Fighting General:
Building the Eduard 1/48th Polikarpov I-16 Type 10
|
 |
Background
The Polikarpov I-16, variously known as the “Ishak”, “Mosca”,
or “Rata” is certainly among the most popular subjects for
modelers of Soviet aircraft of the period immediately prior to and during
WWII. Until now only the dubious Hobbycraft examples and a few vacuform
kits existed in Quarter Scale. So when Eduard announced the planned release
of an all new-tooled kit in 1/48 scale last year, I was very much looking
forward to building one.
A history of the type is far beyond the scope of this article. An excellent
short history is included on the front page of the instruction booklet
included with the kit. Other more comprehensive histories can be found
among the references listed at the end of this article.
This kit was first previewed by Matt Bittner in the June
issue of Internet Modeler, as well as test shots that were previewed
in the May issue of this year. I highly recommend reading these previews
before reading on here.
 This
1/48 scale kit of the I-16 from Eduard has been the subject of some heated
debate among modelers on various forums and magazines, and even on Eduard’s
own website. To their credit Eduard noted these errors and made several
corrections to the test shots and added some items to the photoetch fret
to redress several omissions, such as the window in the wheel well to
confirm gear position. The most glaring error at first was the misshapen
front cowl, which was far too “squarish” in profile. Eduard
has since produced a more accurate replacement cowl, which is now included
in all the latest examples. More on this later.
Construction
 My
intent was to complete this kit straight out of the box with few alterations
and as quickly as possible.
Assembly began with the cockpit. The shortcomings of this area are noted
in Matt’s preview, even so I elected to build it “as is”.
I wanted to display the model with the cockpit side-hatch open, so the
first step was to carve out the hatch on the left fuselage half. The outline
of the hatch is engraved in the plastic, so was fairly easy to remove
with an X-Acto knife then clean up with a file and sandpaper. While a
choice of either styrene or photoetch bits are provided for the instrument
panel and various levers and switches, I elected to stick to the styrene
parts where able to simplify and speed assembly. That said, the styrene
parts provided are more than adequate, the instrument panel being a gem
when decorated with the individual instrument dials and faces provided
on the decal sheet. The interior details were painted using Gunze Sangyo
Aqueous Hobby Color as called out in  the
instructions, as well as various Testors Acryl and PollyScale acrylic
colors. The cockpit floor was painted green with gray sides to match the
interior sidewalls, as the best compromise to actually improving or replacing
this area. As Matt mentions in the previews, this area should be wide
open, with foot boards for the rudder pedals, much like the Hawker Hurricane.
For the purists, some scratchbuilding or a hopefully soon to be released
aftermarket interior would be in order. The seat and control column are
very well done, and a set of prepainted photoetched seatbelts are included.
The angle that the seat back is mounted to the floor is critical, as this
will affect the alignment of the seat back to the fuselage spine.
The fuselage halves were cemented together using Tamiya Extra Thin Cement,
then the joins sanded smooth. The instrument panel was offered up into
the fuselage assembly from below, and then the cockpit floor and seat
assembly. Here I ran into some trouble, as one of the fittings mounted
on the right fuselage half fouled with the floor. This, part E5, was carefully
shaved off and remounted a few millimeters higher to allow the floor to
sit right. The floor and seat assembly were a little fiddly to install
with the instrument panel being somewhat in the way as well.
 The
wings went together next, which consist of only one lower half and two
upper halves left and right. The trailing edge of the wing assembly is
quite thick, however, and would benefit from sanding down to a thinner
edge before gluing. The wing assembly was then cemented to the fuselage,
with no filler needed, and the two ShKAS 7.62 wing guns added. The tailplanes,
tailcone and rudder were glued on and alignment checked before allowing
all to dry thoroughly. The stub exhausts were installed through the open
front end of the cowl at this point. The window for the wheel well is
provided as a photoetched part. This was bent in a curve and installed
at the rear of the right wheel well. The “glazed” portion
was painted a dark gray color to simulate the clear cellon or plexiglass.
 Eduard’s
treatment of the front cowling and engine area is simple yet effective,
and this consists of merely five parts. A prop shaft is sandwiched between
a simple engine front and cowl front, with an optional shutter assembly
included on the etched fret. The front of the cowl was painted red to
preclude masking around the partially closed cooler shutter doors (or
so I planned), and the completed assembly was glued to the front of the
fuselage. The photos of the unpainted model illustrate this stage. Note
the squarish cowl front.
 This
was all occurring during August, as I was trying to get the model and
article done in time for the September issue. It was then that I got an
email from Matt Bittner stating that he had obtained a corrected replacement
cowl from Eduard’s Vladimir Sulc himself at the IPMS Nationals in
Kansas City! Wow! Matt sent the cowl to me by mail, so the project went
on hold for the few weeks it took to get to my home in Canada.
