USSR Naval Planes
Aoshima 1/700

By: Mike Dunn

Well, while we were in The Dungeon (see the Minsk review), I was on the look-out for models of the Russian Yak-36 fighter and the KA-25 helicopter, as I like to have a model of the aircraft that the ships carry (for example, I managed to track down a Westland Wasp AS Mk 1 in the Dungeon last time I was there - a kit that has been dis-continued for several decades, to my knowledge). Well, I found both of them - at 1/700 scale! To say I was surprised is an understatement!

So, what do you get? On opening the box, you have a sealed pack, with two sprues. Each sprue has 12 Yak-36 and 4 KA-25, with one decal sheet. On closer inspection, what you have are the aircraft sprues that are included with the Kiev and Minsk models!

As mentioned in the reviews of the two carriers, the mouldings are crisp (hardly surprising, as Aoshima are again using the same tooling); however, more flash is on these sprues than on those included with the ships. After saying that, it is still very little, in comparison with other models I have. The fighters are one-piece items, while the helicopters each have two separate 3-blade rotors to add, together with the tail-fin.

The decals, again, are the same - 14 red stars in 6 rows, each row smaller than the previous one. They are the least impressive part of the kit, but I for one would not like to paint these stars on!

The top box art has a picture of the Yak 38 above one of the KA-25. While nice pictures, some research has shown that both are inaccurate; the same is the case with the rear box art, that has the painting instructions/details. OK, so the actual models are tiny (the Yak comes in at 22mm, with the KA-25 at 14mm), but if you don't have the chance to search the Internet for the quite rare pictures of the carriers these were featured on, you wouldn't necessarily know that the Yak is a dark sea-blue, not steel blue, that the number is individual to each aircraft, or that the wing-tips fold up. On the KA-25 front, again the colour is wrong - this time, it is too dark as the helicopter is a steel gray, not steel blue, with the engines being red - totally different from the fuselage. Picky? I guess so, but this just emphasises that if you want accuracy, you have to look hard for good photographs of them in real scenarios.

So - are they worth it? Do you really get your money's worth with this accessory box? At only £2.25 for 24 fighters and 8 helicopters, I have to say yes. They are dirt cheap by any standards, and consider - one of these boxes will give you more than enough aircraft to populate either carrier in a peace-time role, and if you have both the ships, there are plenty of aircraft to go round. Even counting the fact that Aoshima have only created new box art and given you an extra sprue, compared with that in either of the carriers, this is a bargain.