1/72 Modelsvit Beriev-Bartini VVA-14

Gallery Article by Ken Duffey (Flankerman) on Mar 18 2015

 

      

The Bartini VVA-14 was designed by Italian emigre Roberto Bartini as a vehicle that could take off and land vertically on any surface – land, sea, ice & snow – by means of its twelve lift engines and inflatable rubber floats – thereby doing away with the need for wheels and a concrete runway.

As Bartini had no production facilities, the machine was built at the Beriev plant at Taganrog and, because neither the specified lift engines were available, nor the inflatable rubber floats, the machine was initially tested in conventional flight from a runway on 14 September 1972 – by means of a temporary undercarriage comprising the nose and one main gear taken from a Tu-22 with outriggers provided by a Myasischev 3M bomber.

The machine made a number of successful flights in this configuration, before finally being fitted with the rubber floats. 

By mid-1975, the VVA-14 had made a total of 107 conventional flights but the lift engines were never made available and the VVA-14 was converted into the 14M1P Ekranoplan by extending the forward fuselage to accommodate two more jet engines and replacement of the rubber floats by rigid ones.

 

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The model is quite big – with a wingspan in 1/72 scale of 41.6cm and an overall length of 35cm without the nose probe and is moulded in medium grey plastic with lightly engraved panel lines.

A clear sprue contains the cockpit glazing – made up from two curved side panels and a rounded nose section plus two rectangular side windows for the navigator's station.

The decal sheet provides the blue cheat lines and red 'Aeroflot' titles plus the red Soviet flag on the outer fins – the Aeroflot scheme being a typical Soviet ruse to hide its true purpose.

Also provided are two sets decals for all the instrument panels – pilots and navigators – plus the registration numbers – interestingly the registration for the later 14M1P is also included, hinting at a future release of that version.

Completing the package is a set of self-adhesive masks for the clear glazing, a twelve-page step-by-step instruction booklet and a separate painting guide printed in colour.

Due to its limited-run nature and unusual configuration, the fit of the parts is not very precise, with large sprue gates and some flash - but nothing that a competent modeller couldn't tackle.

Following construction and after lots of filling and rubbing down, the model was given a coat of grey primer - after which the model was painted using rattle cans of acryllic car sprays - Gloss White and Ford Polar Grey.

Unusually for Modelsvit, some of the decals broke up and had to be given a spray coat of satin varnish before they could be used.

The finished model is imposing - and unusual - and generates lots of comments when I display it.

Thank you Modelsvit ! 

Ken Duffey

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Photos and text © by Ken Duffey