Decal Sheet Review: Travers Ilyushin Il-2s
Original Review By Tomas Wroblowsky
Update:
This article has been updated with newer artwork
and research. The original text has been replaced by current work, and
has not been retained (in part due to the sheer size). |
[ All decal sheet scans have
been deliberately skewed and distorted at random angles to dissuade illegal
reproduction or Copyright infringement by any such parties. The precise
line and measurement of any specific marking, therefore, should not be
taken literally from these illustrations. ]
Travers Il-2 Decals (pt. II), Catalog Number 72018

Very nice decal sheet, containing decals for six aircraft.
Decals seem to be good quality and in-register.
Schemes
Six Il-2 schemes are provided on this
sheet.
-
Il-2 "Yellow 82", with white writing "Valeriy Chkalov" on the fuselage
sides. This aircraft was photographed on 16mm movie film, and alas it is
irritatingly difficult to analyze its appearance. On balance, one might
argue for a white interpretation of the numeral "82", and all other trim
and markings (stripe, star border, etc). The aircraft gives the impression
of being an all-metal single-seater, and the colouration is thoroughly
unclear. It may be that the limited contrast shows AII Dark Green over
Green, but Il-2s from this time wore only AII Green and Black lacqurs,
and that would be the preferred guess. I think these markings are also
offered both in DAKO and Smer kits, which is strange, because these two
kits represent different versions of single-seat Shturmovik.
-
Il-2 "White 1" of the HSU Yu. Pavlov, Baltic coast, Autumn 1944.
This machine wears AII Green/Brown camo with red or black spinner. The
markings on the sheet.are disappointing, and the 'sea eagle' is given only
as a black shape. Not a very useable Pavlov set, here.
-
Il-2 "White 22", of HSU G. Beregovoy . This decal set is based upon a colour
profile in Armada #4. It seems likely to have been made using the pilot's
recollection, as no photograph of the specimen is provided. No further
details are available, therefore, alas.
-
Il-2 so strelkoy "Yellow 25". The sheet's recommended overall green
camo is quite ridiculous, and probably also the red spinner. This set was
based on a colour profile in AJ Press ML #22; there is no accompanying
photo. The profile shows a 'strelka' (arrow) with the rear canopy removed,
AII Green/Brown colouration, and a spinner with a yellow tip. Minus the
photograph, nothing about the authenticity of the appearance can be said,
but it is vastly more likely than the sheet's description.
-
Il-2 "White 100" of HSU V. B. Emelyanenko. This looks to be a pretty nice
set for "100". The sheet recommends Victory type stars, but white border
varieties are more likely. Very attractive scheme, as far as I remember,
it is also provided in one of the DAKO kits.
All colours are generic, but VVS fans will have no problems with that [ED:
the painting guide, as usual, should be discarded at once]. Specific version
of each aircraft should bring more problems. The instructions are not very
useful for detail specifics, so good references are necessary.