Many duties didn't allow me to update my blog earlier, but now I can finish the I-16 issue. So here is the building story:
The box
The cockpit looks fantastic straight from the box and in my opinion, no additional work (beside a good painting) is needed to achieve very good looking elements. According to my documentation, I used the Soviet underside blue to paint the interior. Also the photo-etched instrument panel is stunning.
The fitting wasn't very bad but some sanding and putty was needed. Some detail disappeared after these operations - I made them again using some 0,25mm plastic sheet.
The Tamiya's Surface Primer applied straight from the can revealed some earlier missed scratches. Some extra sanding and the model was ready to be painted.
I started with undersurface. A coat of light blue after a navy-blue preshading was applied. I achieved the Soviet blue underside color by mixing some Gunze C paints.
After masking the blue color I could paint both sides and the top of the kit. Light green mixed from Gunze paints over olive drab preshading - looks good to me!
The first step of creating the winter camouflage was the transparent application of Tamiya white. I wasn't satisfied with kit decals so I decided to paint all insignias and markings with handmade masks.
It was time to cover the kit with clear gloss lacquer and to weather it. Many oil paints were used to dirty the model a little. I also used white and gray colors to diversify the winter camouflage. Then some oil wash mixed from Raw Umber and Van Dyck Bronze and we are almost there!
