Gene Posted December 27, 2019 Share Posted December 27, 2019 Started this kit back in 2005 with the intention of doing a Type 10 with snow-skis. Purchased an Engines & Things Shvetsov M-25V 9-cylinder to show behind the nose baffles and opening up the side to show some of the internals. It was a bit of a struggle to find suitable reference but nonetheless, things were moving along positively. But then Sergey’s Vector came along with his fascinating WIP (more of a Product-in-Progress) developing an extensive resin conversion for the nose of the I-16 including a full engine and internal details back to the firewall. My sails went limp and the project, for my part, stalled. And now, 1.5 decades later, this Group Build has me thinking, why not complete it. Surveying what is in the market, it is shocking how many injection molded variants of the I-16 have been introduced since that lonely one from Scratchbuilders in the 1990s. ICM seems eager to cover nearly every variant. A little survey on eBay shows an average price for the Special Hobby SH32001 (this kit) to hover around $90 – it is a nice kit but really, what gives? LSP_Kevin and Dany Boy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Posted December 27, 2019 Author Share Posted December 27, 2019 Regarding the no more that 25% completed criteria, I am not sure what you all would feel about where this kit stands. I see there is quite a bit of work to do; I hope this will qualify. jimbo, Landrotten Highlander, Azgaron and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dany Boy Posted December 27, 2019 Share Posted December 27, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted December 27, 2019 Share Posted December 27, 2019 Looks like it qualifies to me, Gene! Kev Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Posted December 28, 2019 Author Share Posted December 28, 2019 (edited) Thanks Kev - I'll proceed! The kit offers two underside wing center sections – one is for the T.10 and the other for the T.17 (primary difference being in the exhaust port area). At a time long ago, I had incorporated the wrong center section. Having settled on a scheme illustrated in Soviet Air Force Fighter Colours 1941-1945 for an I-16 Type 17 ‘white 15’, I selected the T.17 wing center section and began mods for attaching landing gear and attached the out wing pieces. What do they say about when Fools rush in? At some point after completing the above I noticed in a narrative elsewhere in SAFFC describing an I-16 Type 10 ‘white 15’. The author, Erik Pilawskii, was kind enough to confirm that the narrative was correct; "I-16 Type 10 number "15" was allegedly photographed in the summer of 1940, region unknown." (9/27/05) [OOPS - Soviet Air Force Fighter Colours 1941-1945 was not the source for the color, but they came from Erik Pilawskii's VVS Hobbyvista website which i understand is sadly not going to be further maintained.] Right or wrong I’ll be attempting the profile finish of the ‘white 15’ combined with the wing treatment shown on the ‘red 23’ – lacking anything to the contrary, that is. Instead of redoing the landing gear post and outer wing attachment, I chose to cut out the T.10 exhaust panel and replace it in the work already completed. I know, kinda’ fiddly – guess I was intrigued by the challenge. Edited December 31, 2019 by Gene quotation error BradG, jimbo, Landrotten Highlander and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Posted December 28, 2019 Author Share Posted December 28, 2019 A pet dislike of mine is the mess that can follow trying to marry a completed wing to the fuselage and struggling with surface mis-match. Sometimes a prominent panel line occurs in the same place – in theory this should help but in fact aggravates the situation. In the case of the I-16 and in this Special Hobby kit the line of attachment of the kit is no line at all in the actual aircraft. My solution was to attach the upper wing half to the fuselage (without the lower wing piece) and feather in the joint to ‘go-away’. So far this seems to work. A taped dry fit seems to confirm a good alignment all around leaving the easier to handle wing leading edge to take the focus of final blending. LSP_Ray, LSP_Kevin, Gazzas and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alain Gadbois Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 Nice work so far! This will be a very nice looking I-16! Alain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Griewski Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Nice start so far. I am watching. I will be building the new ICM Type 10 kit while robbing the skis from same Kit you are working on. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 I like your solution to wing joins as I find them frustrating, myself. I keep wanting to try it your way, but keep not doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ray Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 Like your construction methods for this kit! It is coming along nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Griewski Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 I would add reinforcement tabs inside and under the top wing joint. Treat the joint like a vac kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now