The Little World

I normally pass by the Russian planes in the kit shelves – they are not a subject that I have much knowledge of and the examples of the later ones are not common as museum pieces in the West. However, anything that is known as ” The Beast ” has got to be interesting.  The fact that it is also a Mister Craft kit under $ 20 AUD also makes it shine. So the Il -10 came home with me.

Now I did do a little cross-checking with the other kits and die-casts in the shop to make sure that this was not just a ” Sturmovik ” under different name – it appears to be another model entirely and that makes it a good candidate to accompany a Hobby Boss quick model I already own.

The box art is fabulous and much better coloured than the two previous MC models. The sprue inside has about the same flashiness as the Fulmar or the Caudron-Renault but I am hoping the basic moulding is closer to the former than the latter. Certainly the canopy part is more encouraging – this one is very clear and has finely engraved frame lines.

There is little in the way of an interior, but little indeed in space to fill – the canopy area is quite small. They do provide two aircrew figures and they are not carbon copies; one is definitely a pilot and one a gunner.

The landing gear and wheels on this one are most encouraging – the struts are of a decent cross-section and the wing sockets look like they will locate them positively. Also the axle size is thick enough to support the plane.

The instructions are old-style but plain enough for all purposes. The decal sheets look excellent, and the variety of markings provided are more than generous. I quite fancy the Hungarian markings and colours but that’ll be a choice for later.