Special Navy Kriegsmarine Kriegsfischkutter Build in 1/72 Scale Part I

Numerically, the Kriegsfischkutter (KFK) program was Germany’s largest wartime shipbuilding effort with over 600 vessels put into service. The KFK was intended to serve as a light patrol and escort vessel operating along the extensive German and occupied countries’ coastlines. Like most Security Force vessels, they were also equipped for minesweeping and anti-submarine warfare. Along with several other designs the KFK were designed to be easily converted into fishing vessels after the war was over. Special Hobby issued their 1/72 scale KFK model under their Special Navy label in 2025, a most welcome release for fans of ships in the One True Scale.

The hull measures just under 13 inches (33 cm) and is broken up into three major pieces. There is finely engraved wooden planking with recessed panel lines which should look nice under a wash. On the inside of the hull pieces is a recessed line for modelers to cut along if a waterline build is desired.

Seven additional sprues are included for building up the numerous sub-assemblies. Special Navy does not shy away from layering on multitudes of minute parts, this can sometimes be tedious when dealing with complex assemblies such as the weapons but much of this is also unavoidable given the subject. While the engraving is very good for the most part, there is a seam line present on most parts which will have to be removed before assembly.

Each of the deck skylights and ladder covers are built up into box-like structures of five parts each. Depth charges are built up from four parts which each sit upon a five-part roller rack. Needless to say, expect to take some time getting all this together, but your patience will be rewarded.

I spent some quality time with a razor saw to waterline my KFK, and then cut some thick plastic stock to glue on the bottom for strength. The hull and deck fits together well with no gaps using MEK to soften the join lines.

The gunwales are stiffened with a series of small braces, fifteen on each side. Oddly, these are not numbered in order and mine were all about a millimeter too long and had to be trimmed down. The barred structures are skylights which could be propped open on the real KFK but not the model. Special Navy provides a transparent panel for each of these but I left them off of my build – they would make painting difficult and cannot be seen in any case. The slanted structures are covers over ladders to access the hull interior. One of mine is a white resin casting I made for a second project (more on this later) which I was compelled to use after temporarily misplacing the original.

First to Fight Polish Reporting Cutter Build in 1/72 Scale

First to Fight is a Polish manufacturer specializing in Polish and German subjects from the beginning of the Second World War in September, 1939. This release took everyone by surprise, it being their first maritime subject and a rather obscure one at that. This is a riverine “Reporting Cutter”, what would be called a courier boat in some navies, the main purpose of which is communications and general liaison duties as well as scouting.

Inside is a 3-D resin printed waterline hull with another print containing additional detail parts. This is printed in a hard gray resin. There are some layer lines present, but these are fine and become difficult to see under primer and paint. My example had no warpage but did have two small areas of separation near the waterline. These were not a problem and were easily filled with swipes of Perfect Plastic Putty.

Ten additional parts are provided in this print, which is protected by a fence of sturdy arches. Separating these types of parts requires some care but is not hard with a good set of cutters.

A flagstaff and ensign is provided for the fantail. The printed ensign is long and it is printed with a complex pattern of billows which would be difficult to paint. I made a better proportioned replacement out of Aluminum from a pie tin and bronze rod.

The print lines on the gun shield were prominent so I fabricated a replacement from Evergreen stock using the kit part as a guide. The ammo can for the machine gun is a spare from an Academy deuce and a half truck kit.

The kit comes with a booklet which not only provides a short history of the Cutters but also includes the assembly instructions and a painting guide with Hakata color call-outs. I wasn’t able to find any additional information on these boats so I approximated the camouflage shown on the box art using the Mr. Color paints shown in this photo.

After painting the model was given a gloss coat of Future and a wash using Tamiya panel line wash. I left some thinned wash on the surface to dirty things up a bit. A rope coil was added in the well deck.

This is a shot of the finished model. I was surprised to see this as a resin print, all the other First to Fight kits I’ve built have been injection molded. Since the hull is printed as a single piece there are no seam lines to worry about and the kit builds up quickly. I’m a fan of naval vessels in general so hopefully we can get a few of the bigger ones in the One True Scale at some point in the future!

Junkers Ju 88 and Mistel Conversion Builds in 1/72 Scale Part III

Painting proceeded as usual. The main gear legs are already attached, and are surprisingly solid. There is still some scribing to be done and the inevitable light filling & sanding. The Junkers were finished in a variety of standard Luftwaffe schemes following reference photos using Testors paints, but I did not photograph the models alongside the paint bottles as would later become my standard practice.

Here are a number of smaller assemblies and parts taped to cards and ready for painting. Lots of small bits to add at the end!

Both the Junkers and Focke Wulf kits were finished as per normal practices as individual models. Markings on Mistel combinations were pretty basic, for the most part these were limited to national insignia and shop numbers applied to keep track of the airframes, unit insignia were not used.

This is a scan from the AMT Führungsmaschine kit instructions, showing hole locations for the Mistel support struts. The center v-brace should actually be two separate struts, with a small gap at the bottom. Most Mistel did not carry the cradle to catch the tail brace, so be sure to check pictures if you’re modeling one.

