Yak 27K-8 by king derelict - AModel - 1/72 - PLASTIC

[king derelict]

This is the third of my planned Eastern European kits and may be the most challenging. It was an impulse buy because I liked that 50s "supersonic" look. As I understand it the Yak 27K never made it beyond prototype although a reconnaissance did get in. to production.

This was also planned to see if I could improve my metal finish skills without too much heartbreak. Having had a quick look in the box I think it may also define the cliff edge of my sanity.

References are scarce and it seems that few models have made a public appearance.

Lots of parts in the box, quite a bit of flash, some distorted looking parts, sink holes and no locating pins. No major warping at first sight tough.

Instructions are somewhat vague and tend to indicate an approximate location of where to add parts

 

Fuselage halves have been cleaned up and the cockpit bucket assembled. Primer added while I try to determine colours. As far as I can tell Yaks had dark grey cockpits in the 50s not the turquoise seen in most Soviet aircraft.

I don't think much will be seen inside once the fuselage is closed up. 

The current overall plan is to complete the fuselage, add wings and tail surfaces then paint. The engine pods will be assembled and painted separately and then fitted. Obviously a lot of dry fitting before picking up the airbrush.

I see a lot of filler in my future.

Thanks for looking in.

Alan

 

 

 

 

[Old Collingwood]

Another excellent kit  Alan   -  blimey  you are  keeping  yourself  busy mate.

 

OC.

[Landlubber Mike]

Very cool subject Alan - looking forward to following along!

[Canute]

Alan, I think this pretty quickly morphed into the YAK-28 Firebar. Two operational versions, YAK-28P and YAK-28PM. The P carried 2 Anab missiles, the PM carried the Anabs and 2 Atoll short range IR missiles. I see at least the 2 Anabs in your parts jumble. This was considered a significant all weather interceptor threat. in the early 70s by NATO.

Good luck with the parts fit. My Firebar sits in the Box of Doomed projects. The nacelle fits are oath-inducing.

[king derelict]

16 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

Another excellent kit  Alan   -  blimey  you are  keeping  yourself  busy mate.

 

OC.

Thanks OC. There seems to be a lot of time waiting for paint to dry and idle hands get into mischief 😃

alan

[king derelict]

9 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Very cool subject Alan - looking forward to following along!

Thanks Mike. I suspect there are some interesting issues ahead

alan 

[king derelict]

2 hours ago, Canute said:

Alan, I think this pretty quickly morphed into the YAK-28 Firebar. Two operational versions, YAK-28P and YAK-28PM. The P carried 2 Anab missiles, the PM carried the Anabs and 2 Atoll short range IR missiles. I see at least the 2 Anabs in your parts jumble. This was considered a significant all weather interceptor threat. in the early 70s by NATO.

Good luck with the parts fit. My Firebar sits in the Box of Doomed projects. The nacelle fits are oath-inducing.

Hi Ken

You are right about the Yak-28 developing from the -27. All four missiles are included in the kit. I’m not sure if it makes sense to use any or all of them.

I had a brief look at the engine nacelles and I need to save up my allowance of bad language for them.

[Dave_E]

I’m in. 🍿🥤👍😀

[king derelict]

On 9/19/2024 at 11:43 AM, Dave_E said:

I’m in. 🍿🥤👍😀

Welcome Dave

[king derelict]

I started putting things together and have already got a flavour of how things may go. I started with the cockpit tub and the first problem was trying to fit seats and instrument panels. As shown there just isn't room. I sanded the bottom of the rear panel to set it at a different angle which gave be just enough space to the front seat. I dumped the joysticks, they were a mess of flash and were far too tall unless Yaks of the 50s used eye level sticks. I made a pair from 0.5 mm brass rod.

The instrument panels have dials sunk into them. I used very dilute white paint in each dial which had the effect of highlighting the rims and giving a bit of depth. A dab of Gators Grip acted as the glass. It will never be seen once closed up but it came out quite well.

The rear bulkhead is requiring some heavy-duty sanding to allow the two fuselage halves to come together. A bit more work still needed and I may need to adjust the front IP too.

