Polikarpov I-16 Type 24 (1/32nd)
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For our in-box preview of this kit, visit here.
Kit Review
ICM don’t make too many 1/32 kits, their focus is on the smaller stuff but when they do venture into the larger world, they usually choose something really interesting. The I-16 is a very welcome addition in this scale and it’s definitely an interesting choice. Called variously 'Mushka' (Fly) 'Rata' (Rata) 'Ishak' (little donkey) and 'Siipiorava' (Flying Squirrel) any version of this diminutive Russian fighter will make a great model. This new version comes in a large flat box with some decent art on the lid. Inside you get three big sprues of light grey-coloured plastic and one of transparent parts for a total of just 115 parts. The instruction book is 12 pages long and includes the sprue layout diagrams, 59 construction stages and two pages of painting and marking guides. The construction bits are all neatly drawn with colour references along the way, Revell and Tamiya paints being quoted. The painting guides for the four versions on offer are full-colour drawings that are clear and neatly done. You also get a good-sized decal sheet with lots of stars and all the individual markings, as well as a very neat instrument panel.
The plastic parts are well formed with excellent fabric effects on the appropriate surfaces. The detail is good, what there is of it on the exterior and the interior and engine are quite comprehensive, although only a starting point in this scale. It’s not all good news however as there are no hollow moulded items at all, so that means the exhaust pipes, gun barrels and even the carb and oil-cooler intakes on the engine cowling need some surgery to make them anywhere near realistic. Annoyingly there is also a little bit of mould-slip on sprue C, so there’s plenty to have to clean up.
Construction
Construction starts with the wings, which include the large separate ailerons. The wing lower section is moulded as a single piece and the detail is ok but a little basic. I opted to add a lot of rivets to the metal sections. No such help is needed for the fabric-covered areas, which are beautifully moulded. Attention then turns to the interior, which is made up of thirty parts and is adequate, if not brilliant. Personally I would have expected a small, etched fret in the kit for things like the seat-belts but not in this case, you’re on your own. The fit of the parts is pretty good, with positive connections and sturdy joints. The best bit of the interior is the excellent instrument panel, which is transparent plastic, with a decal behind it. It looks great when it’s finished, so it’s a pity it’s so well hidden inside the built fuselage. The joints for the main parts are all smooth and well moulded so there is almost no filler needed at any stage. The main wing slots onto the fuselage and the step at the rear will have to be filled but that’s just about all it needs. All the control surfaces are separate items that can be posed at any angle you choose, which is always good to see, with the elevators in particular being constantly drooped when the I-16 was on the ground.
Then it’s on to the engine and here it really is a bit of good and bad. First of all you get the cowling panels all separate, which is great for seeing inside. You get a good-looking engine with all the intake trunking and exhaust pipes in place, as well as the engine bearers. This would be lovely if it weren’t so fiddly and frustrating to build, not to mention the fact that just about everything else in the engine compartment is missing. This means that for any kind of accuracy you need to add a lot of tubes, wires and control levers, not to mention the complete omission of the oil cooler that fits in the lower cowling and is in full view at all times. You do get the two upper ShKAS machine guns for the cowling but once again, you get nothing else, so no ammunition runs, wiring, black boxes or blast tubes. Not forgetting that the nose cowl also has blank muzzle openings so they need to be drilled out. While I’m complaining about stuff, the five-piece cowling just doesn’t work for me, as the connections between the bits are difficult to get lined up properly. I know they are probably designed to be left open but if you do that then there is a lot of work to do to get the interior up to scratch.
Something that does work beautifully is the undercarriage, although seemingly a little flimsy, the legs are very good scale sizes and once built up with the side stays and doors in place they are surprisingly sturdy. Connection points are positive and it’s easy to get it all aligned and in place.
Colour & Markings
Marking options in the box are no less than four excellent aircraft, all with plenty to commend them, so it’s a pity that I ignored them all and even changed the type of aircraft to suit my own preferences. I really like the 20mm ShVAK armed 'gunship' versions, so decided to build this as a Type 28, which is simple to do as ICM have left the big cannon barrels on the sprues. There’s nothing wrong at all with the plain green ones but I’d built a few of them in the past and really wanted a camouflaged version. I already had the Montex masks for Lt. N. Shevchenko’s machine from 1941/42, so the choice was an easy one.
