LaGG 3 Series 1-4 - ICM

The LaGG 3 was one of the earlier kits by ICM when they started to release 1/48 airplanes. It was quite well received when it was first issued in 2008, mainly due to the lack of acceptable alternatives.

This kit is quite ambivalent: size and shape are well captured, although the parts are more a mix of the first 4 series, and it features surprisingly fine details, especially in the cockpit. On the other hand, the building experience is a bit dimmed by lots of flash on nearly all parts, closed openings, inaccurate alignments and a few fit issues. Furthermore, the parts to join the aft main wing and fuselage are short shot, requiring to be shimmed. All in all, nothing that cannot be fixed - but this little b...h fought me wherever she could throughout the entire building process.

However, I am quite happy with the end result.

The model was built out of the box, only upgraded by the usual aftermarket PE seat belts. The subject represents the LaGG 3 as flown by Russian ace Leonid Galchenko in late autumn 1941, already featuring winter camouflage pattern. The appearance of this plane frequently changed and is well documented, with the cat on the rudder as unique identifier. As I wanted a three tone winter camouflage but keep the 76 on the fuselage (which was overpainted later), the selection was pretty clear.

If I was to do this bird again, I would probably go for the more recent Zvezda offering.