I also made up the rear main landing gear bay and had to get pretty savage with teh sanding sticks there but it does not fit and the uselage will close back there

Thanks for looking in and the likes and comments

Alan

[king derelict]

I closed up the fuselage which required a lot of iterations filing the cockpit bucket and nose landing gear bay to fit. The nose landing gear bay was a pale shadow of its initial shape by the time I had got it to fit  I made up the wings from the upper and lower halves. Again the sanding sticks and files were an essential part of the process.

I then had a look at the engine nacelles. The kit provides a first stage compressor and a final turbine stage with spray ring for the afterburner. They don't fit. I had to do some significant work with the files and reduced the sides almost to teh spray ring before it would fit.

Those oval turbine wheels never really caught on!

I originally thought I would paint the nacelles separately from the wings but fit checks showed that a lot of filing and filling was going to be necessary so I thought I should get it together before the primer goes on and get the gaps sorted out. The compressor / turbine discs wont be seen unless someone is very determined.

Dry fit suggests the wings will actually go on okay.

 

My fancy forward instrument panel is lost forever now that teh cockpit is closed up

 

I'm moving a bit slowly with this one because I am letting the glued joints set overnight to withstand the violence with the sanding sticks that will follow.

 

Thanks for looking in and the likes and comments

 

Alan

 

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Nice job Alan.  Looks like another kit that will test your skills!

[king derelict]

Thanks Mike. I’m now at the point where your notes on filling gaps is very helpful. Actually although the nacelle to wing joints are nasty they seem to have cleaned up without leaving too much of a gap. Tailplanes fit quite nicely and the wings look as if they will be much better than the Condor. So far I’m using Vallejo putty and letting it dry overnight before attempting to sand it back.

alan

[Landlubber Mike]

Hey Alan, just be careful about using the Vallejo Putty.  I've heard it tends to shrink over time.  For bigger gaps, I mostly use Tamiya 2-part epoxy putty or CA which don't shrink.  

 

For small cracks and stuff, I will use things like Tamiya putty and have used Vallejo Putty.  I just get too nervous that with my slow build times, by the time I get around to painting - which could be weeks or months after construction - I'm back at square one with needing to fill (would be even worse if I had already painted!).

Edited September 27 by Landlubber Mike

[Danstream]

A challenging model, but without doubts a very interesting subject. About the NMF, please note that Russian planes of the time were overpainted with a transparent protective paint that muted a bit the appearance of bare metal.

Good luck,

Dan

[king derelict]

On 9/26/2024 at 9:13 PM, Landlubber Mike said:

Hey Alan, just be careful about using the Vallejo Putty.  I've heard it tends to shrink over time.  For bigger gaps, I mostly use Tamiya 2-part epoxy putty or CA which don't shrink.  

 

For small cracks and stuff, I will use things like Tamiya putty and have used Vallejo Putty.  I just get too nervous that with my slow build times, by the time I get around to painting - which could be weeks or months after construction - I'm back at square one with needing to fill (would be even worse if I had already painted!).

Thanks Mike

That is good information about the Vallejo putty shrinking. I didn't have to use a lot of it this time so hopefully the shrinkage will be acceptable. I ordered some Tamiya putty to try and some Mr Surfacer 500 for the very small stuff. Its getting to be quite an armory.

Alan

[king derelict]

1 hour ago, Danstream said:

A challenging model, but without doubts a very interesting subject. About the NMF, please note that Russian planes of the time were overpainted with a transparent protective paint that muted a bit the appearance of bare metal.

Good luck,

Dan

Thank you Dan. Thats great information about the Soviet finish. 

Alan

[king derelict]

The big bits are finally together. The nacelle to wing joint left a lot to be desired but its done and actually hasn't required a lot of filler to blend it in. The canopy has been masked and fitted. The fit was very good but the canopy frame lines were very badly cast and impossible to see in places so there is some guesswork there.

With the main gear so far back no worries about tail sitting on this one.

I have gone round a few cycles of fill and sand and I think I am now going to try a thin coat of matt grey primer to see how things are progressing.

Thanks for looking in, the likes and helpful comments

 

Alan

[Old Collingwood]

That  has gone together  well  Alan,   I know what you mean about the  Vallejo Putty  -  I found the same with  it staying a  we bit soft  and  sagging  into  the  join,   I love the  shape  of  the   jet  -  will  be so nice  watching your  progress   with it.

