Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik

4+ Publication

Reviewed by Mark Davies

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There are numerous kits of the Il-2, with the best of the bunch being the recent 1/48 and 1/72-scale releases by Tamiya. In fact, the 1/72 kit has only just arrived at stockists at the time of writing. However, the Accurate Miniatures 1/48-scale kit is still a nice one, and worth building if you have it already; as is Eduard’s 1/72-scale kit. Both Eduard and Italeri have re-boxed the Accurate Miniatures 1/48-scale kit, and the Eduard release includes coloured PE and paint masks. Building any of these kits should benefit from the information contained in the 4+ booklet reviewed here.

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The general history of the Il-2 will be well known to many; and is readily available from numerous sources, so I shall not give try to give a lengthy aircraft history. The Il-2 first entered service as single-seat ground attack aircraft, but it soon proved very vulnerable to attack by fighters from its rear. This led to the introduction of a two-seat version with a gunner located behind the pilot to offer some defence to attacks from the rear and sides. The Il-2 was subject to production-line changes and design improvements throughout its life. The publication reviewed here deals with the later Type 3 variant, fitted with a swept-back wing; as well as its derivatives. These include the Il-2KR spotter aircraft and the UIl-2 two-seat trainer.

The booklet has a soft cover with forty four glossy pages, eight in colour, enclosed in a square spine binding. The booklet is a very complete package that includes:

• Historical and technical descriptions.

• 170 monochrome and 34 colour photos with the main text.

• A removable centre-fold colour image of a restored Il-2 Type 3.

• A photographic section with walk-around with explanatory captions.

• Three pages of full colour profiles of aircraft in Soviet, Czechoslovak, Polish, Bulgarian, and Yugoslav service.

• Very nicely drawn 1/72-scale plans that deal with the variations covered by the booklet. These are printed on either side of an A-3 size foldout page.  

• A section dealing with armament and underwing payloads.

• A number of detail drawings that compliment the photographic presentation.

As a middle-aged reader, I have two minor complaints, and these are that the print is a bit small, and there are no gaps between paragraphs; which makes reading a little tiring. This is unlikely to change, as the format used for this series is firmly established by now; this being its twenty-second issue.

This booklet gives a thorough account of later Il-2 Type 3 variant, fitted with a swept-back wing, and its derivatives like the Il-2KR spotter-plane, and the UIl-2 two-seat trainer. It provides a wealth of technical information, photos, detail drawings, and beautifully drawn plans. I think that it should have great appeal to the historian and modeller alike.

This twenty-second title the 4+ series is produced to very high standards, and is an excellent reference for Il-2 enthusiasts. I recommend it highly.

Thanks to Mark 1 for the sample.

Review Copyright © 2013 by Mark Davies
This Page Created on 17 April, 2013
Last updated 17 April, 2013

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