The support legs are an obvious weak point in Mistel models, I don’t trust them. The Aries resin legs are particularly finely detailed, and particularly fragile. Here are a set of the AMT legs, the mounting pins have been cut off and replaced with 24 Gauge beading wire from the local crafts store. These pins will be visible on the finished model. The wire is strong to prevent breakage, but flexible enough to allow for adjustments. All holes are drilled to ensure a snug fit.

Here the struts are fitted to the top of the G-1. The tail brace is stiff bronze wire from the LHS, which is quite rigid. The FW 190 can actually be structurally supported by this wire alone. All the struts are pressure-fit, which allows for adjustments in all three planes. This is very important because the upper component is a bit tricky to align properly. The center v-brace has been replaced with two separate struts. Note that they are not secured at the top – it works best to superglue the tops in place after the upper aircraft has been mounted and aligned. Once they are glued the assembly becomes quite solid.

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This is the Mistel 2 composite after the two airframes have been joined together. These require some careful adjustment to get everything aligned from all angles, but the wire attachment points worked out well and allowed flexibility without damaging the struts. A small dab of superglue applied to each strut attachment point with a needle fixed everything in place.

This is the FuG 200 search radar array for the Ju 88H-1, the most delicate parts of all so they went on last. These are PE parts from Aimes. They are among the most fiddly of fiddlybits, but look great when installed and aligned.

A sampling of the Junkers for a size comparison. The Ju 88S-3 at the right is a standard-sized Junkers with only a few modifications. At top is the Führungsmaschine, the longest of the Ju 88 family and the most extensive conversion. To the right is the Ju 88H-1 long-range escort.

Here are finished portraits of the five Junkers Mistel and other conversions. As these construction blog posts were sourced from an old forum thread, I have already posted more finished photos of each subject which can be seen by following the links. First is Ju88S-3 of I./KG66. This was my first real attempt at a squiggle pattern. It also may be the easiest model to decal I’ve ever built – only five in all! The S-3 was the simplest to convert from the Revell Ju 88A-4 base kit. More photos here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2019/06/06/junkers-ju-88s-3-conversion-in-1-72-scale/

This is the Mistel 2, the lower Ju88G-1 component of this one is pictured in Forsyth’s Mistel book. More here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2019/10/03/mistel-2-conversion-in-1-72-scale/

Mistel 3 with a Ju 88G-10 lower component. Another one pictured in Forsyth, there is even surviving color movie footage of this one taken after the war. More photos here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2023/04/04/mistel-s3c-in-1-72-scale/

Here’s the Ju 88H-1 long-range escort. A hard stare can move the FuG 200 radar antenna. More here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2019/07/25/ju-88h-1-conversion-in-1-72-scale/

And last, the Führungsmaschine, a Focke Wulf Fw 190A-7 with overwing-mounted external tanks upper component and a Junkers Ju 88H-4 lower component, intended as a self-escorting long-range reconnaissance platform. More here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2020/02/13/junkers-ju-88h-4-fuhrungsmaschine-conversion-in-1-72-scale/

Part I here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2026/03/20/junkers-ju-88-and-mistel-conversion-builds-in-1-72-scale-part-i/

Junkers Ju 88 and Mistel Conversion Builds in 1/72 Scale Part II

Back for an update, and it’s time to talk about the engines. My base kits for these conversions are all Revell Ju 88A-4, an excellent kit. The Ju 88A-4s were equipped with Jumo 211s, and Revell has done a really nice job of molding these. Unfortunately, none of the variants I’m building carried this type of engine. I had considered using engines from the AMT kits, but they were way too small. Here are the undersized AMT engine halves in the light grey plastic taped up to corresponding Hasegawa parts for comparison. The nacelles are equally as small, there’s just not a good way to salvage them.

Fortunately, Hasegawa comes to the rescue here. Most (if not all) of their boxings of later Ju 88s come with the sprues shown above which provide parts to outfit a given model with either BMW 801 or Jumo 213 engines. That leaves one set of engines as a spare from each Hasegawa kit you build. I had enough spare BMW engines, and was able to cast copies of the Jumos from an unbuilt Hasegawa G-6.

The Hasegawa kits come with a wing insert to adapt the engines to the wing. The Revell wings are engineered a bit differently. The easiest way to adapt the parts is to cut off the Hasegawa inserts at the forward edge of the wing roots and blend them in to the Revell wings.

Here are both types of engines adapted to the Revell wings. The BMW radials have aftermarket Quickboost replacement exhausts. No major problems were encountered fitting the Hasegawa engines, the Revell nacelles were filed down a bit on the lower sides but everything else matched up rather well.

On Ju 88G and subsequent series, the forward upper edge of the main gear doors are rounded, on the A-series kits I’m using they are square. A few passes with the file fixes the doors, and small inserts fixes the corners. It’s almost impossible to drill out tiny squares, but an easy trick is to drill the holes in plastic card and cut the squares out around them. The same trick can be used when replacing oleo scissors.

… and here are the inserts in place. A small detail, but only a few minutes to correct. This is a good time to mention that the main gear legs were shortened by about 2 mm each, and pinned back together with a bronze rod insert.

This is the underside of the nose of the H-1, showing the Waffentropfen for two MG 131s. These faced to the rear, and were sighted by the pilot using a periscope. This one was made from two bomb halves from the Revell kit and some Evergreen, filed to shape.

