This document presents a justification to model kit manufacturers to produce 1/72 scale kits of three very significant Lavochkin fighter aircraft (La-5, La-5FN, and La-7), types which have been neglected previously.
Over the past few years, increasing amounts of new information have emerged from Russia regarding the Soviet aircraft of World War Two. This information includes accurate and detailed drawings, a wealth of camouflage and markings information, and detailed service and production histories, as well as large quantities of formerly unpublished photographs. This new information supports a previously unsatisfied demand for information for modelbuilders, and has created a relatively unexploited market opportunity for kit manufacturers.
From a modelling perspective, the World War Two aircraft of the Soviet Union can be represented in a variety of colourful and interesting camouflage and markings schemes. This is especially true of the Lavochkin fighters
Total production of the Lavochkin fighter aircraft types was substantial: The final output of the La-5 and its variants (La-5F, La-5FN, and La-5UTI) was approximately 9920 aircraft. Total production of the La-7 reached almost 5600 aircraft. These fighters were flown by many famous Russian aces, including Popkov, Kostylev, Kozhedub, and Orekhov, and played an important role in defending Russia against the Nazi invasion. The Lavochkin fighters were considered by many pilots to be the best Soviet aircraft of this era. The La-5FN was superior in combat at low-to-medium altitudes to comparable fighters built in Britain, the U.S., and Germany, capable of outmaneuvering even the much-praised FW-190 in a dogfight.
******************************************************
As a justification to any manufacturer who might consider producing 1/72 kits of the Lavochkin La-5, La-5FN, and/or La-7, I offer the following evaluation of the existing injection-moulded kits in this scale:
La-5: Only one kit exists. This apparently originated with Cooperativa ("LaG-5"), and has been reissued by Eastern Express and Maquette. It is probably the best representation of any of these fighters that has ever been manufactured in this scale. Overall it is accurate and fairly well detailed; however, it is an older limited-run kit and somewhat crude and difficult to assemble, with plenty of mold flash. The fabric detail on the control surfaces is overdone, and the landing gear is weak.
La-5FN: This type has been attempted in the past by KP and by Italeri (reissued by Zvezda). Both of these kits are very old and inaccurate in numerous ways, with raised panel lines. The Italeri/Zvezda kit is particularly bad. Both kits are no longer in production.
La-7: KP and Frog (also Novo and Eastern Express, using the Frog molds) have previously released this type; as with the La-5FN, these kits are very old and have poor accuracy and detail. Again, both kits are no longer in production.
******************************************************
In contrast, all other significant Russian WWII monoplane fighters have been issued in accurate and satisfactory-to-excellent 1/72 scale kits, most of them within the past five years:
LaGG-3: Well done, by both Dakoplast and Toko/Roden. The Toko kit in particular allows all major subtypes to be built, and some similar options exist with the Dakoplast kit.
Yak-1: A very good kit was released last year by Amodel; there are strong rumours of a kit from another source, to be released later this year, which is expected to be even better.
Yak-1b ("Yak-1M"): Despite its age, the ZTS/Mikro 72 kit is quite accurate and produces a very satisfying model.
Yak-3: Released by Heller/VES and Hasegawa. Both kits are satisfactory or better, and would be difficult to improve upon.
Yak-7b: An excellent new kit appeared last year, from Dakoplast/Modelist.
Yak-9: Again, excellent kits of all major WWII sub-types have been released by Dakoplast. There is also a good kit from ICM, reissued by Encore.
MiG-3: The existing Alfa/RPM/Maquette kit is unbeatable for detail and accuracy.
Polikarpov I-16: Available from Hasegawa and ICM, with the ICM version being excellent for quality, detail, and accuracy. An earlier kit from Amodel is also available; while somewhat rough, this kit is also acceptable for accuracy.
******************************************************
In summary, the Lavochkin fighters of World War Two were important and colourful aircraft which deserve to be better represented by model kit manufacturers.
I hope this analysis is of interest to you, and I thank you for your consideration.
John Thompson
|