Decal Sheet Review: VVS Fighters, Part VI

[All decal sheet scans have been deliberately skewed and distorted at random angles to dissuade illegal reproduction or Copyright infringement by any such parties. The precise line and measurement of any specific marking, therefore, should not be taken literally from these illustrations.]

    AeroMaster has released this new sheet of VVS fighters based on profiles out of A.V. Stankov's book "Porshnevie Istebiteli Yak; Perioda 1941-45 v Polkakh VVS  Vol.2" ("Yak Piston [engined] Fighters of the 1941-45 Period in VVS Regiments  Vol.2") [Ukraina i Mir 1999]. Stankov has served in the Ukrainian Air Force Command, and is a technical consultant to several journals and other publications on modern VVS subjects. Alas, he has no specific expertise in Great Patriotic War era subjects, and this fact is reflected in the volume at hand.
    Stankov was clever in retrieving photographs from collections that are unusual and unexamined by normal VVS historians. Many of the pictures published in "Yak Vol.2" appear to come both from individual pilots (whom Stankov did interview), and also from curious sources like magazine and newspaper archives. These are invaluable in that they were previously unknown, and show interesting subjects. However, they are also difficult in that the vast majority of these photographs were taken with the low-quality, high-sensitivity journalistic type film that I complain about at length on this site (and elsewhere). These images are extremely poor in virtually every respect, and are very difficult indeed to analyze with any accuracy. Compounded by Stankov's lack of GPW-era VVS research credentials, the results in "Yak Vol.2" are not inspiring.

    Alas--and this should in no way be construed as a criticism of AeroMaster--the resulting decal sheet, based on this volume, reflects many of Stankov's errors. That being said, the decals themselves are quite excellent, are said to apply and adhere well to all prepared surfaces, and do not 'silver' or bubble with the application of solvents.

    Let's turn our attention to Stankov's profiles, and the resulting schemes.

Decal Sheet Schemes

1. Yak-1B "Red 12", Pavel Karavai, 897 IAP.  Well, this profile is fine; it is, after all, a straightforward winter MK-7 appliqué finish. It is likely that this aircraft was completed at the factory in AMT colors, meaning that the undersurfaces should be AMT-7 Blue; the MK-7 white over-coat would have been applied by the unit in the field (Stankov has published a photo of another Yak-1B of this Regiment allegedly dating from the same time, so, if true, it would appear that MK-7 was used by them, even if this finish was quite unusual for fighters by 1943-44).
2. Yak-1B "White 28", Pavel Karavai, 897 IAP.  Stankov's profile shows this aircraft in green shade reminiscent of Army 4B0 Green. Alas, he does not indicate from whence he obtained the idea that VVS fighters of the GPW wore such coloration, because certainly by this date they absolutely did not. Stankov's only comment on the matter is to casually mention that he believes that this over-all single color green livery was "prevalent" ("rasprostranenniy"). Such an assertion cannot be substantiated in any manner, neither by written nor photographic means. Stankov did not publish the photograph of "White 28" in "Yak Vol.2", and so there is no way to determine what colors it really wore. However, one can safely maintain that it did not appear as in his profile. Noting the date of the scheme (Feb. 43), my own guess is that "28" probably wore a two-color AII Green/Dark Green camouflage (single-color grey applications were not yet known at this time). In many of these poor quality journalist-type film pictures, the demarcations between the two green colors is very faint, and very easy to miss altogether. What pattern application it might have worn is unknown.
3. Yak-9 "White 17", Ivan Stepanenko, 4 IAP.  In "Yak Vol.2" Stankov published three photographs of Stepanenko's attractive Yak-9, all of which clearly refute the profile completed by him. Worse, the author then goes on to include other serious errors, such as drawing two UBS gun on the fighter (Yak-9s carried one only, to port), and including the fuel cell filler covers as on a Yak-9T or -M ("17" was a Yak-9 or -9D model). This aircraft was completed in a Black over Green livery quite clearly, and it looks like (very hard to say in these photographs) these might be AMT colors (AMT-6/-4/-7). The two photos do not show the twin white stripes purported by Stankov, so unless these were added later on they are spurious. There is no hint of a black outline to the national star marking on the fuselage, which is simply a plain non-bordered type (one suspects also on the fin/rudder). The upper/lower color demarcation line is incorrect, and is rather raised (as was typical). The artwork for the tiger motif seems to be rather good, however, and this is reflected in the decal set.
4. Yak-9T "Red 04", Ivan Stepanenko, 4 IAP.  Two photos are provided of "04" in Stankov's book, and in this case the resulting profile is mixed. The basic coloration is correct-- this machine wore a standard AMT-12/-11/-7 scheme of 1944. Again, there are certainly no black borders around the national insignia; the photos are so poor, however, that one cannot see what types of markings these are. It is likely (but not known) that they were Victory type stars, not plain red ones. All of the reproduced artwork is perfectly fine. The color patch under the eagle motif is a matter of debate: it has been alleged either to be a patch of AMT-7 Blue, or simply a bit of AMT-11 encroaching upon the AMT-12 portion of the scheme application; neither can be proven with the available views. The flash on the toip of the fin/rudder looks to be white.
5. Yak-9U "Red 22", B. Loginov, 29 GIAP.  The photo of "22" in "Yak Vol.2" is pretty good, actually, and no significant difficulties seem to have been experienced by Stankov in reproducing its appearance. The scheme is a typical AMT-12/-11/-7 job, and the pattern along the fuselage has been replicated to useful accuracy. The profile is basically fine, and there are no major objections to the details. Stankov claims that the Yak-9U was armed with a 37mm NS-37 gun through the spinner, and this is silly--the -9U carried the ShVAK gun, as usual.

Summary
    In all, the AeroMaster sheet "Falcons of the Red Star, Part II" is actually quite excellent. AeroMaster cannot be held liable for the information as presented by Stankov, nor can they be expected to be able to ascertain the validity of his research. Rather, the markings and artwork as rendered by AeroMaster are quite good, and these decals can indeed be used to produce an accurate model of the subjects depicted in "Yak Vol.2".
    AeroMaster should be congratulated for releasing another set of fine VVS decals. The accuracy, registration, and high quality of this sheet make it an easy recommendation.