The Führungsmaschine had a solid radome in the nose which was sourced from the AMT kit. Fit was good, only needing a bit of blending.

One problem was sourcing the vacuformed canopies, but I finally was able to locate some replacements. They are from the Falcon set, and require the decking fore and aft of the actual glazed area to be thinned down. Here’s one installed on the S-3. The sun shades are just masking tape, rolled with the sticky side out. The barrels have been cut from the guns, with bronze rod used to penetrate the canopy. The rods provide a resilient anchor point for reattaching the barrels.

Here’s the underside of the nose, the crew access hatch and various other details were replaced with 0.01″ plastic card. An easy fix, and looks the part after painting.

Later versions of the Ju 88 featured re-designed tail surfaces which were much more squared off compared to earlier versions. Many Hasegawa Ju 88 kits provide these parts and I used these as masters to cast new tail surfaces for the conversions which needed them.

Here are all the Junkers before priming showing the conversion work done on each. This is the Ju 88H-4 Führungsmaschine, the most-stretchy Junkers of all. 3370 mm forward fuselage plug and 2740 mm aft fuselage plug, AMT nose radome, cast replacement Jumo inline engines and the squared off tailplane modifications.

This is the Ju 88H-1 maritime reconnaissance version, 1950 mm for the forward fuselage extension, 1350 mm aft. Engines are Hasegawa BMW 801 spares.

The Ju 88G-10 will be the lower component for the Mistel 3. It is modified with an Airies warhead with cast resin stub, a 2740 mm fuselage plug aft of the wing, squared off tail surfaces, and cast Jumo 213 inline engines.

This is the Ju 88G-1 lower component for the Mistel 2. The BMW engines are spares from a Hasegawa kit. The warhead is from the AMT kit, mated with a cast resin stub. Tailplanes are modified with resin casts from a Hasegawa Ju 88G-6 nightfighter.

Last is the Ju 88S-3. This is the most basic Junkers of the batch, just the engines have been changed and the gondola under the fuselage deleted.

Part III here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2026/04/03/junkers-ju-88-and-mistel-conversion-builds-in-1-72-scale-part-iii/

Junkers Ju 88 and Mistel Conversion Builds in 1/72 Scale Part I

This is a construction thread which originally appeared on the 72^nd Scale Aircraft forum as a series of posts. I still get questions about these builds to this day, particularly regarding the “stretchy” Ju 88s. The original posting was marred by the problems wrought by Photobucket and is difficult to find in any case. Fortunately, I backed up the original photos and text, so I am able to update the original material and present it here, augmented with some additional information to answer the most common questions.

My original intention was to use old AMT kits for the Ju 88 components, but the more I looked at them the more I realized just how much there was to be corrected. The AMT kits are too small in the fuselage and engine nacelles, getting a good Ju 88 out of them looked like a lot of work, especially when compared with the quality of the new Hasegawa and Revell of Germany kits. Fortunately, I was able to find a good deal on some Revell kits which were on sale at Squadron. The Fw 190s which served as the upper components for the Mistel combinations are modified Hasegawa kits.

So, starting with five Revell Ju 88A-4s and six Hasegawa Fw 190A-8s and various spare & aftermarket components, my intention is to build a Mistel 2, a Mistel 3, a Ju 88H-4 Führungsmaschine long-range recon combination, a stretched Ju 88H-1, a Ju 88S-3, and three standard Fw 190A-7 / 8s.

Construction starts with the Fw 190 cockpits … and they’re done! At one point I found True Details resin cockpits on sale for less than a Dollar each, so I did the logical thing – bought two dozen each of the Bf 109 and Fw 190 sets, painted them up and put them away for future use.

The next job is to get rid of the shallow wheelwells on Hasegawa Focke Wulf kits. I like the cone-shaped cutter for the Dremel tool for this, working from the inside. Even though the idea is to remove material, it is better to think of using the Dremel to work down to what you want to leave in place. The left side wheel well shows the rough removal, the right shows it smoothed out before sanding. The Dremel can be used for this smoothing with a slow speed and very light pressure, using the flat of the cutter. Note that the gear leg attachment point remains in the wing for strength, and that the forward vertical face of the well was also left in place.

Here is a Sword resin wheelwell insert with added Evergreen details. The pieces in the center represent the bottoms of the ammunition boxes for the fuselage guns and the spent case chutes. The thin structures in the middle of each bay are the gear locks. These did not cast well when I duplicated this piece, so most of the models will have this cut down and replaced with card. Gun tubes and center bracing will be added individually later.

This is a casting of the replacement wheelwell being fitted working from the inside. The super glue fills any minor seams but time spent getting a good fit is well spent.

Here are two of the Hasegawa Focke Wulfs built up. All control surfaces have been cut off, and replaced with copies of Tamiya surfaces which have better detail. The armored nosepiece / engine insert is also a copy of a Tamiya part. The flaps are Eduard PE, the Doppelreiter tanks are from a Hasegawa A-7 boxing and are needed for the Führungsmaschine long-range recon combination.

