Yak-1b 812 IAP
A Yak-1b from the 812-й Севастопольский ИАП

The 812th "Sevastopol" IAP was one of the highest scoring VVS KA units during the Second World War with over 800 enemy planes down or destroyed on the ground. The 812th was part of the 3rd IAK (Fighter Air Corps, similar in size to a four Grouppe Geschwader) that flew only domestic Yakovlev fighters, but it never received the honorific "Guards" title due to several conflicts between the pilots and high-ranking Soviet Army officers and politkomissars.

The 812th also holds the destinction of being the only Soviet unit to have (part of) its combat history published in English, in "Dragons on Birds Wings, Volume I" by authors Vladimir Antipov and Igor Utkin, published by Aviaeology in 2006. Sadly, the follow-up Volume II was never published...

All 3rd IAK machines bore several versions of a "winged star" emblem on their noses making for some colorful paint schemes. And, having read the detailed unit history and a few articles on the pilots that served in the 812th IAP, I wanted to model some Yak fighters in their livery.

Arma Hobby's Yak-1b 1:72 kit is to serve as the basis for this project.

Possible paint schemes:

White 24, early red-winged white star emblem version - AMT-4 Green / AMT-6 Black over AMT-7 Blue - Kuban, April - May 1943
White 32, early red-winged white star emblem version - AMT-4 Green / AMT-6 Black over AMT-7 Blue - Kuban, April - May 1943
White 31, late red-winged white star emblem version - AMT-11 Blue Grey / AMT-12 Dark Grey over AMT Blue - Crimea, March - April 1944