Super Scale International Decals 1/72nd "Russian Aces Yak-1, Yak-3, Yak-9" (72-347)By Erik Pilawskii |
One of the commonly encountered SuperScale VVS sheets, this one has some rather nice decals on it. Typically of higher quality, and often reacting well to setting solution, these decals are delightful to work with. Sheet No.347 features the machines of various Yakovlev fighter aces, and features some very interesting selections. Curiously, while the instruction sheet's side illustrations of the various color patterns are usually good, the upper plan views are ridiculous. Despite that, however, this is an excellent group of decals.
Schemes
Five schemes are provided on this sheet, along with a nice assortment of national stars.
Yak-9 "White 14", Marcel LeFavre, 303 IAD, 1943: Nicely done. As always with this sheet, discard the recommendations for the upper surface camouflage pattern, however.
Yak-1 "White 1", Mikhail Baranov, 183 IAP, 1942: Another fine effort.
Yak-1 "White 58", Sergei Luganski, 270 IAP, 1943: The decals for "White 58" are probably the best set available for this machine. The only minor correction would be to use the white "32" from the ESCI sheet's decals for the 'wreathed' number, and a small modification to the wreath, itself. The instruction's color scheme information can be ignored.
Yak-9D, Mikhail Avdeyev, 6 GIAP ChF, 1944: Another fine set of markings. Avdeyev's Yak-9D " Orlitsa " has been photographed with both White border and Victory type stars; modeler's choice on this one. The scheme should be Medium Grey over Dark Sea-Grey .
Yak-3 "White 1", Gregori Zakharov, 303 IAP, 1944: As with most reproductions of this scheme, the decal set is missing the white numeral "1". Also, the shield background should be red, not blue, but aside from that the rest of the markings look to be OK.
Despite having having been around for some years, the original research put into the creation of this decal sheet must have been impressive, as this set is superior in accuracy to many more modern attempts. This sheet, in addition, has a nice collection of extra national markings on it. Overall, a very fine sheet, and highly recommended.