Category: Soviet aircraft
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Polikarpov I-16 – Part Two – The Donk

If someone is so kind as to prepare an entire aero engine for me, I should be very ungrateful not to take notice of their effort. This is the philosophy that compelled me to construct a tiny, hidden component for the I-16. It has worked out beautifully, and I am loathe to close it in…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Ilyushin 4 – Part Two – Why You Do This Sergey?

Every model kit is an adventure in a cardboard box – some are the Walt Disney types and some are the Jumanji sort… In the case of the Ilyushin 4, I arrived at the wing stage and took some time out to be flabberghasted. The construction of the thing is a unique departure. The engine…
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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…
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Ryan Spirit Of St. Louis – Part One – Nyet, Tovarich…

Is not could be Spirit of Amerikan town. Is Spirit of Leningrad. First solos transatlantic airplane fly from Soviet home of revolutionary peoples but capitalistic newspapers disguise this. Soviet union always first in everything. Well, not quite first with this model. We get mould from FROG in decadent England and hero workers of Soviet Union…
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Any Day You Learn Something – Part One – Bright Ideas

Is a good day. The something you learn may be of great or small import, but the fact that it is now your possession is wonderful. Today I made use of Ivan Seryy it find out whether or not a scheme for camouflage painting was viable. The idea of being able to make soft-edge masks…
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MiG23 – Part Three – Ivan Seryy

The Academy kit went together really well, though it felt a little weird to not do a cockpit at all and to close in all the open bits. Academy models are always rewarding – probably because they used to be Hasegawa models and they were also rewarding. Ivan has several special features incorporated to perform…
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MiG 23 – Part One – Getting An Ivan

If you are a subscriber to the Flory Models vlog or website you will have hear him speak about “ Buster”. Buster is a Chance Vought Crusader in 1:32, I believe. He has lost his landing gear and a good deal of his flying surfaces. He has lost his canopy. You might think he has…
