Bartini-Beriev VVA-14, Modelsvit 72014

The VVA-14 is maybe the most unusual aircraft in my collection. This machine looks like something from science fiction, you won't confuse it with anything from the world of aviation. The project by Robert Bartini was very ambitious: to create anti-submarine and patrol amphibian with vertical take off and landing. It was assumed that the aircraft would be equipped with 12 lift and 2 cruise engines, hence the name: "vertical take-off amphibian-14". This is not just a project on paper, VVA-14 prototype was made, but lift engines for it weren't designed by that time. Test flights proved that stability and controllability of the aircraft in the air are within normal limits and are no worse than those of traditional aircraft. There were some nicknames for this very unusual plane like "Fantomas" and "Zmei-Gorynych" (A three headed dragon from russian fairy tales). The project was eventually abanodned by Soviet fleet in favor of more usual designs, but the work of Robert Bartini wasn't wasted and gave many useful scientific results.
VVA-14 model is made by Ukrainian Modelsvit company and is made from plastic using short-run technology, but the details are quite sharp and there is not much flash on the sprues. It has a complex fuselage that consists of multiple parts, so this was one of difficult tasks to join it all together evenly and without distortions, There are masks included in kit to help with painting a heavily glazed nose of the plane. I was very pleased with result, this model is quite big and looks like nothing else on the shelf. It isn't an easy kit, but it is highly recommended to all fans of experimental aircraft or just something extraordinary and weird looking models.