Even so, there are steps where you need to cut a part a particular way, or something should be sanded differently. Studying the instructions will definitely help in these areas.
Now the actual assembly of the model starts. Paint the engine intake – and fuselage interior – prior to gluing it into the front of the fuselage. You'll also want to paint the entire exhaust before adding it, along with the cockpit tub. The cockpit tub is an amazing piece of resin. All the excellent detail provided is something that really needs to be seen. With the proper washes and dry-brushes the interior will really look great. While the specific shade isn't mentioned, the interior of the fuselage, as well as the cockpit tub and instrument panel coaming, are painted gray. Plus the instrument panel is painted black and again, with the right dry-brushing the details molded in will really look great. After adding all the interior parts to one fuselage half, Prop & Jet has you slowly glue the fuselage halves together, and only at the bottom. It appears to me this is to make sure you have the fuselage halves lined up correctly as this is a flat mating area. Just take your time and there should be no issues.
Construction now proceeds to adding the wings and horizontal tail surfaces. Prop & Jet provides a front view of how all these pieces are to align, which definitely helps. Most of the next steps, though, are best left until after the end, meaning leave off the landing gear and gear doors until painting is finished. Not only will it help with painting (even though the entire aircraft was finished in a blueish-gray, but the landing gear and gear door interior were finished "just" in gray) but also means you won't knock these parts off while handling. Parts to add prior to painting include the rudder; ejection seat and control stick to the cockpit; and masked canopy if modeling the cockpit closed.
Conclusion
Another excellent release from Prop & Jet. While there was only one Lavochkin La-174TK made, you can have this jet in your 1/72 collection by building this stunning kit.
My thanks to Prop & Jet for the review model.