| This kit was bought very cheaply from EBay but it is not intended to build it exactly from the box. I read an article (shown below) from Internet Modeller dated April 1999 called "Kitbashing a Lavochkin La-5FN" by Tom Cleaver. In this article he takes the Hobbycraft kit and combines it with parts of the Ltd LaGG-3 Kit. The latter of which I bought mail order from the Aviation Hobby Shop in the UK. I actually bought two. They were not cheap and I must have paid over £40GBP for the pair, but it was worth it. Zvezda have now released (by all accounts) a highly superior 1/48th scale La-5FN in 2007 which makes this build a little redundant. Oh well! Accessories you can collect for this project include: Squadron vacformed canopy Falcon Clearvax vacformed canopy Extratech Seatbelts for VVS in the GPW Eduard 'special' decals Aeromaster Decals set 48009 and 48086 Aeroclub white metal propeller blades True details weighted resin wheels True details resin cockpit (for Hobbycraft/Academy) Cutting Edge wheel hub masks E-Z Mask canopy mask EZ093 Cooper Details CD 4836 WWII Russian Fighter Seats with belts Cooper Details CD 4835 WWII Russian Fighter Main wheels Eduard photoetch La-5FN landing flaps for Zvezda Kit ED48575 Eduard photoetch La-5FN self adhesive pre-painted in colour - engine cowling flaps, landing flaps, cockpit parts, undercarriage doors, instrument panel, gun sight, etc - AML Decals 1:48 Lavochkin La-5 Soviet Aces (4) No 3 Capt K.A.Novikov 40GIAP; No 40 Capt J.T.Cyganov 1 GIAD; No 60 Gen J.J.Savickj 3.IAK ; No 66 V.G.Serov 159.IAP 1943-44
| 
Karaya E4805 Shvetsov Ash-82FN/M-82FN Radial Engine in Resin for Lavochkin La-5FN, La-7, La-9, La-11 (for Zvezda La-5FN) AML Decal sets 4811, 4812, 4823, 4815 Avalon Decal set AVN4802 Eduard photoetch La-5FN interior self adhesive pre-painted in colour for the Zvezda kit EDFE386 (Zoom simplified set with seat belts, instrument panels, etc) - Loon Models "no cut" conversion 1:48 Lavochkin La-5FN early/La-5 late conversion (designed to be used with Zvezda kits)
- AML Aircraft detailing sets (resin) AMLA4821 1:48 Lavochkin La-5/La-5F/La-5FN (NEW) (PUR-Cowling & Exhausts) (designed to be used with Zvezda kits)
| Kit Photos |  |  |  |  | | A view inside the box. All the various components to build the hybrid kit are here. | The article from Internet Modeller. I enclose a PDF version here for you. | The original Instructions and Decals for the Hobbycraft Kit. The decals are useless as the Russian Cyrillic for "Guards" is spelt incorrectly. | The plastic contents of the Hobbycraft kit itself. This is a typical Hobbycraft effort and only marginally better than the Sea Fury I built. |  |  | | | | These are the Instructions and Decals for the LTD LaGG-3. These are actually quite good! | The plastic parts to the LTD kit. As the name suggests this is a limited run kit so the moulding shows a lot of flash and sprue but is otherwise excellent. | | |
Aftermarket Extras |  |  |  |  | | The La-5 Squadron Vac Formed Canopy to go with this, and the Gremlin La-5, projects. | The Aeroclub White Metal Propeller Blades. | The True Details Resin Weighted Wheels to go with this Project. | This is a complete resin cockpit detail set to go with the Hobbycraft Kit. It is excellent. |  |  |  | | | Falcon Clear Vax Canopy Set Number 37. | Cooper Details CD 4836 WWII Russian Fighter Seats with belts for ICM, Gavia, Hobbycraft, LaGG-3, La-5 & La-7 | Cooper Details CD 4835 WWII Russian Fighter Main wheels for ICM, Classic Airframes, Hobbycraft, MiG-3, Yak-7, Yak-9, LaGG-3, La-5 & La-7. | |
Decals |  |  | | | | The SuperScale Decal set 48-428 featuring La-7's and La-5FN's of Popkov and Kozhedub. Definitely worth checking the references first. | Three aircraft depicted on the set are those of Ivan Kozhedub, one La-5FN is on an unknown pilot with the final 'FN being Popkov. | | |
|
| Good Reads: 
Good Movies: 
Good Music: 
|
