This is Academy's 1/48 La-7 and my fourth aircraft model. I was a little disappointed with this kit. The detail was lacking a bit. Nothing major, as the La-7 was a simple plane anyway, but things like the control surfaces and cockpit did not have the depth to the lines as the Hase "George" I just finished does. The decals on this kit are very difficult as they are so thick no amount of Micro-Sol would make them tuck into the panel lines. They did not silver and the color looks good, but they just are not pliable. Over all this kit was O.K., but it did not get me as fired up as the George did . The canopy fit was a little rough, even after cleaning it up there were gaps that I had to fill which made the whole area look cheap. The wings went together good, but needed putty. The instructions were good but the paint references just had the color name, no brand code. Which was not too much of a problem since the colors were pretty standard. I might get the Gavia La-7 since I've read that it is a much better kit.


The pics here are bad, but tell me what you all think!

-Derek

Very nice one!

You did a splendid job on that one. The panel lines stand out very well without being too excessive.

That red cowling does make it look a little evil. :-) :-)

Thanks for sharing

Great looking plane!
Thank you for the small review of the kit. I've always wanted to build a 48th La-7, but now I'll definetly find an alternative for the Academy kit...

Thanks for the compliments guys!

Really, the Academy kit was not too bad for $16, and would be fine for someone who just wants a simple kit to do, or practice some new scratch building technique.

-Derek

Hi Derek!

I think you made a great job out of the Hobbycraft kit. However the landing gears look somewhat strange. For me they are too long but that's probably because of the kit. But I also think the gear doors are reveresed and that's probably because you must have glued the gear legs the wrong way... If you look at the picture below, you will notice the actuators should be behind the gear leg when viewed from the front.



I think the Gavia La-7 is definitely a better choice compared to the Hobbycraft one.

Jean-Luc

Hi Derek!

I really like your La-7!
Nice panel lines and not overdone weathering!

But I believe you´ve got the landing gear reversed/backwards!

I can agree that this kit is a bit "sparse" in the detailing, and the decals are really crappy (as almost all Academy decals I have used, or tried to use, so far), but it´s not a bad kit.

Here´s a link to my build;

https://aeroscale.kitmaker.net/forums/84246#698491

Cheers!

Stefan E

Well, how typical!

Thanks for pointing this out about the gear, I followed the instuctions, but they were not very detailed, but I could have sworn I put them on right!! Must have been the massive amounts of Vodka I was drinking, just to get into the spirit of the plane! I will fix this with haste.

Also Jean-Luc, where did you find that photo? I did quite a bit of searching on the La-7 and did not find any modern pics.

-Derek

Very nice! You built a real beauty.

I've built a number of Academy planes, 1/72 mostly. The one and only complaint I have with them is the decals. They are always very thick and non-responsive to setting solution. I like the kits, but always go after-market on the decals.


Mike

Very nice. Looks like you did a great job with a mediocre kit...

Hi Derek!

It's one of the first pictures that comes when you make a "La-7" Google search...

Jean-Luc