Tuesday, 26 June 2012

Flying Donkeys

These 1/144 scale Polikarpov I-16s are metal single-piece castings by True North.  The I-16 seems to have attracted a surprisingly large number of nicknames - Spanish Nationalists called it 'Rata' (Rat), the Republicans knew it as 'Mosca' (Fly), to the Finns it was 'Siipiorava' (Flying Squirrel) and Soviet pilots called it 'Ishak' (Donkey).  So take your pick.
The I-16 was in service with Soviet forces from the mid-1930s and also saw service with a number of other countries, including China, Spain and Finland.  The last Spanish I-16s were retired as late as 1952!
The models were cleaned up and then spray painted light grey before being brush painted and varnished. The markings were sourced from my decal box.
at

4 comments:

  1. Paul26 June 2012 at 11:38

    I love the nose cowling of the Rata, but it always reminds me of an aircraft that has been squeezed a bit or made 4 or 5ft too short.

    Great work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tim Gow26 June 2012 at 12:45

    Paul
    I know what you mean. I wonder if that's because we think of Spitfire/Bf109 as a 'typical' early WW2 fighter?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Geordie an Exiled FoG1 July 2012 at 22:49

    Am I the only one thinking "Johnny Red" from the Battle comic?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tim Gow2 July 2012 at 13:07

    Geordie
    Probably. But you're among friends.

    ReplyDelete