Antonov An-2 Colt
Four Versions

Valom, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Mick Evans

Valom's 1/48 scale An-2 Colt is available online from Squadron.com

The Antonov AN-2 Colt is a light utility biplane that was first flew in 1947 and has been continuously employed in many military and civil roles until the present day. More than 17,000 Colts have been manufactured in the former Soviet Union and in Poland. 

This is the first in-box review that I have performed on a 1/48 scale kit produced by Valom and I am very impressed. Valom has, in fact, delivered an entire family of Colts. The four specific versions available are:

• Kit No. 48001 - Antonov An-2 Colt (Military)

• Kit No. 48002 - Antonov AN-2 Colt

• Kit No. 48005 - Antonov AN-2 Colt Ski Version (Skis)

• Kit No. 48006 - Antonov Antonov An-2 (Vietnam, Afghanistan)

Each Valom’s 1/48 scale AN-2 Colt comprises approximately 136 injection moulded parts, 15 clear plastic parts, 11 etched metal parts and between 8 and 17 resin parts.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 

Thumbnail panels:

This model kit manufacturer is rapidly improving.  The Valom kit is crisply moulded with absolutely no flash. The panel lines are sharp and clean, supplemented with beautifully fine rows of rivets.

oulding is not quite in the same league as the big mainstream manufacturers but in perspective it is very good.

The cockpit contains some good detail for the pilot’s area, and although parts are included for the cabin area some modelers may wish to add some extra detail here.  Etched metal seat belts are provided for the pilot and copilot’s seats as are the prominent cooling fans fixed to the instrument panel. 

The Schvecov AS-621R engine detail is a bit sparse considering it was developed from the Wright R-1820 engine.  Modelers may wish to add detail or simply replace with an aftermarket Wright 1820 engine.  Four types of propeller blade are supplied for different versions. 

The kit comes with the standard fixed wheel undercarriage and the kit used for this review also supplies the snow skis for winter operation.  These have been beautifully cast in resin and include eight parts per assembly.

The transparencies are well moulded although a little on the frosty side, but nothing a quick polish or coat of Future polish will not cure, but most importantly they look as though they will fit snugly and are distortion free.

The decals are nicely printed and are in register with good colour saturation.  The carrier film looks to be quite thin but as I have no prior experience with Valom kit decals I cannot comment on their usability.

The instruction sheet is concise and provides good assembly detail in a typical exploded view.  One page contains some interior photographs of the aircraft’s details providing good reference detail.  The page containing the colour schemes has been printed in colour. Each of the boxings offer two schemes Highly recommended for Intermediate modelers due to the etched metal content.

Thanks to Valom for this review sample.

Review Text Copyright © 2011 by Mick Evans
Images Copyright © 2011 by Brett Green
Page Created 22 June, 2010
Last updated 23 June, 2011

Back to HyperScale Main Page

Back to Reviews Page