Lavochkin La-250 by Amodel

1/72 scale
Kit No. 7264
Retail: $40.00
Decals: One version, surviving prototype on display at Central Air Force Museum at Monino, Russian Federation
Comments: Two-seater delta wing version with one-piece canopy, fair cockpit detail, engraved but slightly rough panel lines in places, K-15 air-to-air missiles with separately mounted warheads

History

The Lavochkin La-250 was a high-altitude, long-range interceptor prototype intended to be a dedicated, missile-armed weapons system that would blast enemy strategic bombers from the sky before they could reach their targets. In this sense, it had an identical mission profile as its contemporaries, the Canadian CF-105 Arrow and the American XF-108 Rapier, and it is interesting to note that all three programs on both sides of the Iron Curtain were cancelled within seven months of one another during 1959. The La-250 was planned as a single-seat interceptor guided by the Vozdukh-1 ground control intercept system, similar in concept to the SAGE system employed with the American F-102 and F-106 interceptors.

Initially designated OKB 301 by the Lavochkin Design Bureau, the La-250 was conceived to meet a 1954 Soviet Air Force specification for a “super-interceptor” to counter strategic bombers of the U.S. and the NATO countries, particularly France and Great Britain. Planned from the outset to be armed exclusively with guided missiles, it had no gun armament, featured a delta wing with a 57-degree sweep, and was powered by two Lyulka AL-7F afterburning turbojets, each capable of 14,330 foot-pounds of thrust. It would be the last manned aircraft produced by the Lavochkin bureau. Later named the “Anakonda,” it was the first Russian combat aircraft to rely solely on missile armament.

Flown for the first time on July 16, 1956 and piloted by Andrei Kochetkov, the La-250 was designed to carry the Uragan (Hurricane) pulse radar which had a projected range of 30 km (18.6 miles) controlling two large K-15 beam-riding air intercept missiles. Its maximum speed was projected to be Mach 1.88 (1,243 mph) with a service ceiling of 17,000 meters (56,000 feet) and a ferry range of 2000 km or 1,242 miles. Although designed as a single-seat interceptor, at least one prototype was built as a two-seater, with the back seat pilot dedicated to collecting flight and performance data. Had the La-250 entered service, the back seater if retained would possibly have been retasked as a dedicated navigator and radar intercept operator.

Despite its ambitious goals, the program was plagued by technical failures. Both the Uragan radar and the K-15 missile proved unreliable, and test pilots reported that the airframe was dangerous to land. This was possibly due to the high degree of sweep of its wings, the corresponding required high landing speed to maintain a safe amount of lift on approach, and the aircraft’s ability (or lack thereof) to safely brake to a halt. Of the five prototype aircraft built, two were lost in landing accidents (November 28, 1857 and September 8, 1958, respectively). The second prototype was the first of these losses, and is of note in that it did away with the swept wings in favor of a delta wing design, and relocated the K-15 missiles from semi-recessed positions along the fuselage surface to underwing hard points.

The Soviet government cancelled the program in July 1959, a decision that was likely partly influenced by the previous cancellation in Canada of the superb but supremely expensive CF-105 Arrow on February 20 of that same year. The demise of these two aircraft would be followed by the cancellation in the United States of the XF-108 Rapier in September 23, 1959 — a multinational acknowledgement that the new threat was not strategic bombers, but long-range ballistic missiles (ICBM’s).

After the cancellation of the La-250, the Lavochkin Design Bureau focused entirely on missile and space systems, becoming NPO Lavochkin. The sole remaining La-250 prototype is located in the former Soviet Union at the Central Air Force Museum in Monino.

The Kit

Amodel’s Lavockin La-250 is injection molded in grey plastic and consists of 104 parts, including a single clear plastic part for the canopy, which bears clearly distinguishable engraving. The kit bears engraved panel lines and recessed rivet detail, but the quality of the engraving is not uniform throughout (the kit was first released in 2009) and some clean-up will be required as there is noticeable flash on many of the parts.

The cockpit is fairly detail with separate seats, each of which has a rear bulkhead, a control yoke for the pilot, and sidewall instrumentation. Instrument panels and corresponding hoods are mounted only at the point that the forward fuselage is assembled with the cockpit enclosed, at Step 4. The sheer size of the actual aircraft is driven home when the forward and rear fuselage components are cemented together with the large nose cone. Some seam hiding will likely be required.

There are fairly detailed intakes and exhausts for the engines, and the landing gear, despite all the flash, are rather well molded. The K-15 missiles are large and their halves must be cemented together, and their contact points are roughly molded some sanding will likely be required before they are assembled. Their nose cones and four of their fins are separately mounted. It they prove difficult, modelers may want to consider aftermarket replacements, particularly those made by Reskit. A number of small parts (intakes and sensors mostly) are attached to the fuselage in the final stages of construction.

Markings

As is often the case with Amodel kits of a certain vintage, the decals bear a finish that is remarkably flat, so much so that it may lead to silvering upon application. They are best replaced with aftermarket examples. As this version of the La-250 may have been unique among the five prototypes in that it was a delta winged two-seater, Amodel has depicted but a single version with its markings, the aircraft on display at the Central Air Force Museum in Monino.

Conclusion

With a bit of effort, this kit can be built up into an impressive model, despite its shortcomings. Fit may be an issue, so be prepared for seam hiding work and the possibility of a decision on replacement missiles. Highly recommended for its historical place in Cold War history in the pantheon of “what if” super interceptors developed during the 1950’s only to be cancelled near the close of the decade.

A prototype La-250 lifting off for a test flight, somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Photo credit: www.secretprojects.co.uk

References

• www.aviatordb.com
• www.militaryfactory.com
• Kit instructions