ICM 1/72 Polikarpov I-15bis "Winter" By Gabriel Stern

Introduction

I would like to refer you to an article at Internet Modeler written by Matt Bittner. giving a general description of the company, and then you can check his article on this site for a full in-box review on the kit.

Kit companies go into a great deal of effort to create their products, and the rewards are not usually huge. I, as many modelers do, appreciate very much their efforts. Is in this context that some times I don’t feel comfortable pointing out to problems with the kits. Nevertheless reviews, although unavoidably personal, may save time and trouble to other modelers.

I have enjoyed ICM kits many times before. The general impression I usually get is very interesting subjects, very good detail, poor fit in some areas, strange engineering and some flash. The more challenging aspect of ICM kits don’t deter me from building them, but is good to know that they are not probably the best first kit you may like to tackle, and that you may have to invest some extra time cleaning and adjusting, and in some occasions improvising. Nothing that an average modeler hadn’t deal with before.

That said, I would like to point out some sensitive areas for the ones that would like to build this one.

I spent some time cleaning up most of the parts. The white plastic, made that way to facilitate painting of the “winter” version, didn’t appeal to me because it doesn’t facilitate visual “apprehension”. It reflects a lot of light, diminishing contrast and making difficult to spot mistakes.

The engine parts don’t have a good fit. The shaft that must be trapped between the engine block and the front (the part with the dome and pushrods) is too long, necessitating shortening. The pushrods end up way too far from the cylinders heads. It is like the engine block doesn’t belong to the kit.

Another problematic area is the cockpit. Plenty of very good detail there, pity it doesn’t fit well inside the fuselage when you want to bring the sides together. The instructions, good in general, are very vague, to say the least, regarding that specific subassembly. The typical arrows point in some general directions, not very precise. The lack of a side view of the built interior, or even a drawing of an already assembled one, complicates maters further.

The instructions and drawings on the box don’t have a front view, which may be necessary in some cases, for example, to check the angle of the struts and to establish the distance between the legs at the point where the skids are attached.

The lower wing doesn’t fit well either without some extra work, and then seats at a slight angle from the horizontal.

The fuselage sides will require some attention to get together too.

I was pleased though with the detail, and asked myself why, if you can produce that level of detail in the parts, their fit is so vague.

You will have to open up some holes and have your putty and files on hand.

Having also built the excellent ICM I-16, the impression I had with this one was like I was building more like an A-Model type of kit.

The engine cowl front and panels, an area where I expected problems, went OK, with just minor sweeps of the sanding stick.

Once the subassemblies were ready, I attached the cabane struts to the fuselage and the main wing struts to the upper wing, mainly to facilitate painting later. The fit here required a tad of adjustment too.

Detail, as said before, is very good. In some areas the delicacy of it made it almost disappear when the primer and paint coats were applied, besides the filling and sanding due to fit issues.

Once painting was addressed, keeping the subassemblies still apart, windshield and gun sight were added. Decaling was tackled next. The metal stripes that surround the cowl were made with Bare Metal Foil. Springs were simulated for the skis, and rigging was done with pieces of very thin stainless steel wire, my first for that material.

Windshield structure was simulated with white decal stripes.

Once I mounted the upper wing, the lines of this marvelous design were indeed shining.

ICM’s I-15 bis in its winter version is a remarkably beautiful model. Once finished, it draws attention and appreciation.

Sure, it requires a little bit of extra care, but is truly worth it.