1/72 Amodel Yak-28PP

Gallery Article by Laurent Stern on Mar 29 2010

 

Amodel kits are often stash dwellers but there was this "Wings and Things of the Red Star" group build on Britmodeller's forum and I thought I could enter with a Yak-28PP kit. Unfortunately the build took too long and I didn't meet the deadline. Even worse: the Ukrainian roundels grew on me and I gave up making a Soviet aircraft.

It's the first Amodel kit that I've actually finished.  Amodel jet kit masters are likely to be made by the same person because they look alike: no riveting, hashed engraving areas telling where to glue the little parts (air scoops, antenna blisters), cockpit and wheel wells properly closed (no bottomless black holes) but not detailed.  These kits are definitely buildable, but a lot of time is necessary to clean up, dry fit and sand the parts before gluing anything. The model will always look a little cockeyed (look at the front view) so it's unlikely that it will be a contest winner.

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The kit was basically built out of the box: no aftermarket exists for this kit and I was more preoccupied by simply building the kit than detailing it. I've just added avionic boxes by gluing some blocks of pencil eraser inside the navigator's office. It wasn't necessary: one hardly sees anything if the navigator's hatch is closed. The camouflage was done using UHU Tak masking.

Difficulties encountered:

1) the radius of curvature of the navigator's hatch window doesn't match the one of the hatch itself; I tried to bend the kit's window part but it broke so I made a new one

2) the fin base isn't left-right symmetrical and one wing didn't fit right

2) Amodel gives (surprisingly troublefree) decals for four birds including three that are camouflaged; Amodel states that the camouflage scheme is the same for all when it isn't: the scheme they give is only good for an Ukrainian plane. Please refer to the Avia-Retro Yak-28PP monography written by V. Roman for the correct camouflage schemes.

What should have been done:

  • Amodel doesn't provide engine nozzles so you'll have to raid the spares box

  • Amodel didn't represent the landing light visible on the engine nacelles

  • some panel lines are missing

I'm glad I've finished the model anyway and it doesn't look too bad. I hope you like it.

Laurent Stern

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Photos and text © by Laurent Stern