Review

This offering from Zvezda of a Yak-1 in 1/72nd scale arrives in an end opening card carton, which offers little in the way of crush damage protection. Inside the box is a plastic bag containing the main sprues, with the clear sprue and decal sheet packed together in a Ziploc bag - an aspect that I find disappointing due to the risk of damage to the decals. An examination of the contents reveals no major issues, apart from ejector pin marks on some of the larger mouldings - I believe all of these will be hidden. There is a round mark on the surface of the upper wing, near the rear where it joins to the body - this is present on both wings and I am unsure whether this is a moulding mark or a detail that should be present. 

Every once in a while you look at a model that is in a scale that your rarely tackle, and cannot help but think “this is a stunning release”. This particular release of the Yak-1 is jut such a release. The internal cockpit detail extends to a fully moulded floor, with a reasonable level of detail considering the scale. Further detail moulded onto the inner faces of the fuselage, and just to go one step further a very detailed multi part pilot figure. Now those of you who build this scale, may not be that impressed but I am considering the scale of the model and overall dimensions and I am very pleased with what I see.

 Moving down to the lower wing, which is moulded as a single piece and so incorporating a large portion of the underside of the fuselage is a very pleasing aspect as a robust wing spar extends right across a good area of the wings making sure you have the correct angle of the wing and also providing some of the wheel bay interior detail. The result of all of this is a robust main assembly on which to build the rest of the model. The addition of the wings and tail segments brings this model together very quickly, and looking at the detail on the exterior, you will I believe be impressed. The cloth aspect of the rear portion of the fuselage has been well emphasized to indicate the material used. The metal areas of the wings and the front portion of the fuselage has been well tackled, with very pleasing panel line detail and even rivet detail present. The cloth finish aspect of the model has been extended to the control surfaces of the model, and while I suspect that this is over emphasized you cannot help but be impressed. The only area that I have found of concern is the main tail where there is like an S mould mark which may show on the finished model. 

The under carriage has been provided with wheels up or wheels down assembly with good detail regardless of decision. The interior surface of the under carriage doors are very bland - I am sure that there should be some detail in this area. With that said the area inside the wings has a plethora of detail that should please any modeller. Areas of note is that Zvezda have built in a number of options with regards to how you finish the model, and this means that you will need decide almost immediately what finish you are going to use. These options involved choices on the spinner head, main tail upright, canopy, and even the main suspension leg for the undercarriage and these are just some of the reasons why I think this is such an exceptional release. Moving on to the decals, and there is an incredibly large amount of stencil details to add to the model. The decals themselves are especially well detailed, with minimal carrier film and excellent colour. Finishing options for no less than 9 aircraft:

Yak-1 of the 183rd IAP of the Red Army Air Force

Yak-1 of the 20th IAP of the USSR Navy Air Force

Yak-1 from the 21st IAP of the USSR Navy Air Force

Yak-1 from the 1st GVIIAP of the Red Air Force

Yak-1 of the 586th IAP of the Red Army Defence Air Force

Yak-1 from the 2nd IAP of the Red Army Air Force

Yak-1 from the 21st IAP of the USSR Navy Air Force

Yak-1 of the 516th IAP

Yak-1 of the 8th IAP of the USSR Navy Air Force

I have one complaint about the model and that is the risk of damage due to a card carton being the only real protection it is given.