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I built the model of the Tupolev Tu-114 a couple of years ago. The history behind this turboprop airliner is truly unique. The plane was designed in the late 1950’s on the basis of the Soviet strategic bomber Tu-95 "Bear" . The specifications of the plane were massive: hight 15,5 m. length 53 m. and wing span 51 m. The four 14.800 hp turboprops drove eight counter rotating propellers and the diameter of these ”widmills” was 5,6 m. The max. speed was 870 km/h. The noise level inside the cabin could reach up to 110 db. The plane was operated by Aeroflot (and in co-operation with Japan airlines in the Moscow-Tokyo route). There was a restaurant and multiple sleeping compartments and downstairs a fully operational kitchen. I built the model out of a high quality 1/144 scaleresin kit of the Russian manufacturer RusAir. I added a DC-3 model of the same scale to one of the pictures to give a clue of the dimensions of the giant.

I present the RusAir resin IL-18 finished as CCCP-75717 an early “Salon” IL-18V. Built in 1961, the real aircraft was initially used for transporting VIPs, who apparently included Premier Nikita Krushchev and pioneering cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, until that role was taken over by jets. In 1975 it suffered an undercarriage collapse and never flew again, probably being broken up for spares Although I tend to avoid resin kits I make an exception for RusAir. Their IL-18 is absolutely gorgeous and a joy to build. I really can’t speak too highly of the moulding quality and attention to detail which are streets ahead of any other 1/144 IL-18 kit on the market. In the normal style of Russian resins the fuselage is split vertically like a conventional injection moulded kit and not solid like Authentic Airliners or Welsh Models. Rus-Air thoughtfully provide holes to drill for locating pegs to assist with fitting the wings and tailplanes. They even give you slots for plastic tabs to help align the engines. Very little filler was required, in fact one wing root and the number 2 engine needed none at all. The only slightly fraught part of the build was assembling the separate propellor blades and hubs. These need really careful handling. The blades must be sawn off the casting block, trying to use a knife risks breakage as I found out the hard way. It’s also quite easy to get the blades back to front, another thing I found out the hard way. The original plan was to use Revaro decals. They were designed for the Eastern Express kit and preliminary checking with photocopies suggested there would be minor fit issues on the RusAir model but nothing unfixable. However when I actually came to use them the Revaro decals flatly refused to soak off the backing sheet and they really aren’t a product I could recommend. The upshot was that I had to use the kit decals - shock, horror! Slightly to my surprise these turned out to be pretty decent and I ended up wishing I hadn’t wasted money and effort sourcing the Revaro sheet. With the liberal use of Microscale Liquid Decal Film and plenty of strong (red label) DACO solvent around the nose the kit decals coped stoically with many indignities. The end result is by no means perfect but if you want an early Aeroflot IL-18 it’s the only way to go once Revaro is ruled out. White paint is Halfords and natural metal is AK Interactive. There is very little weathering on the model - it's reasonable to assume that an aircraft used for transporting the Premier would be kept clean! I enjoyed the Rus-Air IL-18 so much that I’ve bought another one which will probably end up in Malev livery. I’ve also pushed the boat out and bought their limited edition Tu-114 which I wanted to grab before it went off the market. That should be a challenging, fun build. Thanks for looking and as always constructive criticism is welcome. Dave G

I have some massive plans for this GB so let's get started with RusAir Tu-104B offering This seems to be an easy way to put a replica of iconic soviet airliner on your shelf comparing to AModel Indeed - put together 6 parts and the plane is almost ready

When Zvezda has revealed their plans to release Il-62M in 2013 the value of RusAir resin kit started to diminish. Therefore I got the box from my loft and decided to join this group build before this kit is completely of of season The kit consists of a dozen finely casted high quality resin parts - no sign of bubbles and very little flash There are several decal options, I've chosen "Aeroflot - Official Olympic Carrier" of Moscow 1980 Olympic Games. Four massive engines make the model quite a tail sitter First operation complete - closed the fuselage halves. Applied some Mr. Resin Surfacer to reveal seam problems