From East Germany With Love: Antonov AN-2 Colt (VEB-Plasticart 1/75)

[thorfinn]

This is the VEB-Plasticart 1/75 An-2, first produced in then-East Germany ca. 1961. As a kit it doesn't have a lot to recommend it: blocky and ill-fitting parts, crude contours and a near-total absence of surface detail (save for a geometric waffle grid of prominent rivets which bear no relation to actual lines on the aircraft). On the plus side...it does actually seem to capture the solid truck-like appearance and stork-legged stance of the real thing fairly convincingly. As an added interest, the VEB offering represents a rare configuration of the widely-used and long-serving An-2 design: seven aircraft which the East Germans had modified from agricultural aircraft, fitted with large rectangular fuselage windows for use as light-duty civil transports.

 

Since that was the version represented in the kit, I opted to go with one of these aircraft operated by 'Interflug,' the DDR's state airline, in the elegant eye-catching livery they wore in (I believe) the early-mid 60's.

 

I added a basic cockpit and seat-shapes in the cabin from various near-scale leftovers from other builds. Externally the build was OOB, except for half-round 'cylinders' and sprue push-rods added to the flat-bottomed hole in the front of the engine cowling. Rigging and aerial wire are EZ-Line; decals were home-printed except for the DDR flags on the tail (which came from the antiquated kit decal-sheet...but which worked just fine, despite being close to four decades old).

 

Hardly a sterling replica, but a fun encounter with not-quite-state-of-the-art Eastern-European modeling technology. Hope you enjoy the shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Alpha Delta 210]

Lovely model, well-photopraphed.

[Spitfire31]

What Alpha Delta 210 just said!

 

An excellent demonstration of how to present a chunky kit on its own merits, thanks to slick finish and a few well-chosen embellishments. I really like it!

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

[Ryan Hothersall]

Nice build. 

[stevehnz]

Really nice, sufficient to tell me I need an An-2 in my stock. I may choose a different kit though.

Steve.

[Gary Brantley]

So cool! 😎

👍

[Michael-S]

Amazing work! This model was return me to my childhood))

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

Excellent job!

You really squeezed the juice from that not so new orange!}

Great photos too.

Very appealing, Sir!

I like very much this type, a ponderous and thunderous biplane.

Cheers

[thorfinn]

Thanks to all for your kind words.

I have to admit, having done this one as a 'quick and dirty' project...I'm getting the yen to do another (and more detailed) one 'properly.' There may be a Valom or Hobby Boss kit in my near future.

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

Does anyone know which one is better, the Italeri/Bilek or the Revell/Trumpeter kit?

Cheers

[thorfinn]

@Moa

Seems the Bilek kit with Pavla details is most often recommended: check here for some useful comments (and follow the 'CLICK ME' link for the Trumpeter kit.)

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

7 hours ago, thorfinn said:

@Moa

Seems the Bilek kit with Pavla details is most often recommended: check here for some useful comments (and follow the 'CLICK ME' link for the Trumpeter kit.)

Thanks thorfinn

It indeed seems that the Bilek/Italeri kit is the way to go.

 

[Getting Old]

Nice build, nice photos, all round nice 

[dnl42]

Nice work! It really does capture that utilitarian appearance of the prototype!

[matti64]

Superb, a legendary , what was once  super rare kit. Only the seccond one I'd ever seen built. Kudos to you for keeping it true to its intended  nature

[thorfinn]

17 hours ago, matti64 said:

Superb, a legendary , what was once  super rare kit. Only the seccond one I'd ever seen built. Kudos to you for keeping it true to its intended  nature

Thanks very much.

Hard to believe this was ever considered a rare kit. I always got the impression then were common as dirt...supported, I suppose, by the fact that I got this one gratis (as a bonus 'freebie' included with another Ebay item, back in the early and more charitable days of that site).

Ah, well, live and learn!

 

It seems one or more of the An-2's operated by the Cuban airline Aerotaxi were also 'tourist window' versions...though no one seems clear as to whether they were the old E. German machines (they stopped operating theirs around 1968 or so), or a similar indigenous local modification. I suppose if I were ever to have this kit cross my path again--and I didn't have the good sense to get out of its way--I'd probably do it up in those colorful Cuban markings.

[Lightpainter]

Looks very nce!

[matti64]

5 hours ago, thorfinn said:

Thanks very much.

Hard to believe this was ever considered a rare kit. I always got the impression then were common as dirt...supported, I suppose, by the fact that I got this one gratis (as a bonus 'freebie' included with another Ebay item, back in the early and more charitable days of that site).

Ah, well, live and learn!

 

It seems one or more of the An-2's operated by the Cuban airline Aerotaxi were also 'tourist window' versions...though no one seems clear as to whether they were the old E. German machines (they stopped operating theirs around 1968 or so), or a similar indigenous local modification. I suppose if I were ever to have this kit cross my path again--and I didn't have the good sense to get out of its way--I'd probably do it up in those colorful Cuban markings.

The supplies of VEB kits in the '70's and '80's was  limited. Ernest Berwicks was the only place we knew of that was a regular stockist, but the An2  was a kit, like the mig 21 and  mig15  that were NEVER imported. I'd only ever seen the An2 in a book by Bill Matthews that dated from around 1972 and it was spoken of then as something aquired  during a foreign excursion.