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Academy 1/48 Ilyushin Il-2

By Greg Goheen

Overview

The Ilyushin Il-2 was to Russians as the Junkers Ju-87 was to the Germans, a rugged, hard hitting ground attack aircraft and a true tank killer. At the time, it was a tough aircraft albeit not nearly agile enough to out maneuver its adversaries and lacked the rear gunner later upgraded by the Il-2m3.

The well thought armor plating surrounding the cockpit tub and engine compartment was literally years ahead of it’s time as well as essential given it’s speed and capabilities.

The Kit

Academy’s kit is the ex-Accurate Miniatures and is showing some signs of age, in particular the recessed panel lines are quite faint compared to most new releases. 

The kit, as depicted on the box art, is complete with skis for winter operations. However, modelers will notice the that wheels are included on one of the sprues even though no mention is made in the instructions of building an this alternate, more common version. 

Seven beige sprues and included, as well as one sprue of clear parts. 

Included here are eight (8) RS-82 rockets and two (2) 100 kg bombs, although these were not nearly as common as carrying 50 kg bombs.

Instructions are very simple and straight forward, including painting references that should be checked according to the aircraft you actually intend to build.

Paint and Decals

Decals are minimal with this kit, in that while two ski versions can be built the essential difference is one carries a unit number while the other does not.  Still, as these were produced by Cartograf they are quite nice and in perfect register.

Decals are provided for the instrument faces as well as the seatbelt, although most will want to replace the latter with aftermarket photo-etch or simply making their own.  The painting guide is straightforward as well, offering a gamut of manufacturers to choose from depending on your particular preference.

Conclusion

Academy has actually done a bit of well thought out marketing for this kit, as it’s release nearly coincided with that of the Il-2m3 from Tamiya and is substantially less expensive.  Still, with the quality engineering of this kit and availability of aftermarket upgrades it is still a bargain and can be built either with or without the skis.  Having these options makes it a very much recommended kit that is sure not to disappoint.  My thanks to MRC for the review sample.