The Il-2 was one of the defining aircraft of the Eastern Front: heavily armoured, built in extraordinary numbers, and intended to work where the fighting was at its most brutal — low over the battlefield. To its crews it was “Ilyusha”; to Soviet ground troops it became the “flying tank”, which is probably as good a summary as any of what the aircraft was meant to do. It was not a refined machine in the elegant fighter sense, but it was exactly the kind of hard-working, punishment-absorbing ground attack aircraft the Red Army needed. This particular aircraft carries the striking “Za Leningrad” markings, with the city skyline inside the red arrow — a suitably dramatic scheme for an aircraft associated with the Leningrad front in 1944.

This is one of the relatively few Soviet aircraft I have built. The colourful markings were a large part of the appeal, and they certainly make the finished model stand out from the more familiar RAF and Luftwaffe subjects in the cabinet. Tamiya know what they are doing, and this was a good kit overall, helped along with a little aftermarket cockpit detail. It was an enjoyable build rather than a difficult one, and perhaps there will be another Soviet aircraft at some point — although at the moment there does not seem to be one waiting in my rather extensive stash.