KOREAN WAR GB-Xutong Tupolev Tu-2 "Bat" N. Korea 1950

25 June 1950 N. Korean forces crosses into S. Korean territory quickly driving south into the capitol city of Seoul. Overwhelming the S. Korean army with armor and infantry. 150 tanks supported by 89,000 infantry, 6 thrusts and 2 amphibious landings had Seoul being abandoned by June 27th and complete control 2 days later. . Korean HQ and the government fled south to Taejon. The Peoples Air Force of Korea was a ragtag of Yak 9-P's, Yak-11 Trainers, IL-10's, even a Ki-54 transport and of course a few Soviet built Tu-2's. Most of the Yaks were shot down by September. KAFP was no longer a viable force until the MiG-15's appeared. After the Soviets trained the N. Korean pilots how to fly it. There is very little account about the Tu-2 operations by the N. Koreans, the Chinese flew the same type with little success as they were not effective in penetrating into Korean Air Space before being intercepted by the various UN aircraft flying CAP.

The kit is the Xutong Tu-2VS boxing, 1 of 3 that were offered by Xutong. Most if not all of the parts in the kit could build the other variants offered by Xutong. Lots of parts, fiddly and yet quite resilient in removing them off the sprue. It is the only kit in this scale of the Tu-2 in plastic. There is a rare resin kit by Phenix. The instruction sheet was not the greatest, the fit was fair. Labor wise cleaning up around the multi part engine nacelles took a bit of work. The engines were little models themselves, similar to the ICM gems in the B-26 series. The glass parts in the kit were crystal clear, but none of them except the portholes fit well on the kit. Especially the glazing under the nose. Awful. I used the Eduard's zoom set for the interior, which helped enhance a decent cockpit provided in the kit. With crystal clear canopy and rear compartment, you can see the details with in. The Tu-2 is smaller than the Betty, about the size of a JU-88. The decals provided were for a late Russian machine in WWII. I scrounged the N. Korean markings left over from an Aeromