The Yak-38 Forger was the Soviet Union’s equivalent to the Harrier. Built to operate from the Kiev class Aircraft-Carrying Cruiser, the Forger provided limited air defense and anti-surface ship capability. Unlike the Harrier, which relied on a single engine to provide all of the vertical thrust, the Forger had two dedicated lift engines behind the pilot to assist with VTOL. The engines were covered with a large louvered door assembly. Whenever the aircraft was parked, this door was open and the louvers closed, as shown in the accompanying photo from a Soviet State Publication on the Navy. In flight, the door was closed and the louvers open, except during takeoff and landing when the door lifted to provide greater air flow.

The Hobby Boss treatment of these details, the engines and door, is a bit simplified, especially the treatment of the interior of the door. The kit provides this door with two options, the louvers opened or closed. In both cases the inside of the door lacks the detail of the operating mechanism for the louvers. You could do this work yourself but there is a paucity of references for the lift engines and the door – the only one I have seen is a Russian book on the subject. QB provides the missing detail at a nice price. As you can see by the photo, the lift engines themselves are jewels and far better than the simplistically detailed kit parts. This alone makes the set and it is a drop-in fit. However, there is also the underside of the door. QB provides this part with the louvers closed. The detail is nicely rendered, both inside and out and the louver doors more crisp than the kit part. Both pictures show this detail to good effect. The set also provides new hydraulic actuators for the door.

I am excited that QB released these parts, especially since this is a very visible area when the aircraft is parked. It saves a lot of work for a little amount of money. Highly recommended!

Thanks to Quickboost for the set and thanks to IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review it.