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Kit: #72071
Price:
$7.56 Retail, usually available from Alanger-US
for around $4. ICM Ukraine out of business, ICM Russia now operating
under the new name of Alanger.
Decals:
1 Version
Recommendation:
Highly recommended
Reviewer:
JP Myers
History
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The I-1 project was
the work of the famous Russian designer Polikarpov. The
IL-400b was a development of the unsuccessful IL-400a, which
suffered from center-of-gravity problems due to the engine being
placed too far back in the design. The 400a model also
differed from the 400b in that the wings and tail were fabric
covered. To remedy the problems inherent in the 400a, the
engine was moved forward to restore some stability to the
airframe. Further refinements included an increase in wing
and tail surface areas, covering of those surfaces with corrugated
aluminum (like some German aircraft of the time), and replacing
the front radiator with a Lamblen radiator mounted below the
engine. The aircraft was ordered into production, and
roughly a dozen were turned out. Acceptance trials revealed
the aircraft to still be dangerously unstable, and it was never
accepted for service. In my opinion, it looks more like a case of
the wings being too far forward with the 400b.
For more history,
look
here.
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(Click on thumbnails to
enlarge) |
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The Kit
I really have to thank ICM for bringing
us this kit. For too long, the development of Russian aviation has
been largely ignored by history as recorded outside the Former Soviet
Union. If it weren't for these smaller, Slavic companies, many of
these interesting subjects would never see the light of day. |
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This little kit is
comprised of two sprues containing clean, finely-detailed parts.
There is no flash at all, nor any sink marks or short-shots.
I can't say its Tamiya quality until I build it, but it looks
like ICM is getting there in terms of kit quality, most especially
with their 1/72 scale kits. The clear part (one) is a
tiny bullet windscreen. In fact its so small, I challenge
you to find it in this pic.
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Everything looks
good, except this little windscreen is probably a good 6 scale-inches
thick. Not much you can do about it other than to sand
it out and polish it up. All in all, this looks
like a fun, relaxing build. |
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It
l Looks like the folks at ICM are overdue for an oil change.
I hadn't seen this on a kit in a while, but you can see here
that brownish, sticky oil residue on this kit that used to be
a regular feature on kits from eastern Europe. It looks
kind of like a weathering wash in the pic. The plus side is
that this sticky oil is probably the reason I didn't lose the
little canopy piece when I opened the bag! A little wash
in soapy water will be necessary for this kit. If the
folks at ICM are reading this, let me recommend Castrol Syntec.
It doesn't coke and turn gummy like whatever you're using currently.
:) |
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Instructions
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So far, I have to say I like ICM's
instructions. They are clear, thorough and easy to follow.
Unusually for a kit, in this case pieces with asterisks indicate
that the modeler must scratch build these parts. However,
there is nothing you have to do that a couple lengths of fine brass
wire can't take care of. |
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you can see the somewhat unusual wing arrangement. There
is a long piece that you insert through the fuselage that is angled
up on both ends for proper wing dihedral. You then assemble
the wing roots to these protruding stubs, and then add the main
wings to that assembly. |
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| Decals |
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With
one scheme sporting basically one decal on each side of the
fuselage, there isn't much to talk about here. The interesting
thing to note is that this little decal card has normal glossy
decals on it in the place of the standard flat ICM decals.
I'm not sure if this is a fluke or if perhaps complaints from
the modeling community finally paid off. The little decal
looks perfect and nothing at all to complain about.
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As
far as finishes go, you don't have much choice here, and this
is perhaps the greatest limitation on this kit from a marketing
standpoint. With all of a dozen real aircraft built and
none having gone into service, there just isn't much
you can do with this one outside of the one on the box.
If you really wanted to do another, you could do the version
in the background of the box art by just applying appropriately
sized red stars to the fuselage sides. This would be very
easy to do. The scheme is two-tone silver with a silver painted
wooden fuselage and natural metal wings, tail and engine paneling. |
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Available
Accessories |
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None noted for this kit.
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Overall Impressions
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This
is a nice little kit of something you don't see done every day.
And just like the ICM I-16, you could probably start and finish
one in a single weekend. If you're looking for something
out of the ordinary as a light, therapeutic break from your
modeling routine, this little kit is just the ticket.
My
hat is off to ICM for bringing us yet another subject that would
never have seen production from any of the mainstream manufacturers.
However, unless you have OCD, one will probably be all most
people build of this subject.
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Kit courtesy of
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