The
Ikarus IK-2 was an indigenous Yugoslav design started as a private venture in
1932 by Ljuboir Ilić and Kosta Sivčev.
The aircraft was ordered in 1934 from the Ikarus AD at
Novi Sad
and designated IK-L1. Interestingly, the “IK” was derived from Ljuboir Ilić’s
surname and Kosta Sivčev’s first name, with the “L” in L1 standing
for Lovački, which means fighter.
The
prototype first flew on April 22nd, 1935. This aircraft was soon lost
to an accident, and the second prototype was designated IK-02, and flew in on
August 24th, 1936. An initial batch of 12 fighters was ordered and
delivered in early 1939. They went on to see service with the Royal Yugoslav Air
Force (RYAF), and subsequently some captured examples were used by the Croatian
Air Force into 1942.
The
IK-2’s development was quite protracted, and it was very much a transitional
design between previous biplanes and more modern types. It was followed by the
much more modern IK-Z which was designed by the IK-2’s original designers and
Slobodan Zrnić (the source of the “Z” in IK-Z), and was built by Rogožarski.
The similarity of the Cyrillic “Z” and Arabic “3” led to the aircraft
being commonly known as the IK-3. This aircraft as it happens has also been
kitted by Czech Master Resin (CMR).
Click on
images below to see larger images
CMR
has produced a delightful and thoughtfully engineered kit of the IK-2. It
includes a choice of very slightly different wings and wheel spats to cover the
pre-production aircraft, with a second wing and un-spatted wheels for subsequent
production aircraft. Other options include a choice of two prop spinners, and
resin or photo-etched (PE) instrument panel (the latter with photographic film
for the instrument dials). The PE fret also has seatbelts and rudder
pedals with straps. There is a very comprehensive decal sheet covering numerous
natural metal & doped fabric or camouflaged RYAF aircraft, plus a choice of
Croatian AF versions used in the mid-war period.
The
kit is very crisply moulded with almost wafer-thin attachments to the casting
blocks. The cockpit interior provides ample detail for the scale, and the rest
of the kit fits together with minimal fuss.
A
very sensible approach has been adopted to provide a straightforward way to
assemble the rather complex looking wing and undercarriage struts. The main legs
and their immediately associated struts are cast as one piece; in so doing the
critical angles are ensured for the subsequent strut attachments are assured
with careful assembly. The last strut to be fitted is designed to be trimmed to
take into account any slight variations in assembly. I encountered a couple of
pin holes on the leading edge of the wing that were easily dealt with (I have
yet to see a resin kit with none!), and a minimal amount of filler was used on a
couple of joints. The canopy was one of the easiest vac-form examples I have
encountered, being cut out and trimmed entirely with small side-cutters, and
leaving no need to use the second one provided. The model took five or so
evenings to build and was sprayed free-hand with Model Master Enamels which sped
things up a bit. The decals were superb in all respects and needed no setting or
solvent solutions.
I
enjoyed this build of an unusual but attractive 1930’s fighter. Considering
the small number produced it had quite prolonged usage given the nature of the
four years of war service it saw. As such it should appeal to those who either
like small air force subjects, rare planes, or those who just 1930’s
transitional designs appealing as I do. The quality of this kit’s design is
such that it would be a good first resin choice for anyone who would be
confident to build similar style aircraft in styrene kit form.
Mark
Davies
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