Ilysuhin Il-28 – short history
Ilyushin Il-28 was built in the Soviet Union in the immediate aftermath of World War II. 6316 IIyushin Il-28 aircraft were manufactured in the USSR and 316, named Harbin H-5, aircraft were build under license in China. The plane was equipped with two RD-45 engines that ensured a maximum speed of 800 km per hour and a possibility to transport a payload of 3000 kg. It had a crew of 3: pilot, navigator and gunner. The IIyushin Il-28 has been exported to more than 22 countries. The only country that is still flying the llyushin Il-28 aircraft is North Korea. In Romania it entered into the Air Force service starting with 1955 when the first IIyushin Il-28 arrived. They were retired from service in 2001, one year after their last public appearance at Timisoara Airshow 2000.
Ilyushin Il-28 – 1:48 scale model
The first model of an IIyushin Il-28 that I built was the one produced by Trumpeter in 1:72 scale. In the meantime I started building 1:48 scale models, so now it’s time for the IIyushin Il-28. At the moment, there are two scale models manufacturers on the market that have the Ilyushin Il-28 aircraft in their portfolio in 1:48 scale. These are HPH Models from the Czech Republic and BOBCAT Hobby Models from China. Although the HPH model is a very well done and detailed one, with photo-etched parts, paint masks, metallic landing gear and many other wonderful details for a modeler, it no longer appears to be available at this time. In fact, the Ilyushin Il-28 doesn’t appear at all on their website. And when it was available it had a pretty high price, being a short-run model made out of resin. So I decided to buy the BOBCAT scale model that I found and ordered from Hong Kong.
Kit number: 48006; scale: 1:48; manufacturer: BOBCAT Hobby Models; total parts number: 275; resin parts number: 0; photo-etched parts: 0; transparent parts: 14;paint masks: 0; total lenght: ~ 45 cm; wingspan: ~ 40 cm.
Decal and instruction sheet
The decal sheet offers nine marking options, six for the USSR and three for the People’s Republic of China. As far as the USSR is concerned, the following options are offered: four variants for aircraft belonging to the Black Sea Fleet, stationed at Nykolayv, now in Ukraine, and two variants for Ilyushin Il-28 belonging to the Pacific Fleet. There are three variants for the People’s Republic of China, two of which are for the Air Force of the People’s Republic of China and one for the Naval Forces. Assembly, painting and marking instructions are detailed over 19 black and white pages. The instructions are clear, so I don’t see any problems that could occur during any of the stages of assembling, painting or marking the Ilysuhin Il-28 aircraft.
Conclusions
I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised after opening the box of the Ilyushin Il-28 scale model produced by BOBCAT. It looks like a well manufactured and highly detailed scale model, being cast from a gray plastic with negative engraved parts. The parts for the interior of the cabin, the landing gear and other details of this aircraft render a very realistic image of the inside and outside of this plane. The Ilysuhin Il-28 model can be made straight out from the box without any problems and, most important, without any aftermarket parts. It has everything that is needed so that the modeler can build an impressive IIyushin Il-28 in 1:48 scale. Obviously, if anyone desires to improve the scale model, there is no impediment in doing so. What is certain is the fact that it is a very successful model that I highly recommend and can also be built by a modeler with less experience.
