Kit: Yak 40
Scale: 1/72
Make: J & L aircraft models, Calif.
Type: Vacform Russian transport with CSA OK Jet decals
History
Designed
as a replacement of the Li-2, a licence built version of the DC3, the Yak 40
first flew on 31st October 1966 and over 800 of the little jet liner
are now in use. It was introduced into service in September 30th 1968
with Aeroflot who with nearly 600 of these aircraft operates the largest fleet
of the Yak 40s.
With
the Yak 40 in their fleet, Czechoslovakia Aero Linie, or CSA is the second
largest operator of the mini jetliner. The Yak 40 also proved popular with
western operators. Its small size with 40-passenger capacity makes it a good
candidate for use as an executive transport. On several occasions the type was
spotted visiting Luqa in a variety of liveries including Polish Air Force,
Aeroflot, and CSA as well as in a variety of liveries in service with ex soviet
Asian states operators. Other operators are Slovak Air Force and also the United
Nations. Power of the Yak 40 is provided by three Ivchenko AI-25 Turbofan
engines of 33,000 lb of thrust giving it a maximum speed of 373mph at 23,000 ft
and operates with a range of up to 1,240 miles.
An
Air Force, which operates the Yak 40 as a VIP transport, is that of Bulgaria.
The 16th Transport Airbase at Vrajdebna/Sofia, (established as a sole
squadron in September 1994) and is the Head Quarters of the 16th
Transport Aviation Regiment, acts as a relevant logistic support unit controlled
by the Bulgarian AF. Initially the unit was equipped with WWII vintage Ju 52/3m,
Fiesler 156, FW 58B, He 111 and Ju 33 German made transport and liaison
aircraft. In 1948 the inventory saw a large expansion and renovation as three
Li-2 transports were taken as strength followed by several Po-2 and Yak 12
liaison aircraft. In 1958 six Il-14J transports were introduced alongside two
Il-14 VIP configured aircraft. Four years later a special aerial photo survey
flight was formed equipped with various types of camera ships as Li-2, An-14,
An-2 and Il-14.
In
1964 the regiment moved to nearby Dobroslavtzi airfield, but its special VIP
flight was retained at Vrajdebna. Re-equipment took place in 1970-75 taking on
strength Tu-134A and Yak 40 jet powered VIP aircraft, An-30 camera ship and
three AN-24 cargo/passenger transport operated alongside. Eventually the
strength was increased with acquisition of a Tu-134B, six An-26 and eight Letov
l-410.
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images below to see larger images
The
kit
This
is the second Yak 40 kit that I came across to assemble. The first one being an
injection moulded kit by VEB at a scale of 1/100. It had very few parts and was
very basic. The decals were yellowish and I made my own in the livery as
operated by Bakhtiar Air Lines/ Afghan Air Lines of 25 years ago. The arrival of
the 1/72 scale model of the Yak 40 was more than welcome as it falls in line
with the scale of models that I build. Thanks to the kind offer of a friend of
mine who provided the kit to build. The vac formed kit comes packed in a
Polytene bag. There is a 4 page A-5 size folded instruction sheet. This depicts
an exploded view of the parts to assemble once they are cut from the backing
plastic sheet. There is also a most useful front view, which gives the angle of
wing dihedral of 6 degrees to the horizontal that was so characteristic to the
Yak 40. There is also a development view of the main undercarriage doors so that
these are correctly cut and shaped from the surplus backing plastic sheet. The
kit parts include fuselage and main plane halves, stabilisers, engines with
pylons, undercarriage legs and wheels, main wheel well and all the parts
totalling 38 pieces. No clear parts for the window were provided but the
instructions suggest that the window apertures should be treated with white glue
or Kristal kleer. Along with the vacform kit comes a Scale Master Decal sheet
catering for a CSA airline attractive bright red and white trim featuring a
stylised Czech Flag across the fin with the legend OK below, inspired by the
Czech civil registration code ‘OK’.
Construction
This
is a vac form kit and is made of soft plastic and any glue is suitable to fix
the prepared parts together even though I favour liquid cement. With the point
of a sharp knife, each part was first scored around its periphery and gently
snapped from the flat backing sheet by bending the part off the backing sheet.
