Subject: Re: Meesha's La-7
From: "Steve Bamford ARC" <[email-masked]>
To: "Meesha Starchenko" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 11:10:00 -0700

Hi Meesha,
I just wanted to let you know your article went on ARC today.  Thanks for sending it in.   

Steve Bamford
Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com
 
Live like there is no tomorrow;
Love like you've never been hurt.
Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Meesha Starchenko 
  To: [email-masked] 
  Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2004 1:02 PM
  Subject: Meesha's La-7

  Gallery Template #12

  "Gavia's La-7 profi-pack" 

  by "Meesha"
  --------------------

        Steve Bamford will insert full sized version of photo 01.jpg here 

  La-7 by Gavia. First I saw a review of this model - it looked like the "only" right 1:48 La-7 on the market... so when I saw a three-cannon profi-pack - I didn't found any reasons not buying it ! Later I found with help of some La-7 experts few faults and most noticable and unfixed by me - thin fuselage of this model. This fuselage better suit La-5FN, than La-7... when I found it with help of few experts help, it was too late to fix without total destruction of  previous work, so I decided that I "can live with it". Propeller's cock is also more like La-5FN and that is wrong for La-7. I fixed it  with help of some scratch built skill. Resin cockpit is NeOmega with photo-etched panel from that "profi-pack" kit. Few scratch-built items like exaust pipes (from stainless steel tubes) added mere of realism to the model. Elf wheels are spinable ( tail wheel needed completely redone fork with axe made from guitar string to be spinable). Guns and gear hidraulics open metal tubes are made from stainless steel tubing too. I always replace open tubes of all hidraulics with ones made from steel - looks much closer to the real thing... it needed to replace all bottom part of main gear with construction made from various tubes too to make it strong enough for model weight. Antenna's wire is also Elf's wires - very good thing for wiring. FM antenna scratch built from plastic and thin stripe of "beer metal" (ordinary beer can You meet in local store). Navigation lights are Elf , pitot tube made from solid stainless steel wire and brass from photo etch where it mount to the wing. There are also one thing on Gavia's model - dust filters infront of main gear bays on the underside of wings... there are not present at all, but are a must for all mid/late production La-7s and especially for three cannon beasts. I made scratch built ones from photo-etch and yoghurt-stirol for their frames. Look carefully all, who wants to make a "real La-7"!

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        Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 03.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 03.jpg 

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  All decals are used from the kit . It has few mistakes in Russian language, as well as few signs are made like straight translates from english - russians never write 'em this way on aircraft... but aftermarket decals I saw had no detailed stencil at all, so... no way to fix it =( . At least I didn't found any... 

        Steve Bamford will insert full sized version of photo 02.jpg here 

  Paints are used by my usual way - all plane was covered in Tamya TS-17  for metal parts and humbrol 72 for wood parts (wood parts paints may vary in my method). I use only enamels on plastic as underpaint... than few stop-colour  for "chipped paint" on metal and  then acrylic paints for main camouflage. After applying decals - a lot of weathering work with watercolours,pastels and lot of "between" lacquer covering, 'til it's done and covered with final matt coat.

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        Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 06.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 06.jpg 

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       Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 08.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 08.jpg 

  Not bad model at all, but still no correct La-7 model on the entire 1:48 market. Maybe I will build one more Gavia's La-7 kit - to make a La-5FN from it ;)) it would be more correct if I'll find any way to fix wing-to-fuselage section on the nose, that's very different from La-7 ... other stuff in such conversion sounds quite "fixable" for me =) . It's my first article on ARC, so maybe later I will cover My other previous builds as well as my current and future projects, if it would be interesting for all aircraft freaks as me of course ;). 

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        Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 09.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 09.jpg 

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       Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 12.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 12.jpg 

  Photos and text © 2004 by "Meesha" (Mikhail Starchenko)

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  MEESHA STARCHENKO
  Free-lance artist\illustrator
  ICQ#: 3832631
        Current ICQ status:     
  +  My artworks 
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