1:72 Antonov An-14 Pchelka engines

Antonov An-14 Pchelka, an engine set 1:72 from Metallic Details

The set is an accessory for a plastic model of the An-14 airplane in 1:72 scale and concerns its powerplant. Resin castings have sharper edges and finer detail than injection-molded parts, so a radial engine finally looks like an engine and not like an outline under a cowling. The set does not replace the kit, which you have to have.

The real subject

The An-14 Pchelka is a Soviet light twin-engined high-wing airplane with short takeoff and landing capability, first flown at the end of the 1950s. It was powered by a pair of air-cooled radial engines of the AI-14 family with three-blade propellers, housed in nacelles on the leading edge of the wing. A radial engine is exactly the rewarding detail on a model: the front cylinders are visible through the opening of the cowling and any inaccurate casting shows at once. The airplane served liaison, ambulance and agricultural tasks and was built for operating from short unprepared strips.

Building and painting tips

Wash the parts in lukewarm soapy water and let them dry. Cut the casting blocks off with a saw and level the areas with abrasive paper wet, with respiratory protection. It is glued with cyanoacrylate glue (super glue), always after a dry fit. Paint the engine in a base metallic shade, run a dark wash into the recesses between the cylinder fins and finally pick the edges out with a dry brush. The exhaust pipes and the area around the opening of the cowling take a brownish weathering well; a few thin wires as ignition leads add believability more than anything else.

Who the set is for

• Modelers building the An-14 in 1:72 scale
• Builders who are bothered by the simplified engine in the base kit
• More experienced modelers used to working with resin
• Collectors of Soviet light aviation machines

The accessory is supplied unassembled and unpainted. Glue, paints and other accessories are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.