Next some preliminary work on the Ju 88s. Three of these will have stretched fuselages so I’ll need to fabricate and cast some extension plugs. This is a sprue shot of the unique trees from the AMT Führungsmaschine boxing, the rest of the parts are all standard Ju 88 pieces. This will provide the fuselage plugs, drop tanks, nose radome, and a Mistel warhead.

Forsyth’s excellent reference on all things Mistel (Classic Publications 7) gives neues Rumpfteil (new fuselage part) measurements of 2740 mm aft and 3370 mm forward for the longest stretched Junkers, the Ju 88H-4. So, I’ll be making two fuselage plugs, an aft plug of 38 mm length and a forward one of 47 mm. This is an AMT fuselage being cut to length with an UMM saw. Masking tape is used to establish the measurement for the cut line and also serves as a guide for the saw.

The problem with splicing kits from two different manufacturers is the cross sections are often different. The AMT fuselage on the right is about 1.5 mm narrower at the bottom, and about 1 mm shorter than the Revell fuselage on the left.

Here’s the fix. The AMT sections are spaced wider along the bottom seam with Evergreen strip. The tops are filed flat and capped with resin copies of the Revell fuselage insert. This gives the proper contour and also duplicates the excellent Revell filler cap detail. The rear section of the Revell cockpit walls are mated with the forward fuselage plug. This will allow for a plug-in fit and also provides a contour for refining the shape of the AMT plastic to match the Revell fuselage.

After filing, filling, sanding, scribing, and a coat of Mr. Surfacer 1200, the fuselage extension plug masters are ready. The forward plug is posed inserted into the Revell fuselage. Not a perfect fit, but pretty close. I will cast copies of these, and cut them down as needed to make the smaller inserts.

None of the Ju 88s will have the gondolas under the nose installed. That’s OK with me, they are kind of fiddly to work with. This does mean that the hole under the fuselage will need to be blanked off and the crew access door will have to be fabricated. I tried the trick of filling the gondola opening with casting resin using 0.005″ plastic sheet to cap the opening. Success! Smooth on the bottom, smooth on the top, and a solid fill.

Here are the cockpit components built up. Pretty much stock, belts and cushions are masking tape, and wires were added to the control sticks. Radar repeaters were added to replace two of the bombsights, gizmo-ed up from Zero instrument panels and FM Bf 109 cowl gun breaches. Paint is Alclad lacquer primers mixed in four progressively lighter shades. I’m trying to artificially create the illusion of depth with shading. The final mist coats are much lighter than RLM 66 in an attempt to make some of the details more visible.

The most common questions I get about these builds concern the lengths of the various fuselage extensions. Part of the confusion can be traced back to conflicting information in references, some of which even contradict themselves! Friend Rolf Blattner sent me this photo of the Junkers factory drawing above, which ends any doubt about the proper dimensions for the Ju 88H-1 extensions – 1950 mm for the forward fuselage extension, 1350 mm aft. Forsyth reproduces German wartime drawings of the G-10 and H-4 Mistels on pages 189 & 190 of his book which show fuel cell locations and capacities with dimensions. These are 2740 mm for the aft insert for both the G-10 and H-4, and an additional 3370 mm forward extension for the H-4.

Major work on the fuselages is complete, here they are for comparison. From top to bottom these are the Ju 88H-4 Führungsmaschine, the Ju 88H-1, the Ju 88G-10 for the Mistel 3C, the Mistel 2, and the Ju 88S-3 on the bottom. The Mistel warheads do not mate well with the Revell fuselages right out of the box. The warhead from the AMT kit fits the AMT fuselage which has a different cross section, and the aftermarket Aires resin warhead is designed for the Hasegawa kit (which it test fit very well). I cut off the transition pieces from the warheads, and substituted short versions of the resin plugs. Cutting off the back ends of the Revell cockpits would also work.

Here’s the stock fuselage for the S-3 compared to the stretched fuselage for the H-4 Führungsmaschine. The Führungsmaschine will measure out to just under a foot long (300 mm) when the tail surfaces and nose radome are added.

Part II here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2026/03/27/junkers-ju-88-and-mistel-conversion-builds-in-1-72-scale-part-ii/

Ilyushin IL-2 Stormovic Comparison Build in 1/72 Scale Part IV

Priming marks the last step of filling and sanding (boo!) and the first step of painting (yay!). Here is half the batch on sticks after a light coat of thinned Mr. Surfacer 1000. Given the size of the batch and poor fit of some of the kits there were a few more iterations of fill / sand / prime to go through before these were ready to paint.

The IL-2M3 Arrows all received three-tone camos in one of three different patterns. This example is getting the “puzzle” camo unique to Zavod 1, masked off with poster putty and tape.

Here is the paint photo showing the colors used for the green / black segmented schemes. The underside color is a mix as there is no direct match in the Mr. Color line, or most other paint brands for that matter. This is a problem with VVS colors in general.

This is the Tamiya kit in the three-color NKAP #2 scheme. I’m not going to claim to have the color mixes exactly right as the documentation is thin. You can use this as a starting point either way, if you think I’ve gotten it wrong you will have a better idea what not to do!

Two of the single-seat Stormovics were finished in a distressed temporary winter finish. I stippled on some liquid mask in high-wear areas over a glossy Future topcoat, then applied a light coat of white. When this had dried I pulled off the liquid mask with tape and thinned the rest of the finish down with fine sandpaper.

