1:72 Lavochkin La-7bis (ASCC code 'Flake'); aircraft "09 Red" of 50th IAD/177th IAP, Korean People's Army Air Force (조선인민군 공군, KPAF); Uiju Airfield, December 1950 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit conversion)

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

 

Some background:

The Lavochkin La-7 (Russian: Лавочкин Ла-7) was a piston-engine Soviet fighter developed during World War II by the Lavochkin Design Bureau (OKB). It was a development and refinement of the Lavochkin La-5, and the last in a family of aircraft that had begun with the LaGG-1 in 1938.

 

By 1943, the La-5 had become a mainstay of the Soviet Air Forces, yet both its head designer, Semyon Lavochkin, as well as the engineers at the Central Aerohydrodynamics Institute (Russian: TsAGI), felt that it could be improved upon. TsAGI refined earlier studies of aerodynamic improvements to the La-5 airframe in mid-1943 and modified La-5FN to evaluate the changes between December 1943 and February 1944 and proved to have exceptional performance.

 

Using the same engine as the standard La-5FN the modified aircraft had a top speed of 684 kilometers per hour (425 mph) at a height of 6,150 meters (20,180 ft), some 64 kilometers per hour (40 mph) faster than the production La-5FN. It took 5.2 minutes to climb to 5,000 meters (16,404 ft). Main change was the use of more lighter but stronger metal wing spars to save weight.

 

The La-5, as well as its predecessors, had been built mostly of wood to conserve strategic materials such as aircraft alloys. With Soviet strategists now confident that supplies of these alloys were unlikely to become a problem, Lavochkin was now able to replace some wooden parts with alloy components.

Combat trials began in mid-September 1944 and were generally very positive.

 

However four aircraft were lost to engine failures and the engines suffered from numerous lesser problems, despite its satisfactory service in the La-5FN. One cause was the lower position of the engine air intakes in the wing roots of the La-7 which caused the engine to ingest sand and dust. One batch of flawed wings was built and caused six accidents, four of them fatal, in October which caused the fighter to be grounded until the cause was determined to be a defect in the wing spar.

 

Production of the first aircraft fitted with three B-20 cannon began in January 1945 when 74 were delivered. More than 2000 La-7 aircraft were delivered before the war's end, and a total of 5753 aircraft until production ceded in 1946.

 

Still, the basic concept had more development potential, and as soon as March 1945 work on further improvements for the La-7 started, while in parallel a new type was under development - the La-9, which would enter prototype stage in 1946. An interim type was needed - and this became the La-7bis. It was based on the proven La-7, but already incorporated crucial elements of the future La-9, e. g. its laminar flow wing shape as well as an increased share of light alloy in the construction.

 

Overall, the La-7bis was tailored to higher operation altitudes than the standard La-7 and was intended to intercept high flying bombers and reconnaissance aircraft like the Ju 388. Therefore the interim type incorporated many small refinements and changes, most notably a bigger wing and fin area, a four-bladed propeller and a pair of new 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannons which considerably improved firepower and weapon range.

 

The La-7bis was built in parallel to the standard La-7, but only at Zavod Nr. 99 in Ulan-Ude, where 433 aircraft were built until 1946. Only a few La-7bis reached the front units during WWII in time, and in Soviet service the type was quickly superseded by the La-9. Many aircraft were used in flying schools and training regiments, though, or quickly handed over to allies like China and Korea.

 

With these operators the La-7bis actively took part in the Korean War and remained in service until the mid-Sixties, when piston fighters were finally replaced by the highly successful MiG-15.

 

Even though a sub version of the La-7, the type received the separate Air Standardization Coordinating Committee (ASCC) code "Flake" as it was initially mistaken as a new Lavochkin type.

 

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 8.89 m (29 ft 1 1/2 in)

Wingspan: 10,16 m (33 ft 3 in)

Height: 2.41 m (7 ft 11 in)

Wing area: 19.59 m2 (210.2 sq ft)

Gross weight: 3,315 kg (7,308 lb)

 

Powerplant:

1× Shvetsov ASh-82FN air-cooled 14 cylinder radial engine with a two-stage supercharger and

fuel injection, 1.380 kW (1.850 hp), driving a 4-bladed VISh-110V propeller

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 680 km/h (422 mph; 367 kn) at 6.000 meters (19.685 ft)

Range: 665 km (413 mi; 359 nmi)

Service ceiling: 11.500 m (37.667 ft)

Rate of climb: 17.25 m/s (3.410 ft/min)

Time to altitude: 4.8 minutes to 5.000 meters (16.404 ft)

 

Armament:

2 × 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannons, 150 RPG, plus 200 kg (440 lb) of bombs

 

 

The kit and its assembly:

This whif was a bit of a spontaneous use of a Hobby Boss La-7 kit, part of a kit lot, for which I lacked any good idea. Anyway, I always had an eye on kits for the more streamlined La-9/11s – and then the idea was born to convert the leftover La-7 into something that would come close to the later types.

 

Biggest surgery concerned the aerodynamic surface; everything was modified:

• Outer wings from a Matchbox P-51D

• Stabilizers from a Heller P-51D

• Fin tip from an Academy Fw 190A

 

Wings were cut just outboard of the landing gear wells, while the Mustang wings were cut at the 2nd machine gun. Depth fits surprisingly well, only the La-7’s trailing edge had to be adapted, but that only a small effort.

 

Another mod is the new, for-bladed propeller, scratched from the spares box, and I added some cockpit details and a pilot torso (the canopy was to remain closed). I also removed the original tunnel oil cooler and moved this device into the wings’ leading edges, for a cleaner fuselage.

 

For the same clean look I left away any ordnance. Actually, when all major parts were in place, I even considered to make a race aircraft (Reno Unlimited?) from the kit, since the Lavochkin looks really fast, but then I reverted to the military use option. A North Korean whif was still missing!

 

 

Painting and markings:

When I started building there was no clear idea which country should use the La-7bis – I did not want Soviet markings, though. After some search in the decal stack I found spare North Korean markings, and from there things unfolded naturally.

 

The odd paint scheme was derived from real Korean La-11 fighters – a kind of tiger stripe pattern, dull green over a grey background with pale blue undersides. I used Humbrol 64 (light Sea Grey) and FS 34096 from Modelmaster, and FS 35414 from Modelmaster, too, for the undersides. Later, these colors were shaded with lighter tones. A yellow fin tip is the only color marking.

 

North Korean roundels come from a Print Scale MiG-15 decal sheet, the tactical code comes from the scrap box; the fine silver trim around the cowling and the black stripe under the yellow fin tip are decals, too, from generic TL Modellbau sheets.

 

All interior surfaces were painted with Humbrol 240 (RLM 02, plus a black ink wash), and to add some Soviet style the wheel discs were painted in dark green. The panels on the fuselage flanks were painted in a Metallizer Mix of Steel and Titanium.

 

The kit received a light black ink wash, plus some soot stains around the cannons and the exhaust shields. Finally, all was sealed with Revell’s acrylic matt varnish.

 

 

In the end, the La-7bis looks like less work than it actually was - one can argue if the effort has been worth it? The major transplantations are hard to discern and you have to look at least twice to recognize the differences between a La-7 and the later La-9 and -11. But that was intended – subtle and unspectacular.

 

Done