Sovietwarplanes

I'm in the beginning stages of the Special Hobby I-15. I'm sure more questions will arise later on, but for now:

Photos of the I-15 generally show fairings on the doubled landing and flying wires where they are attached to the wings near the inter-wing struts. However, I have not been able to find any photos showing the aft, single flying wire at its outboard connection to determine whether or not it too had an attachment fairing. Does anyone have either photo(s) or knowledge on this subject? My plan is to make the fairing halves from sheet styrene, file grooves for the wires, and sandwich them around the rigging.

TIA.
Pip Moss

This might help, although it's the manual (in two parts) for the I-15bis; couldn't find one for the I-15:
http://mikro-mir.at.ua/load/aviacija/i_15/4-1-0-41

Walkaround of I-15bis:
http://svsm.org/gallery/i-152

You might find something here, although again, it's titled I-15bis, not I-15!
http://scalemodels.ru/modules/forum/viewtopic_t_7813.html

I-15bis again, but this photo does show a fairing in the location you're asking about, or have I misunderstood:

(http://s7.postimage.org/de4kxpmjb/I_15bis_7.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/de4kxpmjb/)

Sorry - maybe someone else will come up with an image specifically of this detail on the I-15? If I find anything, I'll post it.

John

Hi John.
That last picture is exactly what I was looking for. Many thanks!

Pip

I've got the Special Hobby I-15 painted and mostly decaled (there aren't many). I'm doing a plane identified only as "I-15 of the Red Army Air Force, 1936," with red 3 outlined in white on the rudder.

First question: Am I correct in thinking the dark green Zashchitnyi and light blue-grey paints should be glossy?

Second question: The instructions call for red stars on the two upper wing top surfaces. Can this be correct? Of the four markings options in the kit, two are shown with the upper wing stars, two without.

Thanks!
Pip Moss

Hi Pip,
this is the only photo of I-15 operative with VVS that I've found. Other photos are all related to prototypes, aerobatic planes or Spanish planes.
(http://mig3.sovietwarplanes.com/colors/before1937/russiani15.jpg)
As you see, it's the very same plane of the instructions sheet, and I would say that it's gloss. For what I wknow, matt paints were introduced in 1941, even if the look of the surface is influenced by its age.
About the stars over the wings, I don't see them in the photo, but I am nearly sure that they were there because it was a pre-war standard.
Regards
Massimo

Hi Massimo. Thanks for the reply. I had found that picture on the Evolution of Camouflage page and figured the same. I also read the translated article about markings that John posted and came to the same conclusion that the stars were likely present. In any case, I'm going to do my model that way because it's more visually interesting, if only as a generic example.

Pip

I was surprised to hear that I-15 photos are so scarce; I took a look through my I-15/I-15bis file, and sure enough, I found nothing!  :( For what it's worth, "Barbarossa" I-15bis photos suggest that the paint was glossy when new, but weathered to a flat or satin finish fairly quickly.

John

Hi John.
I'm thinking that different paint, namely AII, would have been used on the I-15bis than was used on the mid-30s I-15.

Pip

According to Wikipedia, the I-15 was found with either 4 X 7.62 mm PV-1 machine guns or 2 X 12.7 mm BS machine guns. Does anyone know which arrangement was more likely in 1936?

Pip

Berezin machine gun did not exist in 1936...  ???

Check Wikipedia for BS machine guns  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berezin_UB

BTW, your choice of VVS markings is somewhat strange; I-15 became famous in Spain.
only about 380 I-15s were made in 1934 and 1935.  Plane was unpopular/unwanted by VVS and production stopped, with only 2 planes made in 1936.  Eventually 186 I-15s were received by the Republicans, together with the manufacturing licence.

Hth,
KL

What I'm really wondering is whether most I-15s had four blast tubes (two under the upper wing; two mid-fuselage) or two (just the mid-fuselage pair). It's very hard to tell from photographs.


With all due respect, why should a plane's small production total or unpopularity be a reason not to model it? I happen to like the look of the Russian stars, and those are the markings that came with the kit I was able to obtain. In addition, most of the I-15 builds I see are in SCW markings; I wanted to do something different.

Pip

Hi Pip,
for what I understand on Red Stars vol.6 of Gordon, the early planes should have four PV-1- It seems that the lower pair passed through the cylinders without an external evidence, while the upper ones have visible tubes behind the cowling and a pair of holes in the front of the cowling.  It's not fully clear.
Have you found some images?
Regards
Massimo

Hi Massimo.
From what I can see, there are bulges in the fuselage cowing where the lower tubes pass and then emerge among the engine cylinders. Both the Special Hobby and Rest Models kits have these. I'll also go ahead and install the tubes on top.

Thanks!
Pip

Hi Pip,
something can be seen here http://crimso.msk.ru/Site/Crafts/Craft19933.htm (http://crimso.msk.ru/Site/Crafts/Craft19933.htm)
Regards
Massimo

Great stuff. Thanks!

Always 4 x PV-1 machine guns.  Try to download this book:

(http://modelling-hobby.ucoz.ru/_nw/0/54076.gif)

Cool, thanks.

Is any link known?
Regards
Massimo

I think this is it here, although I haven't tried downloading it myself:
http://www.hotfilesearch.com/download/62251514-i-15-kombat.rar.html

You'll need software like WinRar or 7zip to open the file.

John