Polikarpov I-16 - USSR (1:72 Scale)

Product Dimensions: 3.32 x 4.92 x 1.78 in.

Model History and Information: The Polikarpov I-16 was designed by Nikolai Polikarpov and first flew on 30 December 1933, becoming the world's first low-wing monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to reach large-scale production. Soviet-built I-16s equipped Republican Spain from late 1936, where they held their own against Nationalist biplanes until German Bf 109s appeared, and later fought in large numbers at Khalkhin Gol against Japan in 1939. At the outbreak of the German-Soviet war in June 1941, more than 1,600 I-16s of various models served with Soviet fighter regiments. Combat aircraft of that period were often marked with hand-painted patriotic slogans along the fuselage, a wartime practice documented across many Soviet Air Force units.

Model Features & Details:

• Olive-green camouflage finish with Soviet red star insignia and tail number "11"
• Hand-painted-style Cyrillic slogans on the fuselage sides: "За Сталина!" ("For Stalin!") and "Смерть фашистам!" ("Death to fascists!")
• Fixed two-blade propeller and landing gear molded in the deployed position
• Mounted on a black pedestal display stand with a "Polikarpov I-16 USSR" nameplate

Packaging: The model ships in a printed cardboard box from the "Warbirds of WWII" series, with artwork of the aircraft on the lid and scale and material information printed on the sides; the model and its display stand are held in place by internal protective packaging inside the box.