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AZ Model 1/144 Ilyushin Il-18

By Matt Bittner

Introduction

From the instructions:

"The Ilyushin Il-18 (NATO code Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era as well as one of the most popular and durable, having first flown in 1957 and still being in civilian use 55 years later. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades and was widely exported. The first Il-18, equipped with NK-4 turboprop engines, flew on 4 July 1957. On 17 September 1958 the aircraft first flew with the new Ivchenko AI-20 engines. Vladimir Kokkinaki was the test pilot. Between 1958 and 1960 twenty-five world records were set by this aircraft. In 1958 the aircraft was awarded the Brussels World Fair Grand Prix. In April 1979 seventeen foreign air carriers acquired 125 aircraft, seating 100-120 passengers. Some are still in service in Siberia and the Middle East. Several examples manufactured in the mid-1960s were still in civilian use in Africa as at 2012."

The Kit

The AZ Model 1/144 Il-18 consists of 77 pieces of injected plastic in both white and tan. This is a low-pressure mold, so it's best to use a saw when removing parts from the sprue. There are no clear pieces, the windows instead being supplied by decals. Speaking of decals, they are nicely printed and appear in register, and are for the following aircraft:

• Czechoslovak airlines CSA
• East Germany Interflug

Construction starts with the assembling of the fuselage halves and vertical tail. This is followed by adding the horizontal tail pieces, gluing the wing-halves together and then gluing the wings to the fuselage. You now have a relatively complete airframe.

Once that is all together, then work is started on the engine nacelles. Each nacelle consists of four pieces and care is needed to align all parts correctly. Once the nacelles are together then they are added to the wing. It is after they are glued on that you'll want to paint, leaving the rest off until afterwards.

That rest consists of the landing gear (and you'll need to scratch build the front landing gear doors from sheet plastic, using the dimensions given in the instructions) and the propellers. It is with the props that your patience will be greatly needed, as each prop is assembled from two spinner/boss halves, coupled with each prop blade being separate. This will definitely take some time to build all for prop-assemblies. The only good thing is all pieces are injected plastic, so you should be able to use plastic cement which will help with the alignment of each blade, and all blades to the rest. Weather or not you want to paint the prop blades first is up to you – I can see both its advantages and its disadvantages.

Conclusion

This is a nice kit of the Ilyushin Il-18, one that with the right amount of patience will really look great. One thing that isn't mentioned in the instructions is if you'll need weight in the nose to keep it on its front landing gear. I suspect so, but am not sure of the center of gravity. I would add it anyway, because it's not going to hurt, since there is no clear windscreen and you can see inside the model.

Our thanks to AZ Model for sending the Il-18 in for review.