Probably the only post-World War II military aircraft that can be outpaced by a blimp, the An-2 Colt continues to serve air forces around the world.
Despite the thousands produced, the Colt has been ignored in the modeling world until Valom chose the An-2 as its first release in 1/48 scale — and a big release it is, too. No dainty biplane, in 1/48 scale it has a wingspan of almost 15".
The first of several An-2s from Valom is a military version. The kit provides a plethora of props from which to choose, including wicked-looking scimitar blades. However, the two decal options cater to only one set of blades, as clearly pointed out in the instructions. The colorful decal sheet is well printed and includes a rather bizarre lizard camouflage from the Polish air force as well as a standard Russian air force scheme.
Among the 172 parts is a handful of resin for various intakes and exhaust, instrument console, and petite blade-pitch paddles. A small photoetched-metal sheet has seat belts and other fine details. And then there is the canopy: Valom realized shortly after releasing the kit that the canopy was flawed — it was far too wide, and the front windscreen sloped much too steeply. To its credit, Valom re-tooled the clear parts. If you have an early version of the kit, you can contact Valom through an e-mail on its website for a free replacement.
Construction progresses quickly, thanks to a wide-open cockpit that allows parts installation after the fuselage is together. There is minimal detail for the rear, including seats, floor, and a bulkhead. There are no positive locators, and I managed to knock my bulkhead out — I left it out without any trouble, as you can’t really see that far into it anyway.
The fit was fine, although the root fairings for the stabilizer are molded at slightly different angles on each side of the fuselage. There are upper rear wing fairings that must be put in place on the fuselage, and it takes a lot of fiddling and trimming to get the wing to seat properly. Once that’s accomplished, the wings do fit well. But the separate ailerons and flaps need trimming to fit snugly to the wing. I left the leading-edge slats off until after completing the rigging, since I snuck a couple of the wires through the wing hidden beneath the slats. There are really only two make-or-break aspects of this kit — the canopy and the landing gear. The new upper portion of the canopy can be made to fit quite well by carefully trimming a bit of plastic at the front of the instrument coaming and following Valom’s instructions for removing material at the upper wing root. The directions aren’t very clear, but you can figure it out by dry-fitting the parts.
The real problem is the fit of the lower transparencies. Due to the complicated nature of the real thing, Valom has made the lower portion of the “bay window” separate pieces. But because the plastic used is somewhat thick and the angles involved are awkward, the parts won’t fit without significant trimming. I ran out of hassle time with mine, but I’m sure careful knife work would save the day.
Each landing gear consists of three separate struts, with the main gear leg the only one having a positive locator. You have to drill your own holes in the wing to accept them. Luckily, the main leg is strong — like the real biplane, I guess. Similarly, the struts create a strong bond for the upper wing.
Last up for construction was the prop. This needs careful alignment, as all blades are separate and there are no attachment guides.
Painting was straightforward, but plan to take some time — this is a big canvas. Surface detail looks good under paint, and the decals performed very well over the numerous panel lines and wing structure. Once the decals were set and a flat coat applied, I did the rigging with monofilament.
After 23 hours of tweaking, fitting, trimming, and finishing, I had a rather large addition to my shelf that looked very much like a Colt. The dimensions scale out closely, and the detail is sufficient to make most happy. So, provided you’re willing to spend time checking and adjusting fit, Valom’s Colt will make a good addition to your collection.