IOM 1/72 Polikarpov Po-2 x2 - finished

[AdrianMF]

I've just ordered myself a shiny new ICM Po-2 in 1/72. But I have this IOM kit in my stash. So I'm going to build it now to make room for the newer, better kit. The IOM kit seems to be a copy from the old KP kit from around 1975 - the part engineering looks the same, but the sprue layouts are different. It's a relatively new boxing (2010 or later) and so the decals are pretty good and not yellowed:

There are additional parts for ambulance pods, floats, skis and a cargo top. I am going to build the ambulance version on skis in whitewash over green/black/blue. I will be fixing things I don't like (more anon) and I will be rigging but I'm TRYING to keep it simple...

 

So, start with the cockpit:

floor, pedals, sticks, seats, instrument panels all provided. I've cut the instrument panels down so that they will fit in the fuselage and I will replace the fairings that are meant to run below them. The fuselage and flying surfaces are just plugged together for now to make sure they all still fit! As you can see, the wings aren't too bad (even have hand holds at the wingtips) but the tail plane and rudder will need some work to make them less blobby.

 

The moulding is well-intentioned but a bit poor:

The larger parts are pretty nicely detailed, but for the smaller parts. you can hardly tell what is meant to be in between the gates at either end! Fortunately, most of the shapes are pretty simple and will be easily replaced with plastic card and rod.

 

The box and instructions are entirely in Russian. Fortunately, a free app, Google Translate, allows you to point your phone camera at text and provides a live translation overlaid on the picture in the viewfinder. I've worked in IT systems all my adult life but that still seems like magic to me!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Hamden]

 

Not a type you see built very often so I'll take a socially distanced seat and watch you work your magic!

 

  Stay safe       Roger

[AdrianMF]

Thanks Roger! The type has a fascinating history, including night time attacks on German camps by the Night Witches.

 

Meanwhile, the cockpits are done:

 

Time to button up. I’ve also sanded down the tailplane (rudder next) to thin it down. I will use Solartrim to reinstate the ribbing:

[Jeff G]

Just as a heads up for the new ICM kit, the plastic is VERY soft! But I liked the build overall. 

[John Masters]

I am sure this will come put beautifully Adrian.  I have built the ICM kit and it is far more complex in terms of its parts.  The seats are, for example and if I remember correctly, made up of 4-6 pieces each.  I mean, come on folks!  And as Jeff has said...very soft plastic.  the moulding are very crisp though with razor tan training edges.

[AdrianMF]

Thanks folks! I will bear the warnings in mind when the ICM kit turns up.

Ribbing is back on the tailplane using Solartrim strips:

 

Fuselage and wings are stuck together and seam clean up has started:

 

I've scribed in the ailerons too. They were marked with the same sort of raised lines as the ribs.

[John Masters]

Adrian...I found pictures of the ICM seats and interior...

 

 

 

 

I like this Solartrim stuff.  Is it already in strips or do you need to cut it?

 

[AdrianMF]

Thanks for the ICM pictures. Quite scary! But very fine detail, perhaps too fine for me.

 

2 hours ago, John Masters said:

I like this Solartrim stuff.  Is it already in strips or do you need to cut it?

 

Solartrim. A sticky-back plastic designed for covering flying models. It’s sold on eBay.

 

Good news: it comes in strips.

Bad news: they are twelve inches wide.

Better news: it’s really easy to cut consistent 0.5-ish mm strips pretty much by eye after a bit of practice:

 

Two pairs of tweezers are strongly recommended for sorting out sticky tangles after you have cut a bunch of them. One to grab the strip you want and one to pull all the others off it!

 

 

[Nikolay Polyakov]

Excellent progress and great scratch building, Adrian! 👍 Your progress on the kit looks amazing.

[John Masters]

6 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Good news: it comes in strips.

Bad news: they are twelve inches wide.

🤣  Very funny. 👍I'll look into it.

[AdrianMF]

More progress:

The four venturi tubes look massive but this is OOB(ish).

