1/48  Revell Lavochkin-5FN

a farewell

by Tigre del Aire

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Greetings from Colombia!

Developed from the disappointing LaGG-3, the Lavochkin La-5 was one of the great fighters of World War II.  It shared the earlier machine's wooden construction, but the new radial engine gave it vastly superior performance.  The La-5 and its successors were amongst the best dogfighters of the war, especially at low level and were flown by most leading Soviet pilots including Ivan Kozhedub, the Allied 'ace of aces'.

As the Soviet armies reeled back from the German invasion of 1941, there were frantic demands for the Soviet air force to be re-equipped with modern fighters.  In Oct 1941, Semyon Lavochkin began work on an improved version of the heavy LaGG-3 fighter.  The ensuing La-5, equipped with a powerful radial engine and cut-down rear fuselage, entered production in July 1942 and more than 1000 were built by the end of the year.

The first large-scale use of the La-5 came in 1942 over Stalingrad.  Here and at Kursk the following year, it proved to be a ferocious dogfighter, especially at low level.  The lightweight La-5FN appeared that year and was flown by many top Soviet aces.

The La-7 of 1944 had more power and many minor improvements, making it one of the most effective fighters of the war.

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As says the ballad, "give me a kiss and say good-bye", it is what one lives in the wing of this Lavochkin, his pilot says goodbye of a nurse (Medcestra in Russian), putting prow to the horizon.

But about this romantic scene there are other prominent figures, such as the colonel who goes out of the kitchen-dining room and the cook, that absorbed in your thoughts they do not notice the farewell...

 

 
The model is Revell, very good detail and easily to arm (assemble), few modifications did him, with the exception of 2 bottles of air that go after the chair of the pilot and the pocket of maps.  The figures are Revell too and come from a kit of Soviet troops that accompany a T-34, the cook comes from a kit of tankers of RAF to whom the apron was done and they put on the knife and the thorn.  The deer is a plastic figure that I found thereabouts and that used as perfect victim!
 
I did the scene with domestic materials, inclusive the tent - infirmary was done by blotting paper and rod of injection! Gratefullness to aircraftaces.com for the history of La-5FN.
 
Greetings from Colombia, the land of Juan Valdez!
Saludos desde Colombia, la tierra de Juan Valdez!
Tigre del Aire

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Photos and text © by Tigre del Aire