History

The Lavochkin La-7 was a logical development of the highly successful radial engine fighter, the La-5, which was itself an improved LaGG-3 all wood fighter which, while having reasonable performance, was not satisfactory as a first line fighter at the beginning of the “Great Patriotic War”, as the Russians designated World War II. While the LA-5 went through numerous changes during its production life, it became obvious that the 1820 hp. Ash-82FN radial engine had reached its development peak, and that there was no suitable replacement for this engine, as the Ash-71F radial of 2200 hp. was unreliable and unsuitable for service use. Therefore, the Lavochkin Design Bureau decided to upgrade the basic La-5 design, making aerodynamic refinements on a prototype designated La-5 (206) which included a new cowling, oil cooler location, supercharger intake, exhaust cover outlet, and radio mast shape.

For any who have missed it, Aviaeology is a company out of Canada producing decals specific to many Canadian themed subjects. This set of for 404 Squadron Beaufighters and comes in all scales but this the 1/72nd version. The first thing that hits you when you purchase one of their sets is the detail provided to replicate specific aircraft. The research going into these decals is second to none. This set includes markings for twelve different aircraft in a variety of schemes. Here’s a quick list:

Bob Sanchez and TwoBobs latest release is beautiful set of markings for the Hasegawa A-4N, which covers planes from Wittmund Germany owned by BAE systems. Curious about that? No problem- Twobobs has the following history included:

"BAE Systems operates (6) ex-Israeli Air Force A-4N aircraft in Wittmund, Germany. These aircraft fly tow banner, Ground Control Intercept and Close Air Support training missions in support of NATO in Europe."

There even more explanation on the decals sheet. The sheet contains markings for four white painted planes with numbers N431FS, N432FS, N434FS and N437FS. Markings are included to allow the making of two planes that look great in all white and their colorful markings.

Thank you to Tamiya, Inc. for providing this wonderful kit for review and to the IPMS Reviewer Corps for allowing me to document my build experiences. The sharing of this review with the scale modeling community would not be possible without the exceptional support of the IPMS Reviewer Corps. Thank you everyone!

Summary

The F4U Corsair needs no introduction as one of the iconic naval fighter-bomber aircraft of World War II and Korea, primarily operated by the U. S. Navy and Marine Corps. A list of publications I found useful during this build may be found following this review. The kit is very well-researched, with numerous subtle part choices to allow one of three variants to be completed with either folded or extended wings.

Last we spoke, the frames and interior were done and it was time to finish the plane off by adding the outer skin and finishing all the details. Prior to starting, I sprayed the top and some portions of the bottom RLM 02 as these are visible when the plane is complete. I quick test fit can show you which areas to paint. Starting with the center fuselage, the top is added and there are placement indents where the frame fits into the skin. Also, the engine covers are added at this time. As a side note, the skin is molded clear and you could leave it as is to see the superb interior detail. I next added the front section with the intakes and they matched up well. Take your time here and get a good fit so you don’t need putty. Mine dried a little crooked and it caused some issue later. In hind sight, I would probably glue the front end to together to get perfect alignment and then add to the frame. Not sure how tight it would be but it would preserve the excellent surface.