The paints come from White Ensign for the light blue underside, while the two greens are both Mr Hobby Aqueous Color. I opted to accentuate the fabric effect with some masking and an overspray of Tamiya X-19 Smoke and it looks OK, although I’m not 100% convinced by my efforts.
The only decals I used on this one were the stars on the underside of the wings and the small trestle marking on the fuselage. All the other markings were masked and sprayed on; the Montex masks work beautifully by the way.
After that it was weathered with oils and pastels and sealed in under a coat of Alclad 2 Klear Kote Matte for a near matt finish and the final fiddly bits were done.
Final Details
This includes setting the door in place on the left side of the cockpit (the right hand door being omitted for the Type 28). I made a little sprung catch for the door as well as the hinges and with some EZ Line for the undercarriage retraction wire in place I’m calling this one done.
Verdict
I love the I-16, it’s got bags of character and such a pugnacious little face, it’s hard not to like it. It has such a serious place in the history books that it’s something of a surprise that it should be so poorly served in the bigger scales (imagine a 1/24th version?). That makes this ICM kit a winner right from the start. It looks just like the real thing when you put the work into getting it sorted. However, the lack of hollow exhausts, gun barrels and the very poor intakes for the oil-cooler and carburettor on the cowling are annoying, while the missing detail in the engine bay limits how good this can be made straight from the box. Summing up I’d have to say that this is a good enough kit but it’s not as well done as it could and should have been.
Our thanks to ICM (www.icm.com.ua) for the review sample.
Paints
Alclad 2 lacquer:
ALC 313 Klear Kote Matte
Gunze Mr Hobby Aqueous Hobby Color acrylic:
H65 AII Dark Green
H422 AII Green
H315 Light Grey
Humbrol enamel:
60 Scarlet
Tamiya Color acrylic:
X-2 Flat White
X-19 Smoke
X-22 Gloss Clear
White Ensign Colourcoats enamel
ACS01 AII Blue
ACS02 AMT7 Blue
Kit Review
ICM don’t make too many 1/32 kits, their focus is on the smaller stuff but when they do venture into the larger world, they usually choose something really interesting. The I-16 is a very welcome addition in this scale and it’s definitely an interesting choice. Called variously 'Mushka' (Fly) 'Rata' (Rata) 'Ishak' (little donkey) and 'Siipiorava' (Flying Squirrel) any version of this diminutive Russian fighter will make a great model. This new version comes in a large flat box with some decent art on the lid. Inside you get three big sprues of light grey-coloured plastic and one of transparent parts for a total of just 115 parts. The instruction book is 12 pages long and includes the sprue layout diagrams, 59 construction stages and two pages of painting and marking guides. The construction bits are all neatly drawn with colour references along the way, Revell and Tamiya paints being quoted. The painting guides for the four versions on offer are full-colour drawings that are clear and neatly done. You also get a good-sized decal sheet with lots of stars and all the individual markings, as well as a very neat instrument panel.
The plastic parts are well formed with excellent fabric effects on the appropriate surfaces. The detail is good, what there is of it on the exterior and the interior and engine are quite comprehensive, although only a starting point in this scale. It’s not all good news however as there are no hollow moulded items at all, so that means the exhaust pipes, gun barrels and even the carb and oil-cooler intakes on the engine cowling need some surgery to make them anywhere near realistic. Annoyingly there is also a little bit of mould-slip on sprue C, so there’s plenty to have to clean up.
Construction
Construction starts with the wings, which include the large separate ailerons. The wing lower section is moulded as a single piece and the detail is ok but a little basic. I opted to add a lot of rivets to the metal sections. No such help is needed for the fabric-covered areas, which are beautifully moulded. Attention then turns to the interior, which is made up of thirty parts and is adequate, if not brilliant. Personally I would have expected a small, etched fret in the kit for things like the seat-belts but not in this case, you’re on your own. The fit of the parts is pretty good, with positive connections and sturdy joints. The best bit of the interior is the excellent instrument panel, which is transparent plastic, with a decal behind it. It looks great when it’s finished, so it’s a pity it’s so well hidden inside the built fuselage. The joints for the main parts are all smooth and well moulded so there is almost no filler needed at any stage. The main wing slots onto the fuselage and the step at the rear will have to be filled but that’s just about all it needs. All the control surfaces are separate items that can be posed at any angle you choose, which is always good to see, with the elevators in particular being constantly drooped when the I-16 was on the ground.
