Lavochkin La-9 North Korea "Night Raider"
Comentarios
38 7 April 2021, 18:50
Nathan DempseyWork has begun on the antagonist to the F-94. Many photo-etch parts are included in this kit.
7 April 2021, 18:53
Nathan DempseyWelcome Roland! This one should be ramping up as soon as I complete the F-94.
10 April 2021, 21:16
Nathan DempseyWelcome Patryk🙂
Primed the cockpit and inner fuselage. Starting work on the wheel wells and wing.
18 April 2021, 19:37
Nathan DempseyThanks Erik! Welcome to the build.
I noticed that no where in the instructions does it show the wing joining the fuselage. Now I know why... because there's no way they will fit without some major surgery. Time to break out the Dremel <insert war cry here>.
19 April 2021, 00:39
Nathan DempseyThe design is a bit crazy Robert. ?
The rest of the kit seems to fit rather well even though it has no connector pins, but that wheel well!!! There is no way to use it without cutting it apart and grinding it down to make it fit inside the wing & fuselage. I will still need to use epoxy putty once the main assemblies are together.
19 April 2021, 20:18
Erik LeijdensO wow that is a real builders kit I think Nathan, good luck with it..!
20 April 2021, 07:48
Nathan DempseyYes Erik, this one's a bit of a tuffy. I really must do a Tamiya kit as a break ?.
20 April 2021, 17:51
Nathan DempseyHopefully the last of the fit problems: The wing is too wide when fitted to the fuselage and creates a step where the cowling attaches. I'll need to shave it down a bit to make it fit.
22 April 2021, 16:56
Nathan DempseyFinally some progress on actually building this kit rather than correcting fit problems. Tonight I'll hopefully install the cockpit and seal up the fuselage.
26 April 2021, 17:54
Robert PodkońskiI am truly impressed with your perseverancy. From this perspective it looks like Wurger, doesn't it?
30 April 2021, 15:46
FernandoHi, I have an old 1/72 kit of this plane that begs to be started. Quality is very poor so maybe I will get inspired by your own perseverance. I m definitely following you!
1 May 2021, 13:59
Nathan DempseyThank you and welcome to the build Fernando.
Today I neared completion on the cowling. I also began fitting the exhausts and also took the time to drill them. Here I ran into another fit issue. The etched exhaust covers do not fit the molded area on the fuselage and will need to be cut down or replaced. ?
1 May 2021, 17:04
Robert PodkońskiWith respect to this visor on the spine - I know that in Yak-9's there was additional place in the fuselage behind the pilot's seat for the mechanic (carried in the ferry flights), and there was such an overhead visor for him... Most probably this is the same idea, but I was not able to confirm it.
2 May 2021, 06:43
Nathan DempseyAhh yes that makes sense to me. I wanted to make sure and include this in the build as it can be seen in several photographs, although it is not shown on the paint/marking guide in the kit.
Thanks Robert ?
2 May 2021, 13:56
Robert PodkońskiYou are welcome, Nathan🙂 At the site:
airwar.ru/other/bibl/la9to.html
you can download pdf of the original instruction of La-9 in Russian. It does contain no mention of this space, however - yet it must be remembered that this was printed in the darkest Soviet times when everything was classified or deliberately falsified, against alleged espionage. (I own some plans of the city I live, edited in 1970's where there are non existent streets, or erroneously determined places...).
2 May 2021, 14:18
Nathan DempseyThanks Robert 🙂 I'm sure that the visor would at least be useful for letting in natural light when doing repairs in the fuselage.
Today I finally attached the cowling. Next will be the rear stabilizers. I can't wait to begin paint work.
3 May 2021, 17:54
Nathan DempseyI'm going to admit it, this build is becoming a slog! I spent all my bench time today sanding down the fuselage and canopy to get a decent fit. Hopefully it ends up looking ok.
6 May 2021, 01:14
Robert PodkońskiDo not give up, Nathan! (but I am already convinced that I will not purchase neither this kit, nor MikroMir's Lavochkin La-11, even though I was tempted very much... and there is a Hobby Boss offering on the horizon...🙂
9 May 2021, 20:13
Nathan DempseyI'm going to go ahead and recommend the Ark kit, it has to be better ?.
9 May 2021, 20:18
Nathan DempseyA little progress today. I masked up the canopy and added a small antenna pole to the tail.
15 May 2021, 01:45
Nathan DempseyAfter an undercoat on the canopy of the light grey to match the cockpit I sprayed the entire upper surface in Neutral Grey.
15 May 2021, 16:30
Robert PodkońskiYou made miracle, really, taking into account the elements of this model.
15 May 2021, 17:21
Nathan DempseyThank you very much Robert ?! It definitely won't be a contest winner, but it will happily live on the shelf beside its nemesis the F-94B showing off its colors.
Now we are to my favorite part of any build. The painting decals and weathering.
15 May 2021, 18:28
Nathan DempseyThanks Murad ? So far I've been OK using Mr. Masking Sol Neo on acrylics as long as there's an added coat of Pledge Gloss (Future). I've never done it on an entire model's camo pattern though...
17 May 2021, 18:15
Nathan DempseyUploaded a shot of the completed upper camo pattern. Overall I'm happy. There were a few areas in need of a touch up due to my finger nails scratching the paint. Hopefully this will disappear with the second coat of Future and weathering.
18 May 2021, 03:30
Nathan DempseyThanks so much Roland, Murad & Erik! Today I will work on applying the black bottom color. I found a picture of some North Korean pilots standing in front of an La-9 or La-11 and the bottom looked black. This will definitely fit my "night raider" theme for this build.
18 May 2021, 16:58
Nathan DempseyThanks Jorge ?
Added a shot of the wavy border pattern with the bottom color.
19 May 2021, 16:03
Nathan DempseyThank you Patryk! Today I'm preparing to apply the decals. Considering how the rest of this kit went I'm a little cautious.
20 May 2021, 12:16
Guillaume BlanchetGreat camouflage! Very sharp. The rest of the build is also great.
20 May 2021, 15:14
Nathan DempseyThanks Guillaume! I feel like this one is finally going well and not fighting me every step. The decals went on perfect and snuggled well into the engraved detail.
I spent today applying panel washes and general weathering.
22 May 2021, 00:33
James CDespite the issues you've encountered (and dealt with) it's looking fantastic. Awesome job on the paint scheme as well 👍
22 May 2021, 03:20
Nathan DempseyThanks James ? I'll admit that since weathering, I'm really liking this camo pattern.
22 May 2021, 23:31
Nathan DempseyAdding the final dull coat tonight. The next step is stringing the antenna wire and then final pics. Hopefully I'll have time to upload them tomorrow.
25 May 2021, 00:59
James CNice job mate, despite the difficulties you had with the kit, that turned out looking awesome! 👍
26 May 2021, 19:25
Nathan DempseyThanks mates for all the nice comments and likes. I really enjoyed the painting on this kit even though the construction was a bit of a battle.
27 May 2021, 13:17
Nathan DempseyThank you Major Flannel & Neil! This was a very fun camo to apply 🙂
30 September 2021, 00:19
Nathan DempseyHappy to report that this build won gold at the recent PAMSCON 22 contest in the category Aircraft 1:48 Prop (I think it was thrown into the Axis category).
26 June 2022, 21:02
