Xuntong 1/48 Ilyushin DB-3F/Il-4/Il-4T in the box

[Bonehammer]

Hello,

Having noticed a dearth of discussion regarding said kit, I thought I'd start the ball rolling myself.

Sprue pics are already floating on the Net, however here are mine. Looks like this boxing is the only one that we'll get, with optional parts for early and late versions and something for the spare box as well.

Manufacturers take advice: the fuselage interior shape follows, well, is the actual fuselage: the Karman fairing is a separate part. Great for accuracy, although it remains to be seen how this will affect putting on the wings.

With respect to their first kit, ejection pin marks are more in check, and there is some detail on the inside of the wheel wells:

You get enough bombs to prevent takeoff. I don't think the Il-4 was ever armed with rockets, however their provision doesn't certainly harm no one. Spare box, here we come!

A rather unusual load is an AMG-1 naval mine with aerodynamic fairing; there's also a torpedo (possibily a 45-36-AN model?), one FAB-1000 and two FAB-500 bombs.

If you build the bomber version the torpedo can be used for a Soviet A-20...

What let me down is the width of the panel lines. What to do here? Mr.Surfacer? Stretched sprue? Bite the bullet? Suggestions are welcome.

Some oddities of the surface detail:

Rendition of the fabric has improved a bit:

There are a lot of parts for the interior, but the detail is rather on the soft side:

The clear parts are thick but clear. You get a dorsal turret and a half (the difference is in the number of frames), the other half might be a starting point for a field-modified Boston...?

This was the feature I was most anxious about. How do the nose windows fare? Fit seems good but they sit 'recessed', not flush. Thinning of the fuselage in correspondance to the frames is in order.

Part of the engine. See what I mean about the 'soft' detail?

Re the decals, we're finally spoiled for choice. Register is good. However, there's a bit of a problem with the star borders and other details: the white and especially the yellow don't quite cover.

This kit will satisfy enthusiasts first and foremost by virtue of its existence, however in some regards (surface detail...) it's a step back from the Tu-2. Pity. Still, I'd rather put together this one rather than wait for Tamiya. If I get some spare time today, I could try and tape it together to check for fit and shape.

HTH,

Bone

Edited October 5, 2014 by Bonehammer

[spitfire]

Thanks for the look see, from the decals it would appear that the kit is 1/48 scale, it must be fairly large then, nice to see a new Soviet ww2 aircraft kit.

Cheers

Dennis

[Nick Millman]

Interesting. Looks like spark erosion moulds reminiscent of LS kits.

[Bonehammer]

Whoops. Forgot to add the scale, post duly edited.

The surface finish reminds me of the OEZ Lethorad kits, however I don't know what method they employed.

[dragonlanceHR]

Really a step back from the Tu-2.

It looks like a good set of vac canopies will be in order.

Vedran

[SleeperService]

Interesting. Looks like spark erosion moulds reminiscent of LS kits.IMHO I agree about the spark erosion.

I agree about the spark erosion, looks like one of my early attempts when I wuz a ingineer. They haven't reduced the voltage enough as they got towards the final blanks.

This would also account for the panel lines. My best trick for those would be to give the relevant areas a coat of automotive hi-build primer. When hard take most of it off with your abrasive of choice leaving the trenches filled. They can then be re-scribed very carefully and gently into the primer..

Thanks for posting the pictures Bone, I was rather uncertain about this one after the Bat but it would make a good companion.

[PMG Offramp]

I'm waiting to see how it looks IRL as photos often aggravate the width of recessed details (IMHO Italeri's Stirling looked yuk on pics but now that I have it, it's okayish).

I have nothing against a pebbly surface aspect as this can easily be sanded down but wide panel lines that need the stretched sprue treatment ? Outch...

Anyway it's still a hell of a nice subject.

[BushBrit66]

I have the kit. it is extremely nice and the surface detail in my view captures the agricultural finish of the original.

[cossack52]

are there any uk importers?

[PFlint]

......US importers ???

[Troy Smith]

are there any uk importers?

Hannants list it as TBA.

Examples are for sale on ebay from sellers in Hong Kong and China

[Bonehammer]

It looks like a good set of vac canopies will be in order.

To me it looks like the nose side windows are a bit narrow and the frames on the heavy side. Maybe by vacuum-forming over the transparent part, you get windows of the right size to be cemented one by one. Alternatively, one could cut the frames, VERY carefully, insert a piece of clear acetate for the transparencies and reproduce new frames with adhesive tape, decals or solar trim. If the result is not satisfying, reattach the kit frames and use the kit's clear parts.

One wonders why I never finish a model...

are there any uk importers?

......US importers ???

I don't know of importers, but the kit is available on the evilbay (currently there are 8 of them starting at a reasonable price, £15.99). I got mine from HobbyEasy.

EDIT: Whoops, Troy, just like taxis!

Edited October 8, 2014 by Bonehammer