Category: Russian models
-
Petlyakov – Pe-2 – Part Three – Plugging Up the Holes
I had no idea when I was building model kits as a youngster that there would be a need to plug up cockpits, bomb bays, wheel wells, and every blessed hole in a fuselage. That was well before spray paint cans and any thought of an airbrush. Plain old manual brushes were the go –…
-
Petlyakov Pe-2 – Part Two – The Greyhound
This Petlyakov light bomber reminds me of a greyhound. I’ve had to attach the landing gear early in the build – the plates that hold the legs drop in from the top of the nacelle before the wing halves close. Not my procedure of choice, but it is the only way to get really sturdy…
-
Petlyakov Pe-2 – Part One – Father’s Day Last Year
Make no mistake about it. When a gift-giving date approaches I do not hesitate to go down to the hobby shop and either reserve a kit or buy one outright. Then the gift-givers can go and pay for it or refund me. Charity begins at home and I know where I live. The Pe-2 is a Mister…
-
Summer And Winter
An opportunity has arisen to make a summer/winter layout – a diorama of a little Soviet airfield in both seasons. It’s to be spread over two bases and is coming together rather nicely. The bases are identical, but the portions of the field featured are different – and in both cases they are general enough…
-
Polikarpov I-16 – Part One – What Animal Is That?
Is it a mule, a fly, or an ant? All three nicknames have been used for this small Soviet fighter plane from the 1930’s. It was a somewhat revolutionary craft at a turning point in aviation that went from biplanes to monoplanes. One might have expected the Soviets to follow their standard Russian pattern of…
-
Ilyushin 4 – Part Four – Baltic Bomber
When I picked the Ilyushin off the Hobbytech shelf before Father’s Day I knew it would be somewhat of a gamble – Mister Craft kits are always that. They would be the sort of kit that Forrest Gump would buy. However, this is a Zvezda, not an old FROG, and the basic structure is perfectly…
-
Ilyushin 4 – Part Three – I Give In To Zvezda
I have written before about my technique of painting the canopies of my aircraft – how I use a bow pen to add the framework at the end of the build. It is closer to my past experiences and very effective in most cases. But looking at the glass nose of the Ilyushin I knew…
-
Ilyushin 4 – Part One – Bob’s Your Uncle
My brother-in-law, actually. We have Christmas lunch at his house most years. Not a prolific model builder, but he has completed some from-the-plan models of ships and boats. He’s more of a full-size builder of houses and cars. But back to the Bob. This model of the Ilyushin 4 was part of the Father’s Day…
-
Ryan Spirit of St. Louis – Part Three – In Soviet Union…
Decals put you on. On the spot, on the griddle, on the booze. I’m going to give the Novo factory a pass on this one – and for all I know they are long gone. They may have done their best at the time. Unfortunately the time was the 1970’s and 80’s and this is…
-
Ryan Spirit Of St. Louis – Part Two – Lonely
Well, he is lonely. But to give FROG/Novo their due, he is a pretty good representation of Lindberg dressed in period flying gear. He gets three slightly foggy windows to peer out of and a hard plastic seat, but then the real aircraft has a wicker seat in it that doesn’t look much better. The…
The Little World 