Valom Yakovlev Yak-7B of Captain Vladimir Zalevskiy in 1/72 Scale

Vladimir Zalevskiy was credited with 17 personal and 23 group victories.  He was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union, but was shot down and killed on 05JUN43.  This was the aircraft he flew with the 157^th FAD during the summer of 1943.

More completed Yak-7B pictures here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2021/08/03/dakoplast-yakovlev-yak-7b-of-lieutenant-ivan-golubin-in-1-72-scale/

Valom Yakovlev Yak-7B of Lieutenant Vladimir Orekhov in 1/72 Scale

Vladimir Orekhov was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union for achieving 19 personal and 3 shared victories during the Great Patriotic War.  The model depicts his aircraft during the fall of 1942 while operating with the 434^th FAR on the Stalingrad Front.

More completed Yak-7B pictures here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2021/07/29/valom-yakovlev-yak-7b-of-captain-vladimir-zalevskiy-in-1-72-scale/

Yakovlev Yak-7B Build in 1/72 Scale, Dakoplast and Valom Kits Part II

Limited run kits often present fit challenges, and the Dakoplast Yak-7 is no exception. The wing roots will take some filling to eliminate the seams.

The underside is no better. The kit features a gap where the chin scoop fits, and my example was short-shot behind the scoop. Nothing some Evergreen and a dab of filler won’t fix!

The undersides of the Valom kits are also rough. I prefer to fill areas like this with superglue, using accelerator they can be sanded and re-filled right away. Also, the superglue will not draw in along the seams later, which can be a problem with thin glues and soft plastic.

Just like the Brengun Yak-1, these Yak-7’s also have different thicknesses between the horizontal tail pieces and the fairings molded with the fuselage. These can be reduced with an Xacto knife and sanded smooth.

Everything is filled and sanded. The canopy pieces are in place and the gaps filled with Perfect Plastic Putty. The landing light is sanded flush and buffed out before painting to ensure the will be no gaps.

A shot of the underside of the Dakoplast kit showing the wheel wells and repairs to the oil cooler scoop. In contrast with the clunky fit issues the surface details are pretty well done.

Seamwork on the Valom kits, which had fit issues at the wing roots. I replaced the cowl guns with Albion tube.

The Valom kits are a little better underneath, but only a little.

Priming with Mr. Surfacer 1000 always reveals a few areas to fill and re-sand, but it’s also the first time the model starts to look like a model and not a collection of parts.

The obligatory photo showing the Mr. Color paints used.

I used decals from Begemot sheet 72-051, which contains eighty marking options. Only seventy-seven more to go, I’m not sure how I feel about that. The decals went on without any drama, but the whites could be a little more opaque.

Here is the underside of one of the Valom kits. The inner wheelwell doors were replaced with plastic card, stencils are extras from the Arma Yak-1 kits.

All three together. These are classic examples of limited-run kit technology and take some work to build up. They are not quick builds and there are several areas where some basic improvements go a long way to making the kits look better. If the Yak-7 is your thing, this is the way you’re going to have to go, at least until someone issues a new tool.

More completed Yak-7B pictures here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2021/07/27/valom-yakovlev-yak-7b-of-lieutenant-vladimir-orekhov-in-1-72-scale/