 

OC.

[king derelict]

38 minutes ago, Old Collingwood said:

That  has gone together  well  Alan,   I know what you mean about the  Vallejo Putty  -  I found the same with  it staying a  we bit soft  and  sagging  into  the  join,   I love the  shape  of  the   jet  -  will  be so nice  watching your  progress   with it.

 

OC.

Thank you OC. I find the Vallejo a bit rubbery and has a tendency to peel away sometimes as well as shrink. Tears a bit when sanding too. I do like the disolved putty (apart from the smell) but that seems to be a solution for small gaps.

Alan

[Javlin]

22 hours ago, king derelict said:

Tears a bit when sanding too. I do like the disolved putty (apart from the smell) but that seems to be a solution for small gaps.

That is true Alan small seam lines nothing to large it's great around tailfins and wing roots.Interesting subject matter.

[king derelict]

37 minutes ago, Javlin said:

That is true Alan small seam lines nothing to large it's great around tailfins and wing roots.Interesting subject matter.

Thanks Jav

I need to try using thin pieces of plastic card for the larger gaps.

Alan

[Old Collingwood]

6 minutes ago, king derelict said:

Thanks Jav

I need to try using thin pieces of plastic card for the larger gaps.

Alan

Isnt it  Evergreen plastic  that  peeps   use  for  that.

 

OC.

[king derelict]

30 minutes ago, Old Collingwood said:

Isnt it  Evergreen plastic  that  peeps   use  for  that.

 

OC.

I think you are right. I have bag of mixed bits somewhere, left over from the 3D printed corvette.

Alan

[king derelict]

I gave the model a coat of Mig One Shot grey primer which worked very well. Nice and smooth but still some nasty seams, especially on the nacelles. I sanded and brushed a coat of Mr Surfacer 500 on. I will sand that back after it dries overnight.

At this point it seems to have done a good job and I am hoping that after a good sanding and final check I can move onto the gloss black primer.

 

Heres hoping

 

Thanks for looking in and the likes and helpful comments.

 

Alan

 

[Danstream]

9 hours ago, king derelict said:

At this point it seems to have done a good job and I am hoping that after a good sanding and final check I can move onto the gloss black primer.

Good job so far. As very last sanding, you could try a wet very fine sanding using very fine grit (1000 or 2000) soaked with water. Without putting lot of pressure, let the paper do the work. As last step, before painting, I usually rub the model with a cotton (or paper) cloth soaked with alcohol (usually IPA) to remove the last dust and grease.

Good luck,

Dan

[Landlubber Mike]

Looks good Alan - that plane has really nice lines.

[king derelict]

16 hours ago, Danstream said:

Good job so far. As very last sanding, you could try a wet very fine sanding using very fine grit (1000 or 2000) soaked with water. Without putting lot of pressure, let the paper do the work. As last step, before painting, I usually rub the model with a cotton (or paper) cloth soaked with alcohol (usually IPA) to remove the last dust and grease.

Good luck,

Dan

Thank you very much Dan, that’s very helpful. I’ll try the fine wet sanding before the gloss black.

alan

[king derelict]

7 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Looks good Alan - that plane has really nice lines.

Thank you Mike 

somehow the early jets of the fifties and sixties look more futuristic than today’s aircraft 

alan

[king derelict]

A rather mixed update. After wet sanding lightly the model looked good to paint so I tried the Vallejo Gloss Black Primer and did not have a good time with it. Even with the compressor set at a little above 30 psi I was struggling to get a good flow of paint and a decent coverage. It was very hot in the garage and maybe the paint was drying as it was spraying. The result was a very poor surface and as a bonus I could see a couple of places that were still not properly filled and smooth. Yep on the (insert appropriate word of frustration) nacelles. So I stripped the black primer back, attended to the surface imperfections and left it to set overnight. This morning I sanded down the new filler and gave the whole thing a light sanding with 2500 grit wet. It all felt smooth so after wiping down we returned to the air brush. Today (it was cooler) everything seemed to go better. The paint sprayed smoothly in light coats and the surface looks much better. I will leave it to harden overnight and see if it looks ready for teh metal.

Thanks for looking in and the likes and comments

Alan