I have a lot to say about this one but, first of all I have to say that it is a nice little kit and I recommend it to anyone who wants this little Soviet fighter on their shelf.
Fairly quickly after starting the build I felt as if this is more like a Special Hobby designed kit than an ICM. OK, there are location pins but they are remarkably small like the SH 1/32 Aircobra. The general lack of positive location points and vague fit really is more like my previous Special Hobby builds and unlike the ICM builds such as the Gladiator and I16.
When I dry fitted the undercarriage legs I found them to lack positive and strong locations such that I decided to build the model wheels up. I could not see the model standing long on its legs. The wheel well covers were a poor fit and needed a lot of filling and sanding into place. This was my first wheels up build since i was a child and when the decision was made it was too late to obtain and fit a pilot. This did not worry me as i wanted to display the aircraft, not what would be a poorly painted pilot obscuring the internal detail. Initially I was going to have the cockpit open but decided it would look better closed.
For a stand I got one from Flory Models and I really recommend them, they are nice and strong with a lot of display options. This did mean drilling a large hole in the underside which was no problem with my new Hanboost power tool. However, while awaiting delivery of the stand I permanently fitted the canopy to mask up for painting so I could get on. Yes, the obvious happened, when I removed the mask there was a lot of material on the inside of the canopy from drilling. I tried to prise it off, gently, but abandoned that when it was clearly at too much risk of cracking. A lesson learned in case I ever do a wheels up again....
I found the decals awful, prone to fracturing to the touch. As a result this model is a mishmash of decals from two aircraft, some just could not be pieced together. if I did one again I would get aftermarket decals.
Overall then this is not one of my better builds but if you look at it from a distance, it is not too bad at all,
Finally, you may see glimpses in the background of a flag. Well its the Falkland Islands flag, my son brought it back for me from his last trip to the Antartic. Its a place I visited myself a few years ago, where I had the best fish and chips, ever, in the Victory Pub. Anyway, this is how it looks as a backdrop to my latest builds.
Fairly quickly after starting the build I felt as if this is more like a Special Hobby designed kit than an ICM. OK, there are location pins but they are remarkably small like the SH 1/32 Aircobra. The general lack of positive location points and vague fit really is more like my previous Special Hobby builds and unlike the ICM builds such as the Gladiator and I16.
When I dry fitted the undercarriage legs I found them to lack positive and strong locations such that I decided to build the model wheels up. I could not see the model standing long on its legs. The wheel well covers were a poor fit and needed a lot of filling and sanding into place. This was my first wheels up build since i was a child and when the decision was made it was too late to obtain and fit a pilot. This did not worry me as i wanted to display the aircraft, not what would be a poorly painted pilot obscuring the internal detail. Initially I was going to have the cockpit open but decided it would look better closed.
For a stand I got one from Flory Models and I really recommend them, they are nice and strong with a lot of display options. This did mean drilling a large hole in the underside which was no problem with my new Hanboost power tool. However, while awaiting delivery of the stand I permanently fitted the canopy to mask up for painting so I could get on. Yes, the obvious happened, when I removed the mask there was a lot of material on the inside of the canopy from drilling. I tried to prise it off, gently, but abandoned that when it was clearly at too much risk of cracking. A lesson learned in case I ever do a wheels up again....
I found the decals awful, prone to fracturing to the touch. As a result this model is a mishmash of decals from two aircraft, some just could not be pieced together. if I did one again I would get aftermarket decals.
Overall then this is not one of my better builds but if you look at it from a distance, it is not too bad at all,
Finally, you may see glimpses in the background of a flag. Well its the Falkland Islands flag, my son brought it back for me from his last trip to the Antartic. Its a place I visited myself a few years ago, where I had the best fish and chips, ever, in the Victory Pub. Anyway, this is how it looks as a backdrop to my latest builds.
