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Eduard's Polikarpov
I-16, Type 10 is a multimedia kit that includes a fret of photo etch and a
painting mask. The plastic parts are molded in Eduard's familiar light
green plastic and the over-all quality of the kit parts, while not up to
the level of Tamiya or Hasegawa, is very good. Eduard's instruction
sheet is printed in full color and includes color three view drawings for the
various paint schemes offered. The decals are very good, opaque and in
register. A very detailed model can be built out of the box without
the need for any after market parts.
The Polikarpov I-16
was Russia's first monoplane fighter and was first flown in 1933. The Type
5 saw extensive action in the Spanish Civil War. It was in Spain that the
stubby little fighter saw success and was dubbed "Rata" by its
opponents. The Polikarpov also saw action in Finland and in Poland during
the Blitzkreig. By the time Russia was invaded by Nazi Germany, the
Polikarpov I-16 was the main fighter air plane of the VVS. Although
seriously over matched by the Bf 109, it was flown by brave pilots in the
defense of their homeland. The I-16 soldiered on for most of the war,
although they were no longer a front line fighter after 1942.
The model I built,
Red 4, depicts a squadron hack from an unknown unit operating in the
Leningrad area in 1944. It is documented with black and white photographs
that leave some doubt as to the actual color of the fuselage stripe; dirty white
or yellow. I chose yellow because it is more colorful. Eduard's
kit decals includes yellow framed red stars for the fuselage as well as
white framed stars, so you can choose.
Click on
images below to see larger images
Construction is
fairly straight forward and there is a lot of color photo etched parts for the
cockpit that, for the most part, disappear when the fuselage halves are joined.
The kit also has a photo etched door that can be installed on the fuselage by
cutting out the plastic. The door has some tricky bends to it, but looks good
when installed and gives a little better view into the cramped cockpit. The
only real problem I encountered during construction was the wing to fuselage
joint which required some shimming, filler and rescribing. I drilled out
the exhaust pipes that, as supplied, are nothing more than solid, bent rods.
I also drilled out the wing machine gun barrels. The gear retraction wire
(which is shown on the instructions for you OOB nit pckers) was made out of
monofilament fishing line colored black with a permanent ink marker.
After priming the
model with Alclad Gray Primer, I painted the camoflauge with Tamiya Acrylics.
The green is a mix of Tamiya Flat Green and Olive Green. The Black is
Tamiya Nato Black and the underside is painted with a mix of Tamiya Light Blue,
White and Light Gray. Floquil Reefer Yellow was sprayed on the fuselage
before the camouflage colors and the stripe was masked off before final
painting. The cowl ring is Alclad Stainless Steel. The model
received an gloss coat of Future before decaling. Weathering was achieved
with Windsor Newton oils thinned in Turpenoid and with chalk pastels. The
entire model was sealed with Model Master Flat Clear Lacquer.
This was a very
enjoyable model to build. A depicts an important aircraft of the Great
Patriotic War.
Rian
Click on
images below to see larger images
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