{"product_id":"icm-72053-polikarpov-i-5-soviet-biplane-fighter-1-72-plastic-model-aircraft-kit","title":"ICM 72053 Polikarpov I-5 Soviet Biplane Fighter — 1:72 Plastic model aircraft kit","description":"\u003cp\u003eManufacturer: ICM\n\u003cbr\u003eKit number: 72053\n\u003cbr\u003eAircraft: Polikarpov I-5\n\u003cbr\u003eScale: 1:72\n\u003cbr\u003eBarcode \/ EAN: 4823044400027\n\u003cbr\u003eKit type: Injection-moulded plastic aircraft kit\n\u003cbr\u003eRelease: 15 January 2017\n\u003cbr\u003eStatus: Current\/reissued kit\n\u003cbr\u003eManufacturer and kit background\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eICM is a Ukrainian model manufacturer established in Kyiv and is particularly well regarded for its extensive range of 1:72 and 1:48 aircraft, including many Soviet subjects.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe 72053 is a relatively modern ICM tooling rather than an old reboxed kit. ICM dates it to 15 January 2017 and lists it as a 1:72 Soviet Biplane Fighter. The company's specifications give 53 parts, a box measuring 247 × 183 × 33 mm, and a finished model measuring 95 × 134 mm (length × wingspan).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit is still included in ICM's recent catalogue, so it has not become a genuinely scarce discontinued kit.\n\u003cbr\u003eKit contents and detail\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a nicely detailed little kit for its size. ICM's instructions show the parts distributed across the main plastic sprues, with the aircraft's fuselage, wings, engine, propeller, landing gear and numerous small fittings represented individually.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe documented contents include:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    53 plastic parts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Fuselage halves\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Upper and lower wings\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Detailed interplane and cabane struts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Tailplane and rudder\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Open cockpit\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Cockpit interior\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Pilot's position\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Radial engine\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Engine cylinders\/details\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Townend-ring engine cowling\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Propeller\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Fixed landing gear\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Wheels\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Windscreen\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Small external fittings\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Clear parts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Decal sheet\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Assembly instructions\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA kit review identifies 47 green injection-moulded parts on two sprues, plus a separate clear sprue containing six transparent parts. The decals provide two marking options.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit has some particularly nice surface treatment for a 1:72 biplane. The fuselage has engraved panel features, while the fabric-covered areas have a subtle representation of the underlying framework. The open cockpit and radial engine are also represented in considerably more detail than would be expected from an inexpensive older kit.\n\u003cbr\u003eDecal options\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eICM provides two Soviet aircraft:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    I-5 personal aircraft of I.U. Pavlov, Chief of Moscow District Air Defence, 1932\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    An I-5 serial aircraft from summer 1941\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe second option is particularly interesting because surviving I-5s were pressed into secondary combat duties when the Soviet Union went to war with Germany.\n\u003cbr\u003eModelling considerations\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough this is a relatively small kit, the biplane configuration means the modeller needs to take care with:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Alignment of the upper and lower wings\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Interplane struts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Cabane struts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Landing gear\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Engine\/cowling alignment\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Final rigging\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFine rigging wire or thread will greatly improve the finished model.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe open cockpit and exposed radial engine are worthwhile detailing areas. Because the aircraft is small, even modest improvements to the cockpit, engine cylinders and exhausts can be quite noticeable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor a second-hand example, check the struts, clear windscreen, propeller and landing gear particularly carefully.\n\u003cbr\u003eThe full-size Polikarpov I-5\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Polikarpov I-5 was one of the first Soviet fighters to be produced in significant numbers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDesigned by Nikolai Polikarpov, the prototype VT-11 first flew on 29 April 1930. Production began shortly afterwards, and approximately 800 aircraft were produced between 1931 and 1934.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft was a conventional single-seat biplane with a fixed undercarriage and radial engine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt became the principal fighter of the Soviet Air Force during the early 1930s, but rapid advances in fighter design soon made it obsolete.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBy the beginning of WWII, the I-5 was no longer competitive as a front-line fighter. Nevertheless, some surviving aircraft were returned to useful work as ground-attack aircraft during the desperate early period of the German-Soviet war in 1941–42.\n\u003cbr\u003eAircraft specifications\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe later I-5 production aircraft represented by this kit used the Shvetsov M-22 radial engine, with the characteristic Townend-ring cowling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBroadly:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Crew: 1\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Engine: Shvetsov M-22 radial\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Power: approximately 480 hp\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Role: fighter \/ advanced trainer\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Configuration: single-engine biplane\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Landing gear: fixed\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Armament: machine guns\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Production: approximately 800 aircraft\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt 1:72 scale, ICM's finished dimensions are approximately 95 mm long × 134 mm wingspan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThat makes it a compact but visually interesting model, particularly when displayed alongside other early Soviet fighters such as the I-15 or I-16.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ICM","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57509849563516,"sku":"ICM-72053","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/sussex-model-centre.co.uk\/products\/icm-72053-polikarpov-i-5-soviet-biplane-fighter-1-72-plastic-model-aircraft-kit","provider":"Sussex Model Centre","version":"1.0","type":"link"}