 

I can treat the engine as a separate assembly later, and hold fire on skis vs wheels for a bit , but I can fit the ambulance pods and get painting. Winter whitewash would be over the black and green if I decide to go that route.

 

I will keep the top wing off as long as possible and do all my EZLine rigging to the tops of struts before fitting it. I’ve done that before and it worked pretty well.

 

And with the pods just dry fitted. Need to work out how they opened and scribe a join:

[AdrianMF]

Well the pods are fitted (didn’t bother with scribing in the end) and the cabane  struts are also glued in. No strut trimming or adjustment was required, so well done to the kit makers:

 

The tailplane struts though, I think I will be reaching for the plastic rod!

[Hamden]

 

This is really coming together, looking forward to seeing it in paint now

 

   Stay safe     Roger

[AdrianMF]

...and paint:

 

Undersides are a mix of Hu65 and Hu47, with a dry brush of a paler shade. I think all struts, including those under the tailplane, will be green. Green next.

[AdrianMF]

Green nearly there:

Mix of Citadel Loren Forest and Hu102. Needs another coat or two.

[RidgeRunner]

 Nice

[AdrianMF]

I’ve started the black (well 2x black + 1x dark grey) and belatedly decided to have a soft outline to the black patches:

Stippling around the edges will take about three times longer but it looks a lot less stark and very much more realistic.

If I’m doing that I’m not going to cover it all up with whitewash, so this will be a summer version on wheels.

[The Spadgent]

Wowza. Paint on page one. 😮 lovely work. That plastic sheet looks super useful. I might have to get a bit of that. I think I have rivets on the brain at the moment but did you do the ones on the nose yourself? Was it glue dots?

 

Johnny.

 

ps.

Is it ok if I pull up a chair? 🙌

 

[AdrianMF]

1 hour ago, The Spadgent said:

did you do the ones on the nose yourself?

The rivets are all the kit, very pronounced. I did half a dozen across the top seam where I had sanded them down but just used a centre punch, which gives a raised rim round a hole. Wasn’t brilliant but a camouflage edge goes right through it so you can’t see the bodge.

 

And Solartrim is really useful - little did I know when I watched Blue Peter half a century ago that I would be using “sticky back plastic” now!

 

And by all means pull up a chair but you might have to neck your pint - only a few bits to go!
 

And I should have gone to bed! But, lots of stippling later:

No way am I going to cover that up with whitewash. Skis in the spares box. Now, where did I put those wheels?

[AdrianMF]

Stickers on:

 

The kit decals were in register and opaque, but very thin. On the underside of the wing they had to go over a fairing for the control wires. I cut “T” shaped slots in the stars, which worked for one but not the other. Lots of wrangling got me a fair reassembly, which will need a bit of retouching:

 

[Hamden]

 

Your really going at @CedB speed with this one.

You have an outstanding result well worth your time and trouble!

 

  Stay safe           Roger

[CedB]

Crikey, that IS fast; missed the start and nearly missed the end!

 

Looking really smart Adrian  

[Dunny]

6 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Stickers on:

 

The kit decals were in register and opaque, but very thin. On the underside of the wing they had to go over a fairing for the control wires. I cut “T” shaped slots in the stars, which worked for one but not the other. Lots of wrangling got me a fair reassembly, which will need a bit of retouching:

 

Crikey Adrian - that's quick work. Some great tips on the way and a great colour scheme! 

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[stevehnz]

A sweet job on that Adrian. I've long agonised over cheap IOM or dearer ICM, you've just swing me the second way I think but I really like your build.

Steve.

[AdrianMF]

The postman came today with an ICM Po-2 in a BIG box:

 

It looks like a fantastic kit:

 

It’s a massive leap up in detail and finesse  from the IOM kit, which is essentially a copy of the 1975 KP kit according to scalemates.com. ICM even seem to have revised their own tooling from 2012 to this new release. I’m still enjoying the old one though.