aluminium with tire black and
chipped the paint away with a
cocktail stick, leaving the more
realistic result of metal underneath
the paint, rather than painted on.THE DECALS
With the ability to do
just four different
schemes, you
are not exactly
spoilt for choice
on decals;
stars and
numbers and
not a lot more.
I can only think of
one minor issue with
the decals, and it’s one that
may only be in my example:
my number 27 has some slight
bleeding of the white printing. Having said that, the decals
themselves cannot be faulted.
The colours are very deep, and the
carrier film is nearly non-existent.
My simple application is nothing
to write home about: I put the
decals in water, leave them for a
couple of seconds, put them on the
kit, and apply Micro Set and Sol.
Given the simple application,
it doesn’t sound like anything
special, but I can say that the decals
are amazing. I have never seen
decals settle down and conform
to a model better than these.
Part of my model shows the
decals being torn and chipped.
This was accomplished by putting
un-tacked Tamiya masking tape on
the decal and pulling quickly. I did
this before the decal had a chance to
set. I also sponge-chipped the base
colour on top of the decal to make
it look like small minor chipping.THE WEATHERING
One of my favourite stages of
any build is the weathering, the
majority of which was done in
the painting stage of the aircraft.This doesn’t mean, however, that I
didn’t delve into other techniques.
To create the majority of the
chipping on the aircraft, I used
Mondeluz water colour pencils. The
great thing about these pencils is
that they can be used wet to fade
areas of paint, or used sharp to
create areas of chipped paint.
What determines the pencil
choice is the base colour I want to
chip. I will usually use a lighter
pencil to create fresh paint
chippings, and darker pencils to
create deep chips and scratches.
Exhaust streaking is something
that can be overdone very easily,
but with a Soviet aircraft that
exaggeration can be forgiven.
I have never been a fan of the
big, black, thick line that I see
on some exhaust streaking. My
effects are subtle but noticeable,
painting the main line of staining
with a thinned tire black. In the
centre, I added some mahogany
brown to give it a dirty look.
One thing I am not happy
with is the wing-mounted
machine gun stains. I feel I went
a little overboard, consideringthe length of the barrels.
The underside of the aircraft
is nothing to write home about,
so to give the underside and
landing gear some life, I gave
them a wash of AK Engine Wash.
The colour of the wash is great
for landing gear and any moving,
mechanical parts. Wanting to give
the aircraft a “used and abused”
look, I also used the AK Mud set.
Using a cocktail stick and a stiff
brush, I splattered the underside
and landing gear with different
muds, to give the appearance of
different environmental usage.FINAL THOUGHTS
“Our aim is to expand the popularity
of scale modelling, and develop it
as a serious hobby and interesting
pastime for the younger generation”.
This is the aim of ICM. All I can
say is that if this is what they aim
for, then they are doing a great
job so far. Their subjects are ones
that are always sought after.
ICM have proven with this
kit that with good design and
engineering, they can produce a kit
that is a pleasure to build, without
the unnecessary complexity of
some other manufacturers.
So, the obvious question is
“would I recommend it?” I would say
“Yes”, without any hesitation, not
only because it is the best offering
of this subject in this scale, but
because it is a kit that gives you pure
enjoyment when building it. Unlike
most 1/32 scale subjects, the I-16 does
not take up a big footprint, so it is
very easy to display and to work with.
The ICM I-16 Type 24 in 1/32 is
just brilliant. That is all I can say
and I am glad I had the chance
to build it. So thank you, ICM.WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM • FEBRUARY 2018 • 35
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