This is the Accurate Minitures Yak I, the second Yak release by them. The first was the ski equipped variant. As you all
have read this is kit almost falls together, the only trouble spots I encountered was fitting the cockpit , a lot of fiddling
was required to get it to "click" into place. The second area was the turtle back installation. The kit fuselage is designed
as a common item for the razor back and the bubble top 1 M. As such my turtle back was narrower then the two fuselage
halfs put together. I couldn't decide if I wanted the lip on the left or right side, so I split the difference and just some light
sanding on each side of the fuselage did the trick.

 For the finish, Modelmaster enamels were used, two coats of Future and decal application. I used Superscale's Yak 1 sheet and chose Maj M. Barinov's white 1. This aircraft like many Russian aircraft early in the war did not carry a radio. This was Berinov's third Yak1, and he accumilated 27 victories in the type, and this was a real feat as it is comparable to winning the 24 hour at Le Mans driving a Pinto! I then used Burnt Umber and Scale Black to simulate the oil and fuel streaks on the aircraft. Darkened dark earth was used to simulate the worn areas on the wooden wings. Then a coat of Aeromasters clear flat with a few drops of dark gull grey to give it that slightly used look and tone down decals. If you're wondering the inscription reads "Death to Fascists" in Russian. All in all an enjoyable kit to build.


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