1:72 IL-2M BIG SET for Tamiya kit

A combined set for the Ilyushin Il-2M in 1:72 scale

The designation of a big set suggests that this is a wider bundle of refining parts and not one small item. The 77propeller brand carries a line of separate items for the same aircraft as well, from wheels through bombs and rockets to onboard weapons, and a combined offer is a way for a builder not to have to put everything together piece by piece. The kit of the ground-attack aircraft is not part of the delivery.

The Tamiya kit serves as the basis; it is bought separately.

The flying tank of the Red Army

The Ilyushin Il-2 is the most numerously produced combat aircraft in history and at the same time one of the most unusual. The forward part of the fuselage was formed by a load-bearing armored tub, which protected the pilot, the engine and the radiators, so the machine withstood hits to which other designs would have succumbed. The version designated Il-2M added a gunner with a movable machine gun behind the pilot, because the unprotected rear had proved a fatal weakness. The ground-attack aircraft fell on columns, artillery positions and armored vehicles, for which they used cannon, unguided rockets and, from 1943, also small shaped-charge bombs dropped in whole swarms.

Building recommendation

Soviet ground-attack aircraft were never clean: mud from the wheels, exhaust traces along the fuselage and worn finish on the leading edges belong to the character of the real subject. It pays to go from the base color through filters to pigments and not to overdo the contrast, so that the model stays legible.

The set will be valued by

• Builders of Soviet aircraft
• Modelers preparing a scene from the Eastern Front
• Those interested in the armament of ground-attack aircraft
• Advanced builders in 1:72 scale

You will not find paints, glue or the aircraft in the package.