Polikarpov I-3

Small Stuff, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Mark Davies

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I have copied the background to the I-3 directly from Small Stuff’s website:

The I-3 was a Soviet fighter designed by Nikolai Polikarpov. It made its first flight in 1928 and entered service the next year, becoming a primary fighter of the Red Army Air Force. The aircraft was powered by liquid-cooled BMW VI V12 engine manufactured in Soviet Union under the designation M-17 and armed with two 7.62 mm PV-1 machine guns. I-3 had a wooden fuselage covered in molded plywood with a duralumin cowling. The wooden wings were covered with plywood and fabric, while the tailplane was of duralumin construction with a fabric covering. About 400 I-3’s were built remaining in service until the mid-1930’s.

Previous 1/72-scale Polikarpov I-3 Kits

I am aware of only one previous Polikarpov I-3 kit to 1/72 scale. It dates from around 1996 and was produced by the Latvian company Naktone. It has been re-boxed by AGA, Berkut and Encore in the past; and no doubt by others too.

The kit is limited run in nature with basic detail and is spoiled by heavy recessed panel lines in places. It has an undersized tailplane, an incorrect flat-topped engine cowl, poorly represented exhausts, no guns etc. I have read of build issues where the geometry and lengths of the cabane and interplane struts appear to be mismatched.

My instincts tell me that there must have been a vac-form I-3 somewhere along the line, but I can find no evidence of one.

Builders of early Soviet types and 1930’s fighters in general should welcome this new release from Small Stuff.  

The kit comes in small at quite densely packed top-opening box. The resin parts are neatly divided and packed for safety in heat-sealed pouches (much like a CMR kit), whilst the decals have their own zip-lock plastic bag.
The kit’s breakdown is conventional for a biplane fighter as is apparent from this image of the contents:

The instructions consist of foldedA4 sheet printed in colour, with assembly diagrams on one side and colour schemes on the other. They include a parts map and use very clear assembly illustrations, although older eyes like mine might benefit from scanning some areas for enlargement, or reading them with magnification. All text is in English. Detail colour call-outs are included, as is a rigging diagram.

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Thumbnail panels:

The parts a beautifully cast on easily removed pour stubs. They are amongst the very best resin casting that I can recall seeing, and include some very small and incredibly fine pieces. A nice touch is that all parts are clearly numbered on their pour stubs, akin to mainstream injected kit sprue numbering. (Small Stuff out-sources its I-3 casting to Prop & Jet, who also produce their own range of kits.)

The fuselage halves include integrally moulded cockpit detail, to which is added some very fine separate detail parts that result in a delightfully detailed cockpit; although it will only be visible through a fairly small opening. The instrument panel is cast in clear resin, enabling the clear dial faces to be represented, although some careful masking of these with punched tape discs will be called for, or a steady hand to paint around them. A decal provides the dial faces (this is a separate tiny sheet packed with the main decal sheet, so be careful not to lose it).

When I reviewed Small Stuff’s stunning I-14 kit three years ago here on HyperScale commented that “Somewhat surprisingly, the rounded handgrip of the control column must be scratch-built from wire; although a resin former is provided to ensure the correct size and shape is fashioned by the builder. Perhaps this approach is due to a tooling issue.” Well, with this kit, the handgrip is still separate, but it is provided as a resin part.

The small windscreen is made from clear resin. It is as fine as a folded acetate sheet screen would be, and incredibly delicate, and very close to true scale thickness. It is already very clear, but some may wish to dip it in Future before removing it from its casting block.

The airframe features some stunningly realistic surface detail, with possibly the best scale rendition of fabric-covered flying surfaces I can recall seeing in 1/72. The metal cowl has some incredibly fine recessed panel lines and fasteners, so fine in fact, that care will be need to apply very light paint coats if is to be retained!

Other components are equally stunning, whether it is the radiator, guns, exhausts, gun-sight, struts etc; and some are unbelievably delicate, just look at the bomb-rack sway braces and underwing tie-down loops! (Part numbers 41 & 42 respectively below):

The level of quality of mastering and exquisite casting can only be appreciated fully under magnification, or by viewing enlarged images. The degree of attention to detail is superb throughout, with everything cast in resin! This includes teardrop navigation lights, a hair-thin forked pitot, venturi pitot, gun-sight mounting ring, and control actuators.

The kit even includes the rods that link the flying and landing wires at their mid-point where the rigging wires cross each other (another first in this scale I think). Another point worth mentioning is the choice of solid disc or fabric-covered spoked wheels.

Another standout feature of this kit is the one-piece assembly jig. This aligns both top and bottom wings, and the undercarriage legs. It is the best biplane assembly jig I have seen included with any kit because, being cast in resin, it can include little to slide over the trailing edges of eth flying surfaces. It provides a lesson to all kit makers, regardless of the kit media used, how it should be done.

Some may think I have been carried away over this kit, but like Small Stuff’s I-14 kit that I mentioned earlier, it has just left me almost speechless when handling the parts. To put things in perspective, as subjects go, the I-3 is not one I am passionate about as such. For me it is an attractive enough early 1930’s fighter for sure, and an important early Soviet type; but I my opinions and praise have not been swayed in the least by the subject choice.

For those interested how this gem was developed, check out this link to Small Stuff’s website showing some of the mastering process. 

Here are some of Small Stuff’s website images showing the assembled and unpainted model:

Colours & Markings

I-3’s apparently all came in the same colour scheme of green over light-blue with aluminum engine cowls. The kit has decals for eleven machines with various unit and personal markings.

More on these, including supporting photographs and helpful notes, can be found on Small Stuff’s website by clicking here. This is just another example of just how good and how professional this company is.

The decals are printed by Begemot Decals and appear to be very good quality.

This is a stunningly good kit, with superb surface and interior detail, incredibly fine small parts, and unbelievable scale finesse. Production quality is superb; in fact, I can think of none better.

Three years ago, I wrote that Small Stuff’s I-14 was is the best all-resin kit that I have encountered; well this Polikarpov I-3 possibly just supersedes it when allowing for the kit’s completeness, the inclusion of the assembly jig, the finesse and quality of parts, the extra information on paint schemes, and so on. I certainly rate it as one of the best kits overall that I have seen in ‘The One True Scale’.

It is such an exquisite example of the kit making art it is almost too nice to spoil by building and painting it!

I cannot recommend it highly enough!

Thanks to Small Stuff Models for the review sample.

Review Text Copyright © 2016 by Mark Davies
Images from Small Stuff's website and by Brett Green
Page Created 14 July, 2016
Last updated 14 July, 2016

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