Scale aviation modeller international

by shortening the inner ends of

the wings with a file. This was a

delicate task, as they do not have

a straight contour, and after my

surgery, I was left with slightly

offset wheel bay bulges. I used my

Flexifile and some putty to correct

their shape as well as I could.

The leading wing edge had a

very nasty seam line that took me

several sanding sessions to be rid

of, and filler was also needed on all

other primary components as well.

I filled all gaps with Vallejo putty

and sanded the areas repeatedly

until they looked smooth. I then

primed the model with Tamiya

Grey Primer, which helps to

detect surface irregularities.

These were plentiful, so I got to

enjoy more sanding sessions.

Once most of the dusty work

was done, I glued the canopy and

the rear defence gun in place and

masked the clear parts with

Tamiya tape. Packaging

foam was used to cover the

wheel bays before the model

went to the paint shop.

PAINTING, DECALS,

FINAL BITS

The model was pre-shaded

with Gunze H12Black along

all panel lines and joints. I

chose the first option from

Fly’s decal sheet, identified as

“White 9” from an unknown

unit which had been found on

Czech territory in April 1945.

Paint references are listed for

Humbrol and AK colours. However,

I used acrylics from Gunze instead

and sprayed the undersides in a

mixture of H417 Light Blue and

H56 Intermediate Blue, which

resulted in a greyish-blue tone,

somewhat darker than RLM76.

On the upper sides, I started

with the lightest colour, using

a 50/50 mix of H71 and H72. I

made demarcation lines from

Uhu Tac and covered the areas

with paper masks in preparation

for the next colour, H303 Green,

followed by H77 Tire Black. I

added a drop of pure white to each

colour to achieve a scale effect.

My favourite surface preparation

for decals and weathering is Alclad

Gloss, which I sprayed in several

layers to provide a strong canvas.

I then mounted the landing gear,

which I had already painted in

H307 Grey. I hadn’t noticed that

there are no locator pins for the

gear legs, so these were opened

up manually with a drill and the

legs simply glued into place.

Next, I added decals, which

consist of six red stars and two

identification numbers. Fly Models

decals are well-printed, in good

density, and performed flawlessly.

I sealed everything in with another

protective coat of Alclad Gloss

before I started the weathering

with artist’s oils. Here, I mainly

used ivory black to accentuate

recesses and panel lines, and

raw umber for dirt streaks and

oil leaks. Note that these paints

take at least 12 hours to dry.

Final painting touches included

adding exhaust streaks along the

fuselage sides and dusting up the

wheels with Tamiya pigments.

All fiddly and protruding bits

and pieces, like the propeller,

gun barrels, and antennas were

now prepared for assembly

and painted accordingly.

CONCLUSION

Even though I have some

reservations regarding the shape

of the nose and the canopy hood,

the new Fly Models kit is a welcome

replacement for the old KoPro

model, and fills another important

gap in Soviet aviation history.

The Fly kit builds into a decent

replica right out of the box,

but requires some time,

“THE NEW FLY MODELS KIT IS A

WELCOME REPLACEMENT FOR

THE OLD KOPRO MODEL, AND

FILLS ANOTHER IMPORTANT GAP

IN SOVIET AVIATION HISTORY”

28 • APRIL 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

026-29-QB-IL10-0418.indd 28 09/03/2018 16:06