From ICM website:

The Soviet I-153 biplane fighter, also known as “Chaika,” was created in 1938 by the Polikarpov Design Bureau. It was an advancement of the I-15 fighter line, featuring retractable landing gear (unlike the fixed gear of the I-15), and was considered one of the most advanced biplane fighters of its time. A total of 3,437 of these aircraft were produced. The I-153 was first used in combat against Japanese aviation in the skies over Mongolia in the summer of 1939. However, by the time the war between Germany and the Soviet Union began, this fighter was already considered obsolete—its low speed made it unable to catch up with even some bomber modifications like the Ju 88 and Dornier. Despite this, it continued to be used as a fighter, an air defense aircraft, and even as an attack aircraft. During Operation Barbarossa, advancing German forces captured a large number of operational aircraft on Soviet airfields, including the I-153. These were used by the Luftwaffe for test flights, and some were subsequently transferred to Germany’s allies, including Finland.

ICM’s I-153 Luftwaffe with Pilots and Ground Personnel kit in 1/48 scale comes in a sturdy white box with a colorful top cover showing the I-153 biplane and the German Luftwaffe personnel in various poses. There are 169 parts in the box for the assembly of the I-153 and 41 parts for the assembly of seven figures. The assembly parts are contained in 6 sprues, including the clear windshield part on one sprue. Sprue marked as B is not for use, so the parts on it will go to a spares box. It contains bombs, rails, and their rockets. We also have a set of decals, a 12-page instruction manual, and ICM color paints' flyer. The instruction manual is in color and lists only ICM colors to be used for the kit. Pages 2 and 3 show the sprues with the corresponding part numbers.

Assembly

There are 26 steps in the manual to assemble the I-153 airplane model. Construction starts with the cockpit assembly and provides a nice framework with the pilot seat and controls inside it. Unfortunately, no seat belts are provided, so I decided to improvise and made the seat belts from an aluminum yogurt lid and a thin copper wire. Since the captured I-153 does not use bombs or rockets, the underwing holes in the guides need to be filled. This is described in step 08, which recommends using a putty. I chose to use plastic rods that I glued inside the holes, trimmed, and sanded down.

In steps 09 and 10 we are instructed to glue the cockpit doors to the fuselage halves in a closed position. The doors (part numbers A1-8 and A1-7) were a bit too short on the front and back sides, so I decided to attach them in an open position. This was actually nice as one can see the inside of the cockpit easily with both doors open. I attached both doors at the end after I painted the whole kit. Steps 11 through 13 show how to assemble the fuselage, the wings and the horizontal control surfaces. When attaching the horizontal stabilizers in step 13, I recommend gluing their support struts as well to ensure a horizontal alignment of these parts with the wings. The instructions show these parts (A3-1 and A3-2) added in step 25. I had to use some putty to eliminate the glue line between the lower wings and the fuselage, although the fit was good. The engine assembly is covered in steps 14 through 21.

The engine is very nicely done although all the engine cylinders have ejection pin marks on their front and can potentially be visible through the front engine cover slots. I used some putty to fill those mold ejector pin marks and scribed lines in the putty with a hobby knife. It was not perfect but better. Please pay attention in step 17 to where the exhaust collector pipes points are glued (part A2-23) as I made a mistake and had to detach and re-glue that part. Fortunately, I caught my mistake before the glue could solidify. To align the exhaust pipes with the engine cover in step 18, I first glued part A2-20 to part A2-21 and held the two side covers (part A2-15 and A2-16) with a piece of tape. I glued them in place after I painted them. I also drilled out the large exhaust tube (part A2-2) so it simulates a real tube rather than a filled part. Steps 22 through 26 focus on the wheel assembly. I masked the windshield cover, painted it, but applied it with a clear canopy glue at the very end after the whole airplane kit was painted. Although it is not marked as a step, on page 8 the instructions show front and side aircraft views of the placement of rigging. These attachment points are not marked on the kit’s parts, so I used reference photos of the real planes from the Internet to correctly drill out these points. I used nylon threads to imitate the rigging.

Painting

I painted the cockpit using Humbrol colors as I did not have many recommended ICM paints. I covered the wheelwells using ear plugs and masking tape, primed the kit, and added black pre-shading to some areas such as ailerons, stabilizers, and some fuselage and wings elements. I then painted the kit with Ammo’s Atom paint RLM 02 Gray and Tamiya’s acrylic Matt yellow. The kit offers three markings:

• I-153, Jagdfliegervorschule 3, Wien-Schwechat, 1942
• I-153, Luftlandegeschwader 1, Eastern Front, 1942
• I-153, Rechlin Test Center 1942

I decided to do the Rechlin Test Center scheme for my build. The decals went on easily on the surface prepped with a gloss coat too. I had to use some strong setting solution on the crosses on the wings. As the final step, I sprayed Testors dull cote to seal the decals and make the paint look Matt. The overall fit was very good, making the whole assembly very enjoyable.

German Luftwaffe Pilots and Ground Personnel (1939-1945)

Page 9 of the manual shows how to assemble and paint the 7 figures. The fit and detail of the figures is fantastic. There is an extra head, a cap and a couple of gun holsters on the sprue with the figures. I did not attach the two holsters with their guns to those figures that did not have a belt. The poses of the figures are very interesting, with two mechanics doing something to the plane, two pilots getting the parachute ready for one of the pilots, two officers standing in their nice attire and another mechanic standing with a tool box. The only addition to the figures were binoculars I found in my spares box and applied it to one of the standing pilot figures. I drilled holes in the figures’ legs and inserted a metal rod so that I could attach the figures to a small diorama. I painted the figures with Humbrol paints except for the skin color that used Ammo Atom paints for them. I prepared a base for a similar scene depicted on the kit’s box cover. I drilled holes in the base, positioned the plane on it, and attached the figures to the base. The figures can create an interesting scene. I want to emphasize the incredible details that come with the figures. The two officers wear iron crosses, for example, that can be painted with a small brush. Just wonderful details and quality.

Final Notes

It was a true joy to build the I-153 airplane kit, and especially, the Luftwaffe pilots and ground personnel, because of the very good fit parts and the awesome figures. Painting was easy too, due to straight lines that made masking some sections much easier. I highly recommend the kit to anyone who likes biplanes and is not afraid to create a small diorama. The results will be pleasing and rewarding for the effort. Thank you, ICM, for providing a very enjoyable experience.

My sincere thanks go to ICM for generously providing this kit to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it.