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Zvezda is to release in 2020 a 1/48th Ilyushin IL-2 Shturmovik kit. Source: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235061306-zvezda-2020/ V.P.

I know I've already mentioned this fact in a few (or more) posts I've made on this forum (amongst others), but I'm currently finishing up an extensive guide to modelling the Il-2. This book features photographs from WWII (The Great Patriotic War, or GPW, to the Soviets/Russians), drawings especially commissioned for the book, and reviews of all the kits and accessories currently available for the Shturmovik (at least those I know about, of course). In addition, I have a detailed build on the Hobby Boss wheeled single-seater 1/32nd scale kit, and a fairly extensive review of the 1/48th scale Tamiya Il-2 kit. I also have some walk-around photographs of currently extant Shturmoviks, both restored and unrestored. At present my plans are to release it initially as an ebook, available through Lulu.com. This is the cheapest and easiest route for me, as I've basically already paid for everything I need in order to publish the book. However, if there is sufficient interest in an actual, hold it in your hands book, I will explore that option also. Frankly, I like to have an actual book to look at; however, one of the advantages of the ebook form is that I can add new reviews to it when new Il-2 items are released. I'd be more than happy to have it available in both formats, but I need to know if I'm going to make any money off a full-blown book. The "real" book would cost more than the ebook, and I'm thinking $15USD (9.35 GBP or 11.61 Euros) would be reasonable for the book; the ebook would cost less, but I'm not sure how much less. Of course the more I can sell, the cheaper I can sell it at. Any comments and questions are welcome! Best Regards, Jason Moore

Ark Models is to release a new tool (?) 1/72nd Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik kit - ref. 72047 Source: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/ark-models-72047-il-2--1343594 Box art VP

Just to show that I'm not just someone who prattles on endlessly about aeroplanes and models, but someone who actually, occasionally completes models, for your pleasure are some piccies of an Il-2 Shturmovik I had made for a magazine article a few years back (sadly, the article was never published). This is, as the title would suggest, the single-seater version of the Il-2 Shturmovik as realised by Hobby Boss in 1/32nd scale. The kit itself is very nicely moulded, with no flash, and has nice engraved detail. There were some errors that had to be corrected, mainly amongst them the metal rear fuselage, which was rare with the single-seaters (and unknown for the GPW two-seaters). To fix this I sanded down the fuselage until the panel lines and rivets disappeared. Alternately, you could fill in the engraved detail on the rear fuselage with putty, then sand it down. The shape and dimensions all appear to be dead-on, and with a little work, this can be made into a fine representation of the Il-2. At the time I was making this model, Eduard had just come out with their interior and exterior sets, so most of the additions to the interior were scratchbuilt. The basic engine is provided, and is accurate, but without many of the accessories and pipes and wiring, which had to be scratchbuilt. I go into more detail about this kit in my soon-to-be published book (due to be released in January, hopefully), so I'll just post the pictures and let them do the talking. A picture is worth a thousand words, etc. Enjoy! Best Regards, Jason P.S. The name of the book is "Il-2 Shturmovik: Red Avenger". Look for it in all fine (and not so fine) bookstores and outlets! Sure to be a classic!

A few months a ago I placed an order with Hannants, and they sent me this little gem by mistake. At first I was a little cranky but they soon fixed up their error and I got a free model. I called it a little gem and it is. I don't know how accurate it is and I don't care, it is something I wouldn't buy but a very interesting aircraft. The boxing is really good everything is protected in plastic bags and foam covers. The pitot tube only lasted a couple of hours before it broke off, though. I was careful with it. The detail looks good and the kit goes together quickly. As you can see there are thousands of intricate parts. I have the interior ready for paint, but no idea what colours to use, mainly because Hobby Boss haven't put that info on their instruction sheet. Here are some pictures of the boxing. I have to go shopping for some paint tomorrow. Pictures will follow when I sort out how to take my WIP pictures. Some info on colours would be useful if anybody can help. My other builds are coming along nicely, but having 2 broken ribs I have become a little depressed and I thought something that won't need a lot of filler like the Stuka I am building will boost moral. mmmmm... Thanks for looking.

Okay the bad news first; despite the rather lurid title, I only completed two models this year, an Il-2 Shturmovik and an La-5, both in the gentleman's scale of 1/72nd. Now the good news - this doubles my output from last year! The Il-2 arrow (swept-winged variant) was from the Toko kit, with wooden wings represented by labouriously sanding down the wings to rid it of the engraved panel lines. The La-5 was built strictly out of the box, and the kit is a repop of the old, but quite nice Cooperativa kit. I'm not too happy with the exhaust stains on the La-5, but I was in a hurry to get if "officially" finished for 2014. The lack of weathering is deliberate - looking at photographs, the La-5 was usually kept in pretty good nick. I may well revisit the exhausts and the near lack of exhaust stains on my Il-2. The Il-2's engine, the Mikulin AM-38 was not a particularly oily or greasy engine, but it did put out quite a bit of exhaust. At any rate here they are, in all their mediocre glory! As usual I apologise for the poor quality of the photography, assembly, decaling, weathering, etc. Best Regards, Jason You may wonder why I have so many photographs for such so-so models, but I happen to go by what the Vozhd ("Boss" - Stalin) is reputed to have said - "Quantity has a quality all its own.".

