{"product_id":"rpm-72007-beriev-be-4-kor-2-soviet-flying-boat-1-72-plastic-model-aircraft-kit","title":"RPM 72007 Beriev Be-4 (KOR-2) Soviet Flying Boat — 1:72 Plastic model aircraft kit","description":"\u003cp\u003eManufacturer: RPM Models \/ Aeroplast\n\u003cbr\u003eKit number: 72007\n\u003cbr\u003eAircraft: Beriev Be-4, originally designated KOR-2\n\u003cbr\u003eScale: 1:72\n\u003cbr\u003eBarcode \/ EAN: 5908222560072\n\u003cbr\u003eKit type: Injection-moulded plastic aircraft kit\n\u003cbr\u003eRelease: 2006\n\u003cbr\u003eManufacturer and kit history\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRPM Models was a Polish manufacturer particularly known for unusual and lesser-known military subjects, including many interwar and WWII aircraft and armoured vehicles. The company operated from Warsaw and its catalogue was particularly useful to modellers looking for subjects that were not covered by the major manufacturers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRPM released the Be-4 as kit 72007 in 2006.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is an important kit for collectors of unusual Soviet aircraft because there are relatively few injection-moulded representations of the KOR-2\/Be-4. A specialist flying-boat kit listing identifies the RPM kit as injection moulded and notes that it is one of the available Be-4 kits in 1:72.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit itself is an older, relatively straightforward short-run-style product rather than a modern high-pressure injection kit. Consequently, a modeller should expect some additional cleanup and test-fitting compared with contemporary mainstream releases.\n\u003cbr\u003eKit contents\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe documented kit provides the components for a complete 1:72 Be-4 flying boat, including:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Injection-moulded plastic parts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Clear parts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Fuselage and flying-boat hull\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Main wings\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Engine and cowling components\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Twin floats\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Cockpit\/interior components\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Propeller\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Landing\/ground equipment as applicable\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Decals\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Instructions\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit is listed with a product weight of approximately 0.10 kg, reflecting its relatively small 1:72 format.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eI have not found a reliable contemporary source giving an exact parts count, so I would not use a specific number when cataloguing the kit.\n\u003cbr\u003eWhat to check in a second-hand example\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBecause RPM kits are now older and increasingly difficult to replace, I would check carefully for:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Both fuselage\/hull halves\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Complete wings\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    All three engine\/cowling assemblies\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Propellers\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Main floats\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Clear parts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Decals\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Instructions\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe clear parts and floats are particularly worth checking because missing small components can make an otherwise inexpensive vintage kit considerably harder to complete.\n\u003cbr\u003eThe aircraft represented\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Beriev KOR-2, redesignated Be-4, was a Soviet naval reconnaissance flying boat developed by the Beriev design bureau.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe original KOR-1 was designed during 1934–35 as a replacement for the earlier Heinkel HD 55 shipboard reconnaissance aircraft. Its intended role was to operate from Soviet warships using catapults.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe prototype first flew around April 1936.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe KOR-1 experienced problems with its behaviour on water and with the structural loads associated with catapult launching. The design was subsequently developed into the improved KOR-2\/Be-4.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe German invasion of the Soviet Union interrupted production. The Beriev factory at Taganrog was evacuated eastwards, and a small series of Be-4 aircraft was subsequently produced at Krasnoyarsk.\n\u003cbr\u003eOperational service\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Be-4 entered Soviet naval service during the Second World War and was used principally by the Black Sea Fleet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIts duties included:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Coastal reconnaissance\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Maritime reconnaissance\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Anti-submarine work\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Transport and liaison\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    General naval observation\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt was also associated with the Soviet cruisers Kirov and Maxim Gorky, making it an interesting example of a shipborne reconnaissance aircraft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUnlike some earlier Soviet shipborne aircraft, the Be-4's wartime operational use was increasingly from water surfaces rather than shipboard catapults, particularly as wartime conditions changed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft was relatively small compared with conventional land-based patrol aircraft, but its flying-boat configuration gave it considerable flexibility when operating from coastal bases.\n\u003cbr\u003eTechnical characteristics of the Be-4\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Be-4 used a single radial engine mounted above the fuselage\/wing centre section in a configuration characteristic of many flying boats of the period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePublished specifications for the aircraft give approximately:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Maximum speed: 356 km\/h\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Service ceiling: 8,100 m\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Maximum range: 1,150 km\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Crew: 3\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Armament: 2 × 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Bomb load: up to approximately 400 kg\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThese figures are given in the RPM product's historical description.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft was therefore intended primarily as a reconnaissance and naval-support machine, rather than as a dedicated fighter or bomber.\n\u003cbr\u003eWhy this is an interesting model\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Be-4\/KOR-2 is an unusually obscure aircraft, and that is probably the biggest attraction of the RPM kit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe model is not competing for attention with another dozen mainstream 1:72 releases of the same subject. For a collection covering Soviet naval aviation, interwar aircraft or flying boats, it fills a fairly unusual gap.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit's age and short-run character mean it is more appropriate for a modeller who is comfortable with:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Cleaning up mould seams\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Test-fitting parts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Correcting small imperfections\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Working with older decals\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Adding scratch-built detail where necessary\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe specialist flying-boat reference describes the RPM Be-4 as an injection-moulded option, while noting that other manufacturers have also produced the aircraft in different forms\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"RPM kits","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57509849760124,"sku":"RPM-72007","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/sussex-model-centre.co.uk\/products\/rpm-72007-beriev-be-4-kor-2-soviet-flying-boat-1-72-plastic-model-aircraft-kit","provider":"Sussex Model Centre","version":"1.0","type":"link"}