Wanted to do something different. This plane was flown by Generalmajor Ivan Lakeev of the Soviet Union in the early 1940s. For his efforts in the Spanish Civil War in 1937 while flying an I-16 type 5 he was made a Hero of the Soviet Union.
The instruction included with the kit warned that this guy was a high ranking officer and that his plane, while war ready with full armament, was “very carefully maintained, kept clean and polished, in perfect condition”. I stuck with that for the most part. The only weathering is some very mild panel line shading and some very light exhaust. The exhaust almost disappeared under the finish coat. I tried to leave the plane with a semi gloss finish by mixing Future and Tamiya flat base. I’m pleased with the results.
The cockpit is very nice with a mix of PE and styrene parts. The IP is the best I’ve done OOB. The colored etch went a long way here. To bad it’s barely visible.
This project really turned out to be a lot of fun. A bit out of the ordinary for me, I’m glad I picked it up. So glad infact that the I-16 type 24 is waiting in line. Hope you enjoy. Critiques welcome.