Afternoon all. Quick catch up - as an irregular poster, I'm sure you're all dying to know what I've been up to since my last thread . Well: Got 2nd hand display cabinet from computer shop in Oxford. It cost £100 but it was almost perfect. Shelves 30cm high by 35cm deep, so I have added home-made 'half-shelves' 15cm high and 20cm deep, almost doubling the capacity. The 1/24 Mossie just about sits on top. To fill it up, I've since built Dragon Ju88, Airfix Hurricane and Stuka, Tamiya Mustang, Corsair, T-34 and Sherman Firefly and an Academy P-38 Lightning, all 1/48. Mrs Card kindly got me Tamiya's IL-2 for my birthday in July, and it's my next project. I really want to do it justice, within my limited skillset, as well as trying out a few new things. So whilst it will largely be an OOB of the one on the box, I've got Eduards PE set for it as my first attempt at these details. There is a really good site detailing this particular aircraft which is unfortunately bookmarked on my tablet, not my PC, so I can't find it right now. Should also point out I'm starting a new job Monday, so this build will take a while and will probably be weekends-only as I really want to take time & care with it. Anyway, piccies: Box All parts Decals, including canopy masks. Eduard PE bits After thinking how the ~@/*_~+#'+ am I going to fold them, did some research, got these (sorry it's blurred - getting a little excited): The Hold 'n' Fold (holding the razor blade for safe keeping). I have found absolutely buckets of resources and pictures online - however, my first dilemma has already arisen. What colour should the cockpit interior be? Tamiya give XF-22 RLM Grey. This doesn't match the PE painted parts. Resources suggest ALG (cockpit green) was painted over wood and aluminium, then overpainted with AL14 (effectively steel grey). The PE parts look pale blue. Here's a couple of shots of XF-22 (RLM Grey) and XF-23 (Light Blue) on a snippet of sprue next to the PE part (again apologies for exposure - colours show reasonably clearly): It seems to fall somewhere between the two, so a mix may do the trick. Or should I be trying to match to the PE at all and just go with RLM Grey. Personally, I think that would leave the 'pit too dark. Here's a real one: Thoughts appreciated, though as I say, it may take me a while to come back. Cheers Si M...

Dear Fellow Modellers I used a profile from Richard Caruna to do an early war camouflage for this 2-seat Il-2. Model was done up with Quickboost barrels and exhausts. You'd hardly know it has an Eduard PE for the cockpit. Maybe you can spot a flying helmet draped over the rear seat fuselage? Hope you like it? Andrew

This kit is a down-scaled version of their fine 1/48th scale kit of the arrow, and like that kit it is an excellent kit, with little to no flash, superb moulding, and engraved panel lines (and the correct wooden rear fuselage). A test fit shows that the parts fit well, although as seemingly with all Shturmovik kits, you’ll need to be careful with the wing-fuselage joint to get a proper fit. As with the 1/48th scale Tamiya arrow, the link ejector opening on the port wing will need to be redone. These ejector openings are in front of the long, narrow shell casing openings, on the undersides of the wings. Instead of being mirror images of each other, they should both be pointing towards the port wingtip (see illustration below). My real disappointment with this kit is the lack of sidewall detail for the pilot’s cockpit (the Dakoplast [and its rebrandings] and Eduard arrow kits feature more detail, as do the 1/72nd scale Academy kits). Admittedly, the port side has the nicely-done console to cover up much of the sidewall, but on the starboard side you only have the ordnance-release boxes, and none of the levers that characterised this part of the cockpit. No doubt someone like Eduard are busy correcting this lack. By comparison, the gunner’s cockpit features separate sidewalls that have some very nice detail, including a moulded-on oxygen(?) tank. Like the 1/48th scale kit, it features a choice of cannon fairings (rectangular or streamlined – which means you can “borrow” one set to put on the Hobby Boss kit), but only the streamlined rocket rails (unlike the larger kit, which features a choice of the early-style rocket rails and the later streamlined rails). The bombs are well-done (two FAB-50’s, and two FAB-250’s), as are the rockets (four RS-132’s). The decals look well-done, and the painting instructions actually appear to be accurate, a rarity for any Shturmovik kit. This is clearly the best Shturmovik kit in 1/72nd scale to date, and is highly recommended. Best Regards, Jason