Light sanding follows along the trimmed edge to assure a good joint. Strips ¼
inch wide by approximately 1.5 inches long were cut from plastic sheet and
cemented as tabs along the inside of the right fuselage half for reinforcement
cementing 1/8 inches into the side and leaving 1/8 inches extending out as a
cementing tab for the left side. The windows are opened with a drill and then
filed to size to conform light impressions, which are marked on the outside of
each fuselage half. It is important to count the exact number of window
apertures that there are on the particular Yak 40 you intend to do as different
Yaks have different number of windows. I opened an extra two by mistake and had
to re blank them after all the work. The opened windows are in the end filled
with white glue or use Kristal kleer for their transparencies. As for the
cockpit windows I worked around the window frames so that I retained these from
the same kit fuselage part. This was a delicate operation but I managed to
complete it successfully. I have first drilled four holes to each corner of the
rectangular front window, which was then gently trimmed using a pointed sharp
blade to work out the rectangular apertures. Alternatively you can cut open a
slot and add thin frame parts afterwards.
I
did not detail the passenger area but instead added two bulkheads to add
strength to the soft, thin plastic forming the fuselage. One bulkhead was fixed
at the front forming the crew cabin which I added detail to. I referred to
photos from www.airliners.net
to figure out the pilot and co-pilot office interior, adding two comfortable
seats, instrument coaming, dials and gauges, Control columns, floor, cabin door
and other details visible in photo even though much of this detail will be
hidden. At this stage and prior to closing the fuselage halves my attention was
turned to the area around the tricycle undercarriage, adding front wheel well,
main wheel wells and also a closed compartment for the lead weight situated
forward. The main wheel wells compartment is provided with the kit and is so
well made that it will also act as a guide to give the wings the correct
dihedral as part of it protrudes to the wing compartment and when the wings are
joined to the fuselage.
The
engine inlet and exhaust outlet were opened as also the nose wheel aperture
using round and flat files as appropriate.. Slots were cut for the wings and
engine pods into the fuselage sides. The interior of cabin and passenger area
was painted light grey and instruments were black white and grey. Crew seats
were black with chamois colour seat cushions. Fuselage was closed and allowed to
dry for a number of hours. Wing halves and stabilisers were cut, sanded down,
joined together and panel lines refreshed by scoring along the ones lightly
visible. The side pod engines were also assembled inserting the front rotor part
and also adding a rear nozzle made out of pen body of corresponding inside
diameter to make the engine outlet. The wings and engines were then joined to
the fuselage. A jig was made out of cardboard in order that the kit will rest on
it and allows the wings to take the correct dihedral as they set. These will
give an angle of 6 degrees to the horizontal as shown in the instructions front
view. Joints and fillets were then filed with plastic putty using Revell Plasto.
When dry this will be smoothened down with sanding paper followed by wet and dry
paper. Any imperfections were attended to and were also primed with a mat light
colour to produce the desired smooth finish.
Finally the landing gear parts were cut, trimmed and carefully assembled
as per instructions. Careful study of several pictures of the Bulgarian AF Yak
40 revealed the antennae mounted over the fuselage, under the fuselage and at
the side of nose.
Colour
scheme
The
smart scheme carried by the military Bulgarian Yak 40 consists of a gloss white
upper surfaces and light grey lower fuselage and wings. Wheel wells were semi
matt white. Stabiliser tips and main wing tips were airbrushed Day-Glo blaze
over a base white coat. The bright blue fuselage trim detail was hand painted
using acrylic Humbrol Hobby Paint No 5043 upon careful masking using Tamiya
masking strips. Leading edges of engines was painted bright silver. Decals were
same size as those carried by Bulgarian AF Sukhoi Su-25. These were present in
reissued KP kits and hence saved me from going for aftermarket decals for same
type. The windows were in the end filled with white glue picked from the end of
a toothpick and made waterproof by spraying with clear enamel. 060 serial was
made using Model Decal numbers of correct size while the Yak-40 legend forward
on the nose area trim came from the kit decal sheet.
Conclusion
This
was another enjoyable build that continue to update my Bulgarian AF section in
my collection. This is a vac-form kit but should not deter anyone from having a
go at it as the progressive step by step build will encourage one to proceed
until one reaches the stage that the kit is assembled and in a position to
receive the desired paint work. Carmel
J Attard
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images below to see larger images
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