Photos by the Author
History:
During the final two years of the Second World War, the Yak-3 proved itself a powerful dog fighter. Tough and agile below an altitude of 13,000 feet, the Yak-3 dominated the skies over the battlefields of the Eastern Front during the closing years of the war.
Due to a lack of building materials and an unreliable engine the first attempt to build the Yak-3 was shelved in 1941. The Yak-1M, already in production, was used in the second attempt to maintain the high number of planes being built. The Yak-3 had a new, smaller wing and smaller dimensions than its predecessor, and, being lighter in weight it was more agile. Completing its trials in October 1943 the Yak-3 began equipping the 91st IAP in July of 1944. In August, small numbers of Yak-3s were built with an improved engine generating 1,700-hp, and the aircraft saw limited combat action in 1945. Production continued until 1946, by which time 4,848 had been built.
Nicknames: Ubiytsa ("Killer"); Ostronosyi ("Sharp-Nose" -- Generic term for all inline-engine powered Yak fighters).
Specifications:
Engine: One 1,300-hp Klimov VK-105PF-2 V-12 piston engine
Weight: Empty 4,641 lbs., Max Takeoff 5,864 lbs.
Wing Span: 30ft. 2.25in.
Length: 27ft. 10.25in.
Height: 7ft. 11.25in.
Performance:
Maximum Speed: 407 mph
Ceiling: 35,105 ft.
Range: 559 miles
Armament:
One engine-mounted 20-mm ShVAK cannon
Two 12.7-mm (0.5-inch) UBS machine guns
Number Built: 4,848 (Original 1940s-era models)
Number Still Airworthy: ~5 newly-manufactured aircraft.
Construction:
I began this project by examining the parts sheets, diagrams and gathered some reference material from the web and some additional information on the cockpit detail from a friend.
Once comfortable I knew what the components were and where they went I cut the parts out for the first subassembly. Always use a sharp blade and work in a clean, well lighted environment when cutting any components from paper.
Cockpit assembly:
The written instructions may give a little more insight as to what some of the components are but not reading Polish I had to find what the components represented. The box behind the pilot is the radio transmitter/receiver. It had to be cut to nearly half it's length to allow for the plastic shield that is placed behind the pilot, forward of the radio unit and angled toward the front of the craft. According to a fact sheet, the plastic shield was for head protection from the rear. Everything else in the cockpit went together very well.
In examination of the overall appearance of the kit cockpit detail, this was meant to be an example of the early Yak-3's as most of the interior layout appears to be modeled after the Yak-1. Not a critical in my view as there was a lot of make do situations during the war and if it worked - great.
Fuselage assembly:
Once the basic "tub" was completed, I glued the bulkheads to extra stock to give additional thickness and strength. Cut them close to size and then matched them to their mate. From front to rear, the fuselage bulkheads are numbered 11a and 11b, for the nose section, 10a and 10b, for the next section, 9a and 9b (9b fronts the cockpit section), 1a, which is the forward bulkhead of the cockpit with 1b being the rear bulkhead, the last two sections following suit with bulkheads 12 and 13.
The most difficult thing to do in a model that uses bulkhead and skin construction is to maintain a smooth transition from one section to another. The method I use is to mate the two joining bulkheads (e.g. 9b and 1a) using a small spot of glue in the area normally cut out for the "finger holes" and set aside till dry. Once glue is dry you can then trim to final shape, sand if needed and separate the two bulkheads by removing the finger hole disks. It's a good idea to mark the alignment marks on the top and bottom so you have a reference that is the same on both bulkheads. Repeat for the others and your alignment problems should be few.
While waiting the fuselage sections to set up I started on the wing assemblies. Note: Read the landing gear assembly before you do any gluing on the wing assembly. One component I omitted. Part 14d I think is supposed to be a stiffener. When I slid it over the spar, part 14c, it seemed to make the wing assembly too thick on the outer half of the wing. Without it the wing fit well and looked right. Rolled the leading edge and shaped to obtain the proper shape, added stiffeners (14e) and glued edged. Clamped trailing edges between two metal straightedges using snap close pins (spring loaded) as clamps. Set aside and built the rudder and stabilizer in the same manner.
I then returned to fuselage and assembled the sections from cockpit out and set aside to dry as needed. Cut, trimmed and formed all gussets and fillets. Set aside and started on landing gear.
Landing Gear:
On most aircraft models I build, the landing gear is usually omitted. With the majority ending up in the hands of kids I have found the LG is almost without fail the first thing to get trashed.
I started with rolling the cylinders and tubes 46, 48, 49 and 50. These should be rolled tight as possible yet leave enough room to allow the wire supports to pass through. Assemble as per diagrams I and II. The instructional diagrams don't show it but I believe the wheel wells should be cut out from the forward fillers 14gL and 14gP as are the associated wings. In looking at the diagram I, you can see the reference to the landing gear struts attached to the upper inside of the wing assembly. I missed this the first few times looking through the kit but did catch it during assembly. This is an easy piece to miss during assembly and not an easy job to correct after the wing is assembled.
I used piano wire I had left over from some old projects for the landing gear and needle nose pliers to form. Assembled and set aside.
The wheels supplied are not thick enough as built and should have card stock added the give a suitable thickness. Trim carefully and sand the edges to get a reasonable smooth tread and sounded shoulder. I used a black Sharpie to color the sanded areas of the tire, a very sharp pin was used to drill the axle hole in the hub and tire was mounted on the landing gear assembly. Part 47, which wraps around the lower end of the strut and covers the formed wire holding the wheel, was the most challenging part of the LG assembly. Fat fingers, delicate paper parts and glue do not make a good combination. Work slowly and carefully and the results will be what you want.
Complete the model adding the exhaust ports, canopy and the other small external components following the diagrams and you have a very nice representation of one of the finer examples of airplanes used by the Allied forces in WWII. The Russian designed and built, Yak-3.
Summary:
| Model: | Yak 3 |
| Kit: | Modelik |
| Designers: | Wasiak, Bohdan |
| Availability: | Paper Models International (Lou Dausse) at http://www.papermodels.net |
| Scale: | 1/33 |
| Difficulty: | Medium |
| Number of Parts: | 124 |
| Instructions: | Polish |
| Diagrams: | Good |
| Fit: | Excellent |
| Coloring and Artwork: | Excellent |
