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Il-2 - Hobby Boss Single-Seater - 1/32nd Scale


Learstang

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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!

Edited by Learstang
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Now here are some of the engine, on which I spent many wonderful hours (that's ironic, by the way - doing all the wires and pipes was not enjoyable):

CIMG0633_zpsbc6162d0.jpg

CIMG0631_zps9ad95c8c.jpg

CIMG0630_zps08bb7055.jpg

P.S. That bright green lump at the front is the coolant tank, lovingly crafted out of Milliput, then painted that outrageous shade of green per standard Soviet practice for their coolant systems.

Edited by Learstang
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Looks great Jason, what paints did you use, and looking at the gators on the main undercarriage oleos they are brown are they leather on the real thing ?

Cheers

Dennis

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Thank you, Dennis! I would use some different paints now. For example, for the interior grey (A-14 Steel Grey) I would use Testors MM Neutral Gray instead of the Light Ghost Gray I used, and I would use MM Interior Green instead of MM Green for the AMT-7 Green. Both the colours I would use now are somewhat darker, although the paints I used look good enough on this model. I believe I used MM Russian Topside Blue for the AMT-4 Blue, and good old MM Black for the AMT-6 Black. The gaiters around the oleos would be either leather or Bezant, a synthetic leather the Soviets used. Looking at photographs of Il-2's, I'm now lead to believe that usually the oleos were uncovered, so they would have been a bright metal colour.

Regards,

Jason

Edited by Learstang
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A really nice Il-2, a kit not often seen, especially the big one in 1/32.

Great work on the engine and a subtle weathering, not every of these planes lasted long.

Beautiful work, Congratulations !

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Thank you very much Neil and Bernd; I'm glad you like it! I specifically didn't go overboard on the weathering, confining it mostly to the port wing root, as this saw a lot of traffic. As you point out, Bernd, the Il-2's didn't normally last long so they would not have had the heavy weathering seen on some aircraft. Neil, good one on the cowls! I still have them - I might do some sort of maintenance diorama with them someday, although it would be a big diorama. As you surmised, this is not a small model in 1/32nd scale.

Best Regards,

Jason

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Thats a bit nice there Jason, I like the look of it just as it is, the info in your posts make it doubly useful as a reference but I guess with "several" Il-2s of various persuasions now in my stock, I'll be on the look out for your book when its out.:)

Steve.

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Thank you, Steve! When you start your Shturmoviks, I'll be available to answer any and all questions, and some of my advice will actually be factual! Once my book is out, you can of course consult the book for answers, all of which has been verified by the Encyclopaedia Britannica*.

Best Regards,

Jason

*Disclaimer: No it hasn't.

Edited by Learstang
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Thank you, Dennis! I would use some different paints now. For example, for the interior grey (A-14 Steel Grey) I would use Testors MM Neutral Gray instead of the Light Ghost Gray I used, and I would use MM Interior Green instead of MM Green for the AMT-7 Green. Both the colours I would use now are somewhat darker, although the paints I used look good enough on this model. I believe I used MM Russian Topside Blue for the AMT-4 Blue, and good old MM Black for the AMT-6 Black. The gaiters around the oleos would be either leather or Bezant, a synthetic leather the Soviets used. Looking at photographs of Il-2's, I'm now lead to believe that usually the oleos were uncovered, so they would have been a bright metal colour.

Regards,

Jason

Thanks Jason, I painted the gators on my MiG-3 black so I will revisit that, I'm looking forward to finally seeing this book of yours as I do have a couple of 1/32 scale IL-2's in the stash.

Cheers

Den

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You're welcome, Den! I can't say what the standard practice was with the MiG-3 (Massimo's you're best bet there), but most of those oleo covers were removed in the field on the Il-2's. I too am looking forward to finally seeing my book published! The present book grew out of the modelling guide I started work on nearly 6 years ago, so it has been a long labour.

Regards,

Jason

Edited by Learstang
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beautiful job;based on my experience with this kit,it was probably a wise move to show the engine;i elected not to,and i couldn't get the nose area,around the upper intake to fit at all,eventually it joined the vast majority of its full size brethren in the scrapyard!

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Thank you! I had a feeling there might be a problem with the intake and the cowling, but I wanted to trick mine out anyway, with the fully-exposed engine. Too bad about the model - you could have sent it to me!

Regards,

Jason

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To illustrate how large this model is, here it is next to a recently-completed 1/72nd scale Il-2. The small Il-2 is resting on a pane of armoured glass from a GPW Il-2. The glass is an inch thick and weighs a tonne!

Regards,

Jason

CIMG0650_zps63b40a08.jpg

Edited by Learstang
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Well thats a big one, love the small one too.

Thats a very unique display stand for an Il-2.

Great modelling, i think the 1/48 scale will be for me the perfect match

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Well thats a big one, love the small one too.

Thats a very unique display stand for an Il-2.

Great modelling, i think the 1/48 scale will be for me the perfect match

Thank you very much, Bernd! I can highly recommend the 1/48th scale Tamiya kit. It has a few inaccuracies, which I discuss along with the high points of the kit on my website (see below), but overall it's a beautiful kit, the best Il-2 in any scale. I wish they'd upscale it to 1/32nd scale (I've already built their 1/72nd scale version).

Best Regards,

Jason

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Great model Jason and I like your choice of colours which look most realistic. Surprised you don't see more of these built up as it looks a fine kit (I have the two seater in the stash)

Well done mate!

Gary

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Thank you very much, Gary! Which two-seater do you have, the straight-winged two-seater or the arrow? I have both. The straight-winged two-seater is the most accurate out of the box, but you would still need to do something about the metal rear fuselage on the kit, as this never appeared on the real straight-winged two-seaters (or the arrow during the war). Overall, it's a good kit, and I give Trumpeter a great deal of credit for having the fortitude to come out with all the versions in 1/32nd scale. That being said, I still wouldn't mind Tamiya upscaling their 1/48th scale kit. As far as I'm concerned, the more Il-2 kits to choose from, the better.

Best Regards,

Jason

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