The below is a review of the Academy straight-winged two-seater 1/72nd scale kit recently released. This modified excerpt is from my book on modelling the Il-2: "This kit is the Accurate Miniatures kit that was never released under the Accurate Miniatures name in 1/72nd scale. In terms of construction and detail it is basically a downsized version of a 1/48th scale Accurate Miniatures kit, in this case the never-released straight-winged two-seater. The spinner is too round and best replaced by a Toko or Eduard spinner (hopefully Vector may release a replacement spinner as they did for the 1/48th scale Accurate Miniature kits). The decals included in the kit look good and are well-registered. It also has the best cockpit detail of any 1/72nd scale Il-2 I’ve yet seen, even without any etched or resin detail and better than Tamiya’s 1/72nd scale offering of the arrow, and the surface detail is excellent, with nicely-engraved panel lines (although the Tamiya’s kit are better). Like the Accurate Miniatures’ kits, it has the correct configuration for the underwing link ejection chute openings, unlike the Tamiya kit, which has the mirror-image openings found in most Il-2 kits. A strange error in this kit is that the outer wing panels, although obviously for the straight-winged version, feature the flaps for the arrow (these were at a different angle than for the straight-winged Shturmoviks)! These should be filled in and rescribed. Something unusual that I’ve noticed about the Academy Il-2 kits is the way they treat the panel lines on the stabilisers. Instead of a flat surface, with inscribed lines, they are moulded as if there were overlapping plates, as on a boat. On the real Il-2, there wasn’t this “clinker-type” construction to the stabilisers; they were smoothly butt-joined, with lines between the panels. I have a built up single-seater, and this feature isn’t that noticeable, but you might want to fill in the low areas on the stabilisers and rescribe the panel lines once you have a flat surface, for a more realistic appearance. Interestingly, on the painting and decal instruction sheet the paint scheme for “White 24” (which appears on the box), and indeed all the aircraft represented by the decals appear to have been taken from the work of Massimo Tessitori on his website, sovietwarplanes.com (Mr. Tessitori has done the drawings for my soon-to-be published book on modelling the Il-2). Highly recommended, with only the Tamiya arrow being a better kit in 1/72nd scale, and certainly the best 1/72nd scale kit of the straight-winged two-seater." Best Regards, Jason

Il-2 Wheels (for Tamiya) 1:48 Eduard Brassin (648072) The new Tamiya kit has set the benchmark for the dependable Shturmovik, with excellent detail throughout. This wheelset improves on the detail still further, unfettered by the limitations of injection moulding. The set arrives in Eduard's clamshell box, and inside are two new wheels, four hubs and a set of hub masks to ease painting. Detail on the wheels far exceeds that of the kit parts, which are very good in themselves. Posing the two together shows up the kit parts, as the Eduard wheels have additional tyre detail in the form of additional structural ribbing on the sidewalls, and more defined tread pattern, as well as the numbers "800x260" in raised text on each sidewall. The hub centres are separate parts, and while the kit parts are handed, these are not which is both interesting as well as good news for modellers like myself that leave parts lying around for months on end and may well forget which hub goes where. The two hubs fix into the recessed centre of the wheels, leaving the prominent ridges around the edge of the hub visible. A scrap diagram shows the correct alignment of the wheel, which has a tiny nub in the hub, as well as the inflation valve in the tyre wall itself. These appear to be lined up in the diagram, but check your references to see whether the lining up of the inflation valve is necessary. The casting block is easily removed, having two flimsy outriggers and a central tube for delivery of the resin to the mould. This can be cut off with a sharp knife, the surface re-profiled to match the surrounding, and a blade or UMM scriber can be used to reinstate any lost tread grooves. I tested this with the review sample, and it isn't too taxing. The masks consist of four pre-cut doughnuts that protect the tyre sidewalls during painting, but if you are using an airbrush, some additional masking of the contact surface of the tyre would be wise to avoid overspray. Conclusion A compelling upgrade to the kit parts, with plenty of added detail to tempt you. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Il-2 Weapons Set 1:48 Eduard Brassin (648073) Tamiya's new wünderkit contains a number of munitions carried by the Shturmovik, but this set adds two more to the armoury, in the shape of a pair of each of the smaller FAB 50 and RS 132 bombs. The FAB 50 is simply a small 50kg bomb, which have atypical (for Russian bombs) traditional fins without the ring aerofoil at the rear. The RS 132 is a small anti-personnel unguided rocket that entered service with the Soviet airforce in 1940, and although it had poor accuracy, when enough were launched in a salvo some were bound to hit their targets. The front of the casing was ridged in a similar way as a WWII hand grenade to create shrapnel that would increase the potential of damage to personnel or equipment over an area with a diameter of 20m. The kit includes some rockets that are designated as RS-132 in the instructions, but they are actually the RS-82s, which don't have the grooves down the nose. The set arrives in Eduard's clamshell boxing, and includes four of each bomb/rocket, paired on casting blocks. Casting is of course excellent, with crisp detail throughout, and the casting blocks sensibly placed at the rear of the weapons. The RS-132 rockets look like they could be a little tricky to liberate from their blocks, as they have fins that extend well past the body of the rocket. In practice however, they are simple to remove first with a saw, then apply a little finger pressure to the conical stub that attaches to the centre of the rocket. That will snap clear and you can then clean up the rear and the fins with a sharp blade. It takes a couple of minutes to do one rocket, so it's not too onerous in exchange for having no seams to clean up along the rocket bodies. The bombs are just as easy to clean up, requiring only careful use of a razor saw to liberate them. There are some unexplained seams running up the rear of the bombs though, but they succumb to the edge of a blade quickly and easily, so aren't really a problem. Conclusion A handy update to the Tamiya (or Accurate Miniatures) kit, and something a little out of the ordinary that will set your model apart from the standard weapons supplied with the kit. Review sample courtesy of