LaGG-3, Zvezda

Mike McCabe
First steps, the kit is quite accurate in shape but made from a hard soft plastic rather than styrene, this makes it hard to work, especially to sand. However there are so few Soviet aircraft in WW2 that it is worth the effort to try and make something of it.

The cockpit was just a solid block so I hollowed it out, added the blanked off part of the rear window and filled the gap in between with white glue. I did my best to hollow out the intake under the nose and at the rear of the wing, I will add new flaps for the outlets. The two parts to the right will be the instrument panel and seat back.

Mike McCabe
Second part, detailing the cockpit with masking tape and plastic card

Mike McCabe
Painting stage, I first sprayed the white fuselage band then masked this off and sprayed the undersurfaces with some xtracrylic azure blue lightened with some white. The top surfaces were sprayed with a suitable green colour mixed from vallejo violet brown, buff and US green to a close enough shade. For the black camouflage pattern I tried the blutack method for the first time, it looks a real mess when it is in progress. However the results were excellent, just a little overspray on the white band from my poor masking but it came out very well overall. Would definitely use that method again.

Christian Bruer
Nice paintwork! It seems to me to try the blutack method as well for my next camo scheme. That should also work well for an Admiralty pattern on a RN ship.

Mike McCabe
Not sure it would work as well on ships, the scale difference means the faded edges you would get don't look right to my mind. Ship schemes because of the scale always look better with hard edges to the patterns I think. Just my opinion!

Christian Bruer
I thought it should work, because it looks sharp at the photo you actually show!?

Mike McCabe
It varies, in some places quite sharp in others quite soft. For a 144 aircraft I can get away with it. On a ship I think on the hull would be ok, on the superstructure I think it would be difficult. I suggest try and prove me wrong!

Christian Bruer
I think I will try it, because to airbrush an Admiralty pattern to a scale 1/350 model is a challange because of the curved patterns. It seems to me to use bluetack is more easy than to use tape to mask the model. But I agrre, for the upper works the bluetack will not work because of all the details, curves and edges.

Mike McCabe
I will have to do this on Sheffield as well, a difficult job

Christian Bruer
By the way, do you have any more photo material about the Towns? I'm looking for some photo material or plans of the catapult section! Anatomy Of The Ship is quiet well but I need some more.

Mike McCabe
Which towns, cruiser or destroyer?

Christian Bruer
Yen, you get me! Cruisers, I mentioned that because you build Sheffield.

Mike McCabe
I have the old Raven book which is quite useful, is it for Belfast? I will see what is in there that will help

David Haas
What a fantastic job you are doing on the LaGG-3! I will have to see if I can do that with mine!

Mike McCabe
Thanks David, they are a bit odd these kits as the plastic is hard to file and sand but some subjects not available anywhere else.