Yak-38 Forger Gary repaint version

[Isaac]

This is an introduction to a model I will start building soon ( most likely the first week in January ).

I have had in my possession a printed Fly model number 26 of a Yak 38 ( NATO code name Forger ). I purchased it in Warsaw Poland and the matching clear canopy in the year 2004 with the hopes of building it.




HOWEVER.........

The model has this grotesque purple coloring on top and a hideous green on the bottom. The model was designed in the old fashion method of hand drawn parts and all fuselage sections were butt joined ( which I really do not like ).




here is what the colors are supposed to be :



So.....

It remained on the shelf of Doom for 20 years and would never be built by me.





but........

I contacted my good friend Gary in Canada ( aka MacSongLi ) and asked him if he could improve upon the old coloration. The results are spectacular. Not only was it repainted, but instead of the conventional dark blue on top and green on the bottom, Gary researched and selected an unusual Soviet camouflage used in of all places Afghanistan during their lost cause of controlling the country ( they got their butts kicked back in 1989, and in a historical repeat, so did the USA in 2021 following the folly of invading the same country ).



So that is the introduction of what I will be building next.


A bit on the airplane.

The Yak 38 was designed by the Soviet design bureau of Yakovlev. That design company was prolific with well known prop fighters in WW2 and various jets till today.

This aircraft is a limited capability short range fighter/attack VTOL ( Vertical Take Off and Landing ) design primarily to operate off aircraft carriers. It did not land conventionally and was actually computer controlled in the autoland phase. Unlike the Harrier which tilted 4 exhaust ports to transition from vertical to horizontal flying and back again as needed, the Yak design only tilted the two main exhausts in the back end, and utilized two additional lift fan mounted vertically behind the pilot. A computer controlled the thrust of all to maintain a horizontal orientation of the aircraft during vertical takeoff and landing phases.

a cutaway
Some of my reference information
a grey colored example
a plastic model example



The Yak 38 predecessor was the Yak 36 demonstrator NATO code name Freehand. It was a tubby looking plane built only to demonstrate vertical lift capability ( others also built vertical lift aircraft ).The technology of that plane was used on the operational Yak 38.



More to come.



Isaac

[Isaac]

In my original search years ago, I found two builds. One by a builder named Nir and a second one by Thomas Steinmann


here is a picture of Nir's build



and here is Thomas's



Both are the original model colors of purple and green.



My build will be a bit different in that I will be using connecting tabs on the fuselage which will complicate things somewhat, but I am hoping will improve the fit.



Isaac

[Siwi]

Purple/blue on top and green underneath is weird - the opposite of normal camo. I wonder how Yakovlev produced tricycle landing gear when both the prototype and the BAE Harrier had bicycle gear to accomodate the thrusters? Gary's repaint looks rather more interesting in any case.

[MacSongLi]

A great introduction. Looking forward to another one of your build threads, Isaac.

Good luck!
Gary

[Isaac]

As part of my build, I have delved into reference material on this jet. I have a book on the entire Yakovlev designs ( as well as others ).






It could carry a variety of external load, but that came at the expense of range and flight time.


Of interest is that this plane did not have any built in guns. The reason was that the gases from the gun fire would cause the jet engines to stall. Alternatively, it could carry an external gun pod under the wing.


Again, this build is identical to the original Fly model, but is repainted by Gary in an evaluation scheme when sent to Afghanistan in 1980.

Info on the build soon


Isaac

[Isaac]

Here are some photos of the repainted parts next to the original ones.






In addition to a new scheme, there is more detail and weathering on the repainted version.


If one wants to build the original blue and green version, or the two tone grey colors that were introduced in the 1990's, then it needs to be repainted again. I would not recommend building it as the original Fly kit of purple and green .




Isaac

[Don Boose]

Another fascinating, content-rich build thread, Isaac.

I do like to see cooperation among Forum members.

Good info on Yak aircraft in general and this airplane in particular. I look forward to learning more and watching this model take shape.

Don

[Isaac]

Originally Posted by Don Boose

Another fascinating, content-rich build thread, Isaac.

I do like to see cooperation among Forum members.

Good info on Yak aircraft in general and this airplane in particular. I look forward to learning more and watching this model take shape.

Don

Don

As an aviation and a history buff ( including being a former docent at the National Museum of the Air Force ), I love providing content on the build. After all, in my opinion, we are building historical replicas, not toys or pure art. But to each his own.


Happy new year and more building with context.


Isaac

[Isaac]

Here are the fuselage parts laid out.





The main difference here is that we are using glue tabs to connect the section instead of butt joining as in the original design.


Butt joining means that each section has a frame in front and one in the back. So joining the section is only done by glueing the frames of one section to the one after it. This is an easy method, however, the old designs did not always match each other perfectly.


so


we decided on the conventional glue tab method. There are sections where this becomes difficult.


I will explain later.



Isaac

[MacSongLi]

Off to a great start Isaac. Thank you for the background and context.

Gary