The third plane in my four-plane "Polar Fleet" is finally finished. It's the Antonov An-2, an enormous single-engined biplane, built in 1/72 scale in a kit by Italeri. Though the An-2 isn't as well-known as lots of other planes, it is actually the most-built aircraft of the post WWII period, with more than 18,000 of them built between 1947 and 2001. A real workhorse, the Antonov was produced in many guises, including this one fitted with skis for work in the Arctic. A great "slow-flier" its stall speed is said to be the slowest there is, which is remarkable for a big lump of a plane that can carry 14 people.
The kit by Italeri wasn't an easy build at all, and for me, with just two years' experience in model-building, it came with a lot of little problems to solve during the build.
I'm using the same orange colour (Tamiya rattle can orange) for all my Arctic/Antarctic planes, for uniformity on the shelf.
The clear canopy came in five pieces (one large and 4 small and a bit ill-fitting). Generally, the kit went together quite well, but for my still limited skills it was probably the most challenging kit I have tackled so far. It's just so hard to know which parts of the build to do, including painting, in what order!
For size comparison, here's the Antonov with another of my Polar 'Fleet', a de Havilland DHC Beaver in Australian Antarctic livery.
The final plane in the Polar fleet is going to be a Noorduyn Norseman (the 1/72 kit by Matchbox). However, in the meantime I have a diorama in mind for the Antonov, which features a WWII Horch snow van and some modded 1/72 figures.