Polikarpov I-16 Russian fighter
Ark Models 48006

Dimensions: 127 (length) * 188 (wingspan)
No. of parts: 261 (152+1

The Polikarpov I-16 fighter was among the world's best high-speed planes in the second half of the 1930s. The first flight of its prototype was made by the outstanding test pilot Valery Chkalov on 30 December 1933. The I-16 was the mainstay of the aircraft fleet of the Red Army Air Forces in the run-up to the Great Patriotic War. The I-16 Type 5 was equipped with two 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns. The combat experience of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) showed that the power of the fire of them is no longer sufficient for a modern air combat. This has led to the next modification - the I-16 Type 10: four ShKAS machine guns (two in the fuselage and two in the wings) and the more powerful Shvetsov M-25V engine (560 kW = 750 hp). Its modification with two 20 mm ShVAK cannons was named the I-16 Type 17.

In 1938 the Shvetsov M-25 engine was replaced by the more powerful Shvetsov M-62. 600 kW (800 hp) M-62 engine identified a new modification of the I-16 - Type 18, which was created on the basis of the I-16 Type 10. In the second half of summer 1939 the use of the I-16 with the new engine began. The Shvetsov M-62 had more power and higher altitude, it could be installed in place of the M-25 almost without rework. Tests of the first fighter with the new engine showed that the aircraft performance has increased significantly. Further modification - the I-16 Type 24 with an even more powerful Shvetsov M-63 engine (670 kW = 900 hp), which was launched in the same 1939. Armed with ShVAK cannons versions of these models were called I-16 Type 27 and I-16 Type 28, respectively.

The kit for an assembly of two models of the Polikarpov I-16 fighter on a scale of 1:48 includes 152 plastic parts, 94 photo-etched parts and 15 turned metal parts (RS-82 rockets, a Pitot tube, ShKAS machine gun barrels and ShVAK cannon barrels). Decals with markings for 8 options of the plane are also included.