Zvezda 1/200 Lisunov Li-2 "Cab"

[Speedman]

Found this online for £1.96 posted! (How do they make money on it?) So I thought I'd just snap it together, paint it & stick it on a shelf. As usual I got carried away... Corrected the engine nacelle shape and shortened the cowling, corrected the oil coolers, added the exhausts, ditched the glazing and made the cockpit frames from some square rod, cut out the rear window for the gunner's position (See below for the gun!) and worked on the undercarriage by drilling and filing to make them more realistic.

While researching this plane I found a few photos online showing a gun mounted on the rear port side so I decided to add this. Made out of some scrap plastic card, rod and even one of my hairs as the cocking handle, it was a nightmare to glue together but I got there in the end.

I decided to do a winter scheme so painted a generic light & dark green upper with blue lower then whitewashed the upper. For this I used Revell acrylic thinned with water to a 20/80 mix. It took 8 coats using a tiny brush to get the effect I was looking for but it was worth it in the end. A quick coat of Humbrol Clear and then I added the decals, did a bit of weathering and worked on the engraved lines with some thinned down ink. Everything was hand brushed except the final matt varnish. The windows were all made using Kristal Klear.

So what started as an afternoon project turn into 5 days of holding my breath too long and going cross-eyed numerous times but I'm really happy with it.

[HOUSTON]

BEAUTIFUL..liking it a tad dirty...

NICE,

[jonbru1]

Superb effort...well done!!