Type 5, windscreen , OP-1 gunsight
The following type 5 is the one proposed by Amodel under the name "Type-6". The boxart is wrong. It represents a sliding canopy.
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In fact, this "Type-6" would not exist in the VVS nomenclature.
There would have been about sixty of type 5 equipped with a third fuselage machine gun, which would have deserved a change of type, but this information is very controversial.
I propose this version in chronological order, fixed windshield, OP-1 sight and reinforced wing because it is the one which appears in 1938 when the lessons of the war of Spain show that the sliding canopy often opaque and difficult to open in flight was unanimously rejected by the pilots.
This version was still used in 1942 since the plane presented was captured by the Finns in Suursari on March 27, 1942. It will become the IR-101 in the Ilmavoimat.
Of course, he no longer served as a fighter but fore close support, equipped with six RS-82 rockets under the wings.
Amodel provided an additional cluster with
-the skis and good landing gear, so no need for the corrections seen in the other kits,
-the rockets, correct and their rails, very coarse,
-a new intrados showing the aluminum plate that protected the wing of the flame of the RS-82
-a cone-free propeller, the I-16s converted to the ground attack were generally devoid of cones and wheels covers
The decals are wrong if we want to respect the photos of this aircraft. The red 15 was hand painted and the intrados stars were of different size, probably as a result of a change of outer wing panel.
I do not detail the assembly that is identical to the Chinese Type-5 previously described, apart from mounting the skis and rockets.
I used frontplate and shutter of the PE Ace to represent closed shutters.
Here it is before painting
Here are the pictures taken by the Finns and my interpretation.
The intrados is AMT-7 rather than AIIg .. On the one hand the contrast with the white is very important, on the other hand we are in 42 and this plane built in 1938 had certainly been repainted with the standards AMT 4/6 / 7 before receiving this winter camo. And AlexGRD said OK.
I made the 15th in decals from the photos. AMT-7 is from the Akan,
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The size difference between stars is not an error as can be checked on one of the original picture
Regards
Bernard