Then it’s on to the engine and here it really is a bit of good and bad. First of all you get the cowling panels all separate, which is great for seeing inside. You get a good-looking engine with all the intake trunking and exhaust pipes in place, as well as the engine bearers. This would be lovely if it weren’t so fiddly and frustrating to build, not to mention the fact that just about everything else in the engine compartment is missing. This means that for any kind of accuracy you need to add a lot of tubes, wires and control levers, not to mention the complete omission of the oil cooler that fits in the lower cowling and is in full view at all times. You do get the two upper ShKAS machine guns for the cowling but once again, you get nothing else, so no ammunition runs, wiring, black boxes or blast tubes. Not forgetting that the nose cowl also has blank muzzle openings so they need to be drilled out. While I’m complaining about stuff, the five-piece cowling just doesn’t work for me, as the connections between the bits are difficult to get lined up properly. I know they are probably designed to be left open but if you do that then there is a lot of work to do to get the interior up to scratch.
Something that does work beautifully is the undercarriage, although seemingly a little flimsy, the legs are very good scale sizes and once built up with the side stays and doors in place they are surprisingly sturdy. Connection points are positive and it’s easy to get it all aligned and in place.
Colour & Markings
Marking options in the box are no less than four excellent aircraft, all with plenty to commend them, so it’s a pity that I ignored them all and even changed the type of aircraft to suit my own preferences. I really like the 20mm ShVAK armed 'gunship' versions, so decided to build this as a Type 28, which is simple to do as ICM have left the big cannon barrels on the sprues. There’s nothing wrong at all with the plain green ones but I’d built a few of them in the past and really wanted a camouflaged version. I already had the Montex masks for Lt. N. Shevchenko’s machine from 1941/42, so the choice was an easy one.
The paints come from White Ensign for the light blue underside, while the two greens are both Mr Hobby Aqueous Color. I opted to accentuate the fabric effect with some masking and an overspray of Tamiya X-19 Smoke and it looks OK, although I’m not 100% convinced by my efforts.
The only decals I used on this one were the stars on the underside of the wings and the small trestle marking on the fuselage. All the other markings were masked and sprayed on; the Montex masks work beautifully by the way.
After that it was weathered with oils and pastels and sealed in under a coat of Alclad 2 Klear Kote Matte for a near matt finish and the final fiddly bits were done.
Final Details
This includes setting the door in place on the left side of the cockpit (the right hand door being omitted for the Type 28). I made a little sprung catch for the door as well as the hinges and with some EZ Line for the undercarriage retraction wire in place I’m calling this one done.
Verdict
I love the I-16, it’s got bags of character and such a pugnacious little face, it’s hard not to like it. It has such a serious place in the history books that it’s something of a surprise that it should be so poorly served in the bigger scales (imagine a 1/24th version?). That makes this ICM kit a winner right from the start. It looks just like the real thing when you put the work into getting it sorted. However, the lack of hollow exhausts, gun barrels and the very poor intakes for the oil-cooler and carburettor on the cowling are annoying, while the missing detail in the engine bay limits how good this can be made straight from the box. Summing up I’d have to say that this is a good enough kit but it’s not as well done as it could and should have been.
Our thanks to ICM (www.icm.com.ua) for the review sample.
Paints
Alclad 2 lacquer:
ALC 313 Klear Kote Matte
Gunze Mr Hobby Aqueous Hobby Color acrylic:
H65 AII Dark Green
H422 AII Green
H315 Light Grey
Humbrol enamel:
60 Scarlet
Tamiya Color acrylic:
X-2 Flat White
X-19 Smoke
X-22 Gloss Clear
White Ensign Colourcoats enamel
ACS01 AII Blue
ACS02 AMT7 Blue