The Academy single-seat kit has an excellent decal sheet with ten marking options printed by Cartograph, which is almost worth the cost of the kit all by itself. I used decals from this sheet on the lower Stormovic in this photo. The upper aircraft is an IL-2M marked with the decals from the Hobby Boss IL-2M3, another miss match from the HB kit. For modelers looking for a good set of aftermarket decals I would recommend Foxbot sheet 72-035 which contains markings for nineteen Stormovics of all major versions.

After the decals were all settled in I applied another coat of Future and then Tamiya panel line wash. The excess will be removed with Q-Tips and standard paint thinner working in the direction of airflow, any remnants of the wash will form streaks which contribute to the final weathering effect. Before I start this process, I set aside all lacquer thinners, thin glues, and accelerators so I don’t dip my Q-Tip in them by mistake, I have learned this trick the hard way.

Most of the kits had the trim tab linkages molded on, a few used PE parts to represent them. I cut these off and replaced them with Evergreen rod.

The Hobby Boss IL-2M3 kit comes with underwing gondolas for the Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 37mm cannons, an armament option which was only carried by the straight-wing IL-2M. To make a standard IL-2M3 you will need to fill the locating holes under the wings and add the internal wing guns, here you can see the wing cannon barrel made from brass tube. The shell ejection ports are a bit harder as the HB wing is a solid piece so it would be very difficult to cut the slots into the wing. Here I have represented the ports with black decal film, something which I also did with the Zvezda kit.

The completed batch all in one shot. As I indicated in the first construction post, this batch grew bigger than I had intended and was made more difficult by the conflicting information in the references I had available. In many cases sources did not even agree on broad questions like camouflage colors or Stormovic version for the various marking options although these could often be sorted out, at least in broad terms. Some of these kits tested the limits of my mojo and others were excellent. In the end this batch took longer than anticipated so I am glad to finally get them into the case and move on to something completely different.

SUMMARY

The SMER kit represents an early single-seat Stormovic, it has finely engraved surface details and the option for ski or wheeled undercarriage. It comes with a small PE fret but I didn’t use much from this as the flat PE parts wouldn’t look right in many applications anyway. Cockpit detail is sparse so plan on some extra work there if you want to open the canopy. The kit fit together much better than I was anticipating and it looks good when complete. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with this kit!

The Academy single-seat IL-2 is an excellent kit and just falls together. The cockpit looks great right out of the box and the canopy can be posed open to show it all off. It includes an excellent Cartograph decal sheet, just be careful using this as the camo color call-outs are erroneous. The one “gotcha” is the panels on the horizontal tail surfaces are represented as lap joints but this is easy to correct. Academy also boxes an IL-2M two seat version of this kit which I have no doubt is equally good. If you want a straight-wing Stormovic this is the kit to look for.

The Dakoplast kits have some good reviews online, they feature fine surface detail on the metal panels and different kits contain parts to build any major version of the Stormovic. However, I do not like this kit. The wing to fuselage joint is a dumpster fire and is located such that it makes it difficult to finish both the cockpit AND the exterior. Repeated filling and sanding sessions kill the enjoyment of the build and eliminate the surface engraving, the best feature of the kit. The cockpit needs work but the thickness and poor fit of the clear parts will hide most of this anyway. There are better kits out there for all three Stormovic versions so save yourself a headache and give the Dakoplast kits a pass.

I was expecting more from the Zvezda Stormovic given it is a VVS subject from a Russian manufacturer, but then again Zvezda still has some older kits in their catalog. This one has some simplifications of the contours under the fuselage as well as inaccuracies and gaps inside the ventral cooler, plus the cockpit is very crude and most modelers will want to put in some extra work to improve things there. Fit is not the greatest and filler is needed on the major seams. On the plus side Zvezda has done a good job molding the exhausts and the clear part is actually clear and fits well. This kit really shows its age, go with the Academy kit instead if you can find it.

The Eduard kit is now almost thirty years old and is an earlier example of their Profipack line. This one has a PE fret and several resin parts to enhance the appearance plus the plastic parts are excellent as well. I skipped most of the PE fret as I preferred to scratch the details from plastic. The kit has engraved metal wings and a wooden fuselage, but if you wanted to model a wooden-wing Arrow you could fill the panel lines on the wing. This is a good place to start for an IL-2M3 Arrow.

The Hobby Boss kit is from their easy assembly line and it is certainly easy to assemble. Surface detail is excellent as is the fit but cockpit detail is sacrificed. Clear parts are also excellent. The Hobby Boss research team is very confused though, they have included parts for the 37mm gondolas under the wings which are wrong for the IL-2M3, plus one of the marking options is for a well-known IL-2M instead of an Arrow. The internal wing guns are missing and the 12.7mm defensive gun in the rear position will need to be replaced. Still, I like this kit. If you are willing to correct the issues with the guns and put some extra work into the cockpit the HB kit can be made into an excellent Stormovic.

Tamiya kits have a reputation for outstanding fit and excellent detail. Their Shturmovik lives up to that reputation. I enhanced this build with the Kelik cockpit set and some PE parts as well as various surface details. I don’t think sales matched expectations as this kit was only issued once and is now hard to find. If you have any interest in the IL-2, the Tamiya kit is the best one to get if you can find it.