 When
I opened the package containing the cowl, I was struck by the difference
from the original. The profile was spot on, and some additional detail
had been added to the front face. With some trepidation I removed the
old front cowl piece, carefully removed the engine front, and reassembled
everything with the new cowl front except for the shutter doors, which
were damaged during my attempted removal. No big deal though, as their
omission merely represents the cowl with the shutters wide open. Also,
some filler was required around the cowl front to fuselage join (the only
place it was required on this kit), accomplished with Squadron White Putty
smoothed in with Cutex nail polish remover.
Colors and Markings
 I
chose to finish the model in the markings of the aircraft flown by General
Major Ivan Lakeev, Hero of the Soviet Union. Lakeev was a veteran pilot
of the Spanish Civil War, the Khalkin-Gol Conflict against the Japanese,
and the Winter War with Finland, scoring victories in all these theatres
while flying the I-16. By the outset of the Great Patriotic War in June
1941, Lakeev had been promoted to General Major. Lakeev chose to lead
his men in action from the front, a Fighting General in the truest sense,
despite the admonitions of his superiors to preserve himself. This aircraft
by then was his personal mount, and was carefully maintained and very
well turned out, with fresh AII Green upper surfaces and Blue undersides,
with red trim and a gleaming metal cowl band.
 As
for my choice of paints and colors, I was originally intending to use
the excellent range of enamels from White Ensign Models for this project.
However, in the end I chose to stick to acrylics due mainly to their faster
drying times.
I chose ModelMaster Acryl U.S. Interior Green as a close match for fresh
AII Green, and PollyScale Russian Underside Blue. These colors were applied
using my trusty Aztec 470 airbrush. The cowl, spinner and rudder flash
were sprayed ModelMaster Acryl Insignia Red, with the cowl strap painted
Citadel Boltgun Metal. I was not sure what color to paint the wheel wells
and gear struts, so used my best guess as blue for the wells and Boltgun
Metal for the struts. The tires were painted Testors Aircraft Interior
Black using the vinyl masks provided, which worked very well. When dry,
the entire airframe was given several coats of Future Acrylic in preparation
for decals.
 The
decals by Aviprint are very good, in register and have good color density.
The Eduard instruction sheet indicates that red stars should be used,
but other references state that red stars outlined in black are correct
for this aircraft. See the VVS website mentioned below for a complete
description of this aircraft. Luckily, these black-outlined stars are
available on the sheet provided, only the stars for the tail need to be
trimmed from the speed stripe decal for the aerobatic team option. The
decals went down with only a little Superscale setting solution, and no
silvering was apparent, fortunate considering the large size of the Cyrillic
script slogan decal on the side. While it is not known if the slogans
were in evidence on the right side of the airplane originally, I chose
to include them because I like the look. At least Eduard gives you the
option. The decals were sealed with another brush coat of Future then
the finish dulled down with Testors Acryl Semi-Gloss clear varnish.
 I
wanted to finish this model with as new and fresh a paint job as possible,
so it was necessary to keep weathering to a minimum. Panel lines were
highlighted with a wash of Winsor and Newton artist’s oils in shades
a little darker than the surrounding finish, the intent being to highlight
certain areas without making them appear too dirty. Paynes Grey was used
for the undersides while Sap Green darkened with Raw Umber was used on
the upper surfaces. A drop of Japan Drier was added to these mixtures
to speed drying time.
Final Assembly
 The
final stages of assembly went quite well, with the fit of most parts being
very good indeed. The landing gear assembly is a little fiddly, with the
gear doors requiring some careful planning prior to gluing. The alignment
of the doors is not clear in the instructions, so some photographic references
are handy here. Squadron’s In Action book has a good collection
of photos and is relatively inexpensive. Little details were attended
to, such as the very nicely done photoetched gun ring sight. Leather items
such as the tailskid dust cover and cockpit front coaming were picked
out with Vallejo Saddle Brown. I did not trust the vinyl masks for the
canopy, so masked this with Gunze Mr. Masker instead. Given the successful
use of the masks on the wheels, maybe I should have tried them. Gear retraction
cables were added fashioned from stretched sprue and the propeller was
glued in place. The pitot tube was fashioned from stretched sprue as well,
instead of using the kit item.
Conclusion
 Building
this kit was an interesting experience, because what began as a kit that
to me was only “OK” due to the poor shape of the cowling became
“Great” when a new cowling was provided by the manufacturer,
addressing the most serious shortcoming that the kit originally exhibited.
Kudos to Eduard for their quick and proactive response to modelers concerns.
The issues such as the cockpit floor can be excused, since these can be
improved upon by the modeler through scratchbuilding or use of aftermarket
items if so desired.
Out of the box what results is certainly a very good scale replica of
this important Soviet fighter, suitable for any collection.
Recommended.
 Thanks
to Eduard and Matt Bittner for allowing
me the chance to build this kit. Also Thanks to Mr. Vladimir Sulc of Eduard
and Matt Bittner for supplying the replacement front cowl in such a timely
manner!
References and Further Reading
Soviet Air Force Fighter Colours, 1941-45, by Erik Pilawskii.
Classic Publications
Polikarpov Fighters in Action Part 2, Squadron Signal Publications
Inc.
|
|
