Friday 7 February 2014

Ilyushin Sturmovik, Airfix (1/72 scale)

Ilyushin II-2M3 of the 233rd Guards Assault Regiment, VVS 1944-45.

From the instruction leaflet:
"The Ilyushin Stormovik, which first entered service in 1941, became one of the best known of all the Soviet Air Force aircraft of the Second World War. It was designed specifically for ground attack and the support of ground force in the battlefields. The Stomovik played a crucial role in World War Two and was described by Stalin as 'as necessary to the Red Army as air and bread." Over 36,000 (36,183 to be precise) Stormoviks were built - more than any other aircraft type in history.

Armament consisted of two 23mm cannon and two 7.62 machine guns in the wings and a single 12.7mm machine gun in the rear cockpit. It could carry either a bomb load of 1000lbs (450 kgs) or up to eight rockets. The IL-2M was powered by a 1770 hp Mikulin AM-38F engine giving a maximum speed of 260 mph (416 kmp). Wingspan was 47ft 10ins (14.58m) and length 38ft (11.58m)."
 

I was deliberately heavy handed with the weathering and shading on this model as I wanted it to stand out on the table.


Ironically the Sturmovik was nearly identical (in appearance and performance) to the little remembered British little bomber the Fairey Battle, still considered one of the worst wartime RAF aircraft.

8 comments:

  1. Looks excellent! Love the white tail.

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  2. What a splendid build!

    Of course the difference was the Sturmovik was more or less bullet proof and bristling with guns and the Battle was neither!

    I remember this kit from nearly 40 years ago,with the rivets that scale up to the size of golf balls. I think your modelling skills are quite remarkable to come up with a result this good. Airfix's rivetter was a curse (along with Matchbox's trench-digging panel line man) all through that time!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Mitch,
      Good point about the differences, the Sturovik was built and armoured like a tank! I'm always surprised with the lifespan of some of these kit and you're spot on about the rivets and panel lines.

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