Construction Part I here: Part I here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2026/02/20/ilyushin-il-2-stormovic-comparison-build-in-1-72-scale-part-i/

Ilyushin IL-2 Stormovic Comparison Build in 1/72 Scale Part III

Reading build articles online the Dacoplast kits get glowing reviews and are considered to be the best of the “old” Stormovic kits. I couldn’t disagree more. Here is the wing to fuselage joint with some of the worst gaps and steps that I have dealt with in recent memory. This occurred on all five Dakoplast kits I built and required plastic shims in the gaps as well as liberal use of superglue as a filler to eliminate the steps. The one really neat feature of these kits is some finely engraved details on the metal parts but this advantage is obliterated correcting the poor fit.

The Zvezda kit has some oversized locating holes for the external stores, plus the rocket rails are clunky and need replaced. I decided to fill the holes with stretched sprue, I use a little MEK to soften the plastic around the hole and then push the sprue in firmly. This is a handy trick to correct a drill hole if the bit wanders and you don’t like the location, in that case use superglue with an accelerator so you can re-drill right away.

The one bone I have to pick with the Academy IL-2 is the horizontal stabilizers are molded with “lapped” panels like you would see with vinyl siding on a house. Easy enough to fix with the handy UMM scriber so it’s not a big deal. Use the lap joints as a guide for the scriber then sand them off.

The fuselage seam goes right through the thin plastic of the inlet scoop on top of the fuselage, on the Dakoplast kits the plastic is prone to chipping here. This is in a prominent position and easily seen on the finished build.

Fortunately, there is an easy fix for the chipped inlet. A thin card is inserted under the area, then the chip is filled with superglue. The plastic on the inside can be thinned with an Xacto knife and the surface sanded back to shape, leaving the chipped area smooth again.

The SMER kit has the option for skis or wheeled undercarriage, I chose the skis for my build. The fairings are molded in halves which leaves seams on the interior surfaces which are difficult if not impossible to remove. I covered the seams with plastic strip “reinforcing structures” which will at least look plausible on the finished build. Better than seams in any case!

This is the underside of the Zvezda kit after some filling and sanding. The mounting holes seen earlier have been sanded smooth and there is card visible inside the wheel wells to blank of the wing interiors. One thing which is not easily fixed is the fuselage should be slightly rounded on the underside between the wings and Zvezda’s is completely flat. I’m not going to try to correct this, sometimes with older kits you have to pick your battles.

This is one of the Dakoplast kits after filling the wing / fuselage joint with plastic card, superglue, and several costs of Mr. Surfacer 500. These joints took several passes to get smooth and really slowed down the build. I prefer to fill and sand subassemblies when possible because it’s easier to get to everything that way. The rocket rails molded into the wings are too thick so I have filed them off, and I also drilled out the shell ejector openings. The wings are butt joints and the fit there is not great either.

The Hobby Boss kit has a scribed panel where the landing light should be, I cut this out and filled it with a section of clear sprue and superglue. This will be filed to shape and polished smooth again, my biggest problem with this process is I sometimes forget to mask off the lens! Note the lack of wing armament, HB left both wing guns off for the 37mm gun pod armament option which is not accurate for the swept-wing Arrow version in any case.

Here’s a shot of the Zvezda cockpit showing some late additions in white plastic. I found it easier to add several of these bits and bobs after the general assembly was complete and will go back and paint them before the canopies are glued in place. Not my normal construction sequence for sure but it made sense on these builds. Semper Gumby!

Looking down into a Dakoplast cockpit with some of the additional bits painted. At this point I have addressed the fit issues with the outer wing panels. Other details are the gunner’s grab handle made from wire, the wing guns from Albion tube, and I have drilled out the openings for the gear-down indicators in the wings.

This is the Dakoplast IL-2 straight-wing single seat version prepped for primer with the cockpit masked off. The amount of filling and sanding is evident, and I’m sure priming will reveal the need for more. The clear parts didn’t fit any better than the rest of the kit, a big disappointment as clear parts are a challenge to correct. On this version the armor behind the pilot’s seat was too high and prevented the rear canopy part from fitting at all, on the later versions this was not a problem.

The Hobby Boss kit represents the other end of the assembly spectrum, the kit is engineered for easy assembly so the parts count is low and the seams are few. Fit was excellent throughout, even the canopy fit like a glove. The kit was a pleasure to build, if you haven’t tried one don’t be put off by the “easy build” description, especially if you’re willing to add some detail to the cockpits.

Part IV here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2026/03/13/ilyushin-il-2-stormovic-comparison-build-in-1-72-scale-part-iv/

Ilyushin IL-2 Stormovic Comparison Build in 1/72 Scale Part II

With aircraft models “construction begins in the cockpit” has become a trope. While you don’t absolutely HAVE to begin in the cockpit you definitely have to get the cockpit finished before you can proceed to major assembly. For the Stormovic build I started with the single-seat versions. On the left is the Academy kit which has you add the interior components to the central wing section. These parts are nicely detailed and build up into one of the best IL-2 interiors right out of the box. On the right is the Smer cockpit which is much more basic. Several details are provided from a PE fret, and I have added Evergreen card to the sides of the tub to hide the gap into the wing.

All three versions of the Dakoplast Sturmovic have you build up the cockpit into the central wing section. The shape of the consol on the left side is wrong and you will need to add an ammo box for the rear gun. The fuselage joint is also a problem on this kit, the thickness of the plastic is apparent and I have added Evergreen strip to hide the seam from the inside. On the right is the Zvezda cockpit. This was the most crudely molded cockpit of all the IL-2 kits, the white bits are all scratchbuilt from Evergreen and the gray parts are from the spares box. Ironically, the clear parts of the Zvezda kit are good so you’ll need to dress this up a bit even for a closed canopy build.

The Hobby Boss kits continue to exceed my expectations, and their easy-build swept-wing Stormovic (IL-2M3) is no exception. Surface molding is excellent, as are the clear parts. Having said that, there is not much detail in the cockpit and even some of the most basic parts such as the side console, ammo box, and fuel tank behind the pilot’s seat are notably missing. Here is the HB cockpit with a few Evergreen bits thrown in.

The Eduard kit has you build up the cockpit onto the wing section with some additions from their PE fret. This is similar to the Dacoplast kit but both the fit and the detail are better. The Tamiya cockpit tub is on the right. This is excellent right out of the box, but strangely the various pieces of equipment mounted to the starboard side of the cockpit interior are not represented so it benefits from a little extra work.

Here is the Academy cockpit with some additions from the Eduard aftermarket color PE fret which really make it pop. I have also added some Evergreen stock to wall off the wheel well interiors.

One of the Dakoplast cockpits with another Eduard PE sheet. There are some additional interior details which will still be added even after the fuselage is closed up. One thing to remember on the two-seat Stormovics is on most versions the rear gunner’s position is entirely open or at best only partially enclosed, so any details there will be visible on the finished model.

The Eduard cockpit after a wash and some PE details. The Eduard cockpit needs only a few enhancements and the canopy is molded in sections which will allow it to be posed open.

The Tamiya cockpit was enhanced with the Kelik 3-D printed set. This set is printed in color and has some relief to it, unlike the usual photo-etch. The parts are flexible and are printed on paper like a decal, but there is no adhesive backing and they must be glued on. When I first tried one of these sets it took me awhile to figure out why my cockpit “decals” weren’t sticking!

In between cockpit detailing sessions I busied myself cleaning up the smaller parts which will be added at the end of the build. The front card has all the Berezen 12.7mm defensive guns, the Eduard kit contains a plastic and also a resin version which is convenient as the HB gun will need replaced. To the left of the guns are several scratch-built ammo boxes. The best of the ordnance options are also ready to paint, I’ll mix and match these at the end of the build.

The canopies are also being prepped along the way. I outline the mating surfaces with a Sharpie to reduce any reflections from the gluing surfaces, this does not affect adhesion. I was able to use a few sections from a vinyl mask set, but in my experience these do not stick reliably unless the glazed section they are covering is perfectly flat. If the mask set is not made from Kabuki tape I find it’s easier to just use Tamiya Tape and mask the old-fashioned way.

Part III here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2026/03/06/ilyushin-il-2-stormovic-comparison-build-in-1-72-scale-part-iii/

Ilyushin IL-2 Stormovic Comparison Build in 1/72 Scale Part I

Stormovic, Shturmovik, Sturmovic! IL-2 — **~~Stormovic~~, ~~Shturmovik~~, ~~Sturmovic~~! IL-2**

I generally build models in batches, and often these batches consist of kits of the same subject from several different manufacturers. When that happens I take the opportunity to compare the pros and cons of the various kits and show the differences so readers can see the strengths and weaknesses of each, I cleverly call these “comparison builds”. One question which often comes up when I do this is, “Why didn’t you include the new (or old) SuperDuperModel2000 kit?” I don’t really have a good answer for this one. I seek out some kits and others jump into my bag at shows, when I get to a certain number and the mojo meter pegs I build the batch. If you think there’s a science behind this you overestimate me.

Which brings us to this batch, the Ilyushin IL-2. This batch got out of hand. Eleven kits total, seven different manufacturers in all, and a subject aircraft where nobody can agree on anything, even what to call it. Most of the sprues have been re-boxed under several names over the years which complicates things further. References are relatively few given the importance of the IL-2 and the numbers produced, and those references contain several inaccuracies which have made their way into the kits.

The IL-2

The IL-2 was produced in three major sub-types: A single seat straight-wing version (IL-2); a two-seat straight-wing version (IL-2M); and a two-seat swept-wing version (IL-2M3) which was nicknamed the “Arrow”. The Soviets called all versions of the IL-2 the IL-2 regardless of design, the parenthetical designators are Western constructs. The IL-2 is popularly called the “Stormovic”, but this is also spelled Shturmovik or Sturmovic. Initial versions were of all-metal construction, but wooden wings, tails, and aft fuselages were used when materials became scarce mid-war except for those produced at Zavod 18 which retained the metal wings. By the end of the war metal sub-assemblies were again being used. The Soviets flew their Stormovics until they were destroyed – average lifespan was 25 missions but a few rare single-seat examples served into 1945.

The most authoritative reference I found on the IL-2 is Jason Moore’s IL-2 Shturmovik: Red Avenger, reviewed here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2026/01/26/il-2-shturmovik-book-review/ I found his research compelling and deferred to him when conflicts were encountered. Here are some common misconceptions he points out:

Early Il-2 single-seat aircraft were finished in green with light blue undersides from the factory. Most single-seat and two-seat straight-wing (Il-2M) were finished in Dark Green AMT-4 and Black AMT-6 over Light Blue AMT-7 camo. Late production two-seat straight-wing (IL-2M) and wartime two-seat swept-wing (Il-2M3) were finished in the three-color scheme on the upper surfaces consisting of Light Brown AMT-1, Dark Green AMT-4, and Dark Grey AMT-12 in one of three distinct patterns. The Stormovic is often depicted in a green and brown or a light green / dark green scheme but these are not accurate.

1,200 Stormovics were built with factory-installed Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 37mm cannons in pods under the wings. These were all two-seat straight-wing (IL-2M) constructed at Zavod 30. Evaluations of these and other cannon were conducted on the other IL-2 sub-types in small numbers, most notably nine single-seat IL-2 with ShFK-37s used over Stalingrad.

A torpedo variant was designed (IL-2M3-T) but it does not appear to have entered production. Some standard IL-2s were reportedly modified in the field to carry torpedoes and saw service with the 23^rd Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet but even this is disputed. Most Stormovics assigned to anti-shipping missions used “skip bombing” techniques similar to USAAF units operating in the Pacific.

In many cases it is problematic to determine details of the factory or type of construction from photos, and even the straight- versus swept-wing feature can be hidden from certain angles. To complicate this many profiles illustrate markings on the wrong IL-2 type and with inaccurate camo, plus some decal sheets are seemingly unconcerned with such things. All this makes it difficult to get all the proper panel lines / camo / version / markings sorted so be forewarned. I make no claims to have gotten everything 100%.

Straight-Wing Single-Seat Kits (IL-2)

SMER – Issued in 1997, re-boxed by Intech, Kovozavody, and MisterCraft. Metal wing version, my kit is the Hi-Tech boxing with PE fret and the optional ski undercarriage. Decent cockpit and engraved panel lines, but the bomb loads look a little chunky.

Academy – This is the Accurate Miniatures tool which was never released, Academy got access to the molds and put this kit on the market in 2008. Academy also released a two-seat straight-wing version in 2016, Modelist has boxed this one as well. Excellent kit with beautiful engraving, great cockpit. Metal wing. Weighted wheel option and choice of bomb & rocket load. Cartograph decal sheet with ten marking options but inaccurate camo color call-outs.

Dacoplast – 1997 tool, also boxed by Zlinek, Eastern Express, Modelist, and Ark Models. Dacoplast is the only manufacturer to cover all three major versions and provides additional sprues for some of the specific sub-variants. Wooden wing and aft fuselage. Fine recessed surface engraving on the metal parts. Cockpit is sparse and clear parts are thick and not very clear. Test fitting looks like there will be some problems. FAB-250 bombs are undersized.

Straight-Wing Two-Seat Kits (IL-2M)

Zvezda – This is the Toko tool from 1996 but the overall impression is of an even older kit. It represents a metal-skinned Stormovik with recessed panel lines and rivet detail. Hard plastic and rather crude details, but the exhausts and clear parts are nicely done.

Dacoplast – see comments above.

Swept-Wing Two Seat Kits (IL-2M3)

Dacoplast – three Dacoplast IL-2M3 “Arrow” kits, same tool as the earlier versions with some Arrow specific parts as needed. Two of these are in Modelist boxings, these are made from a very hard and brittle cream-colored plastic. Optional parts to make a torpedo bomber, and 37mm gun pods which are inaccurate for a swept-wing Stormovic.

Eduard – the 1997 Eduard Profipack includes resin and PE parts and represents a metal-skinned Stormovic. There is some debate about when production shifted from wood to metal for the aft fuselage, but most Arrows were made with wooden fuselages during the war. Nice details all around, and the cockpit and clear parts look great.

Hobby Boss – The 2012 HB kit skips the Stormovic spelling controversy entirely and calls their kit an “Attack Aircraft”. Nicely engraved surface detail and engineered for easy assembly, just like the box says. Sparse cockpit detail but excellent clear parts. The flexible gun in the rear cockpit bears no resemblance to the 12.7mm UBT Berezin and should be replaced. The 37mm wing pods are inaccurate for an Arrow, but HB has correctly deleted the cannons mounted within the wing for that version so these will have to be added by the modeler. If you’re willing to correct the problems with the guns and detail the cockpit this kit can be made into an attractive model.

Tamiya – a 2013 release, and this kit has not been re-issued as far as I know. I have built this kit previously and it is everything you would expect from a Tamiya kit – great fit, great engraving, beautiful clear parts but unfortunately only a closed-canopy option. Represents a metal-wing type. FAB-50 and -250 bombs with ROFS-132 rockets, all excellent. Decals are thick but accurate for the Arrow. The cockpit can use some additional detail but otherwise a box-shaker.