REVELL 1:72 YAK-38 FORGER

Reviewer: Myself  (braithy@bigpond.com)

Put simply the Yak-38 is the russian V/STOL fighter version of the NATO's Harrier.  The only major difference, aside from cosmetics, is that the Forger utilises three jet engines as opposed to the Harrier's one.  The Forger is a sleek and attractive aircraft witnessed mainly as an operational ship-borne STOL aircraft.  

Revell have reproduced a reasonably accurate depiction of the Soviet V/STOL interceptor that has two sprues of flash-free injected moulded parts and one sprue of a two piece cockpit canopy.  Quality is typical of Revell with crisp parts in a medium grey/blue colour.  Instructions are set out in 15 straightforward assembly steps and paint references are provided by simple approximate colour names, although FS numbers (35164 and 36440) are stated for the aircraft colour scheme and this information supposedly obtained from color samples printed in "publication FS 595a".

Assembly starts with the cockpit.  You are provided with a base, rudder pedals, control stick and seat so a bit of scratchbuilding will be necessary to give any more detail.  The main engine inside the fuselage is assembled but needless to say it is hidden once the model has been made.  The rounded exhaust nozzles are attached to closed exits from the fuselage, I'd recommend drilling out an exit which will give the main engine somewhere to see out!  The two vertical engines forward of the fuselage and just aft of the cockpit are given air if the roof is hinged upward, and the louvers underneath allowed to be exposed with open bay doors.  Wing assembly is quite basic with the requirement of only having to attach a panel to the main wing component and then glueing against the fuselage.  You then move onto a basic undercarriage setup (see accuracy below) and wing pylons and have the opportunity to affix four underwing stores (two each side) for the end model.  Weapons available are rocket pods, 500lb bomb, AS-7 missile and Drop Tank. All the assembly is quite easy and it's possible (ignoring painting times) to assemble this kit in a matter of minutes!!

At the conclusion of assembling and painting the kit provides decals for only one aircraft but no identification is given.  It appears to be a Forger-A from an unknown Soviet Naval regiment.  Revell are renowned for including poor quality decal sets for post-war subject material in recent kits. Unfortunately this is no exception because the white all but disintegrated from the red stars, they tended to curl and were easy to rip. I'd therefore highly recommend seeking an aftermarket decal set and even though I used the kit's offerings, I am quite disappointed with the end result.

Unfortunately, while it is a very nice kit to make, it is not one of Revell's better attempts as far as accuracy is concerned.  The end product is too slim in profile and other several minor alterations will be needed make the model a better replication, although it is a better attempt than DML's previous monster.  I'd suggest you assemble the model with a handy and reliable reference source of the Forger on hand to ensure the best outcome can be achieved.  Some observations: the undercarriage strut is too basically constructed in the kit and too 'straight'.  An extra strut should connect the main strut with the fuselage and thereby extending it a little further out than the model kit depicts.  The upper fuselage airflow fences are set back too far, they should be a bit closer to the turbine cover, and this can be corrected by filling in the connecting holes and cutting off the attachment pins. Likewise the airflow fences underneath the fuselage are a little too long and should be shortened a tad.  The rear stabilisers are given an upward slant in the model, when in fact they have a slight downward slant and this needs to be corrected.  The aerial on the leading fin spine needs to be thinner, and the tiny 'horizontal fins' attached to the very aft point of the aircraft to be filed down a touch, so they are not so prominent.  I also only have record of rocket pods in a natural finish whereas the kit instructs you to paint it white.  This might still be okay depending on what reference material you have.  Likewise the instructions say to paint the aircraft's undersides white, all my reference material points to green - again the kit may still be technically correct but it's best to check your sources nonetheless.

To summarise, if you are after a nice kit that is attractive and easy to make, emanates as a good and refreshing display-piece on the shelf then this kit will be a bonus.  However, accuracy is not it's strongpoint although it's still the best representation in this scale I am aware of on the market.  A bit of work to correct some problems above will also give a better achievement and one which can easily be accomplished from all but the absolute novices of the hobby.

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The colour isn't particularly flash on this picture but it does show the Yak-38 with green undersides
The revell kit instructs a white underside