Prop & Jet 1/72 Lavochkin La-168
By Matt Bittner
Introduction
The Lavochkin La-168 was designed to meet a request from the state for a transonic, swept-wing fighter. It differed from the La-160 mainly by moving the engine from under the pilot, to behind him. It was not selected because the designers decided to wait on a newer-designed engine, while the MiG-15 prototype continued with the prior engine. That gave it a time-advantage for final selection.
The Kit
Prop & Jet’s Lavochkin La-168 consists of 32 pieces of gray resin and two vacuum-formed canopies (an extra “just in case”). This design flew with no national markings, so there are no decals provided. As with all Prop & Jet kits, the detail is amazing and really needs to be seen.
Construction starts with cleaning some of the parts from the excess resin, usually found on kits of this type. There is some superfluous resin on the fuselage halves that needs to be removed including some resin “webbing” where the main landing gear go. Once that is all cleaned up then “normal” construction continues. The main landing gear well consists of two pieces, and when those are glued together it can be added to one fuselage-half. Add the cockpit tub, the intake trunking and the built-up exhaust to the same fuselage half, and before gluing the halves together be sure you add enough weight to keep the model on its nose gear. Once the fuselage halves are together, then add the separate nose.
***image3***Now the rest of the model can be built up. One thing to be aware of, though, is the wings had a slight anhedral, so pay attention to that as you glue them to the fuselage. Add the rudder/fin, and separate underside-fin, then add the horizontal tail pieces to the fin. The model is now ready for painting. However, if you want to close the canopy (it only comes as a one-piece affair, so you'll have to separate the windscreen from the sliding portion yourself if you plan on opening it) then add the seat and control stick to the cockpit, glue the canopy on and mask it.
Once painting is finished, then add the landing gear and gear doors, pitot tube and antenna wire. The overall finish of the La-168 was aluminum and there were no national markings, so it shouldn't be difficult to paint.
Conclusion
Another winner from Prop & Jet. Their Lavochkin La-168 won't be a difficult built, and if you're comfortable building a resin kit, it should go together in no time. The level of detail of a Prop & Jet kit is outstanding, so the only things you need to add to the kit yourself are a pair of seat belts and the antenna wire. Everything else is supplied with the kit.
My thanks to Prop & Jet for the review kit.