Yak 1 – Lydia Vladimirovna Litvya

Another older kit from my stash –  Accurate Miniatures YAK-1.  While Accurate Miniatures is no longer around, some of their molds have been purchased and you can still find their kits offered.  Despite being almost two decades old now, they do built up to be great kits and fantastic detail right out of the box.  Assembly sequence usually is a bit ‘fiddly’ though with their kits.  For this kit, one of the markings offered is that of Lydia Vladimirovna Litvya, the first female ace. Flying for the Soviet Union, Sr. Lt. Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak, known as the “White Lily of Stalingrad” was credited anywhere from 11 to 18 kills – depending on the source. She earned the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Red Banner, Soviet Union’s 2nd and 3rd highest award.  She was killed in action on Aug 1. 1943 when she was only 22 years old. The only other female ace in world war 2 was another Sovite pilot, Capt. Yekaterina Budanova.  There’s really no drama in buliding this kit, everything fits as it should and is a fairly easy build, and the cockpit as is really doesn’t need any additions except for some nice Eduard belts, or you can use the provided decal.