Tag: Soviet fighter
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Polikarpov I-3 – Part One – Fillin’ In The Numbers
I did not realise how many Polikarpov aircraft I have in the collection until I reviewed it to see if this was new. It is – This will slot between the monoplane I-1 and the biplane I-15. A totally new ( but probably defunct ) Polish model making firm, too. In any case this stash…
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Polikarpov I-16 – Part One – ¡Hola!
We are about to embark upon a Spanish adventure – and in an unfamiliar scale. I have already produced some aircraft in 1:72 from the period of the Spanish Civil War – an Antonov, a Potez, and a Dewoitine – all in Republican colours. I have also built a Polikarpov I-16 in 1:72 scale –…
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Polikarpov I-1 – Part One – One Tin Fighter
Captain Frugal here. I have been given an ICM kit – or I may have bought it…I cannot really remember. But it did not cost as much as the examples on the shelf of my local hobby shop. It is, however, every bit as good as the higher-priced spread, and good for me, too. The…
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Grigorovich IP-1 – Part Four – The Winter Coat
Part of the appeal of the Grigorovich is the seasonal one…the fact that it’s a winter fighter with skis for landing in the snow. I am not an Australian fan-boy for snow…I passed my childhood in Alberta and I got all the show I needed, thank you. The skis are a novelty, but so is…
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Grigorovich IP-1 – Part One – Out Of Left Field
The rise of the eastern bloc modelling industry is a blessing and a curse – the former because it gives us good models to build and the latter because it chooses some of the most obscure prototypes. At least they are obscure to a modeller in Western Australia. They might be household names in Minsk.…
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Yak 3 – Part One – Yak On
Do not be frightened off by the complexity of the Hobby Boss Yak 3 fighter plane kit. I shall master it. I snatched it off the hobby shop shelf in relief – I need one more Soviet fighter for a diorama and there is limited time for the build. What better than Hobby Boss. While…
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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 IL-10 – Part Two – Mystery Beast
I should be interested to find out from whence the Mr Craft Ilyushin 10 mould has come. It has the hallmarks of either a very old 50’s or 60’s model from Frog or Novo or alternately a short-run kit form an unsuccessful Czech form. Perhaps it is a native product of Poland. I’ll never know.…
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MiG 15 – Part One – Plunging Off The Cliff
Every one who leaps off the edge of a cliff in the face of a stiff breeze wearing a set of nylon wings exhibits a degree of faith and hope…and wishes sincerely for charity on the way down. They have to risk something valuable…ie their neck…to get a benefit. I am going to have to…
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Yakovlev-3 – Part Three – The Dreaded Instrument
I used The Dreaded Instrument on helpless victims for 40 years. Oblivious to the screams and the smell of burning flesh, I pressed onwards in a mad orgy of torture. The only thing that would stop me was the end of the day or running out of electricity. In short, I was a dentist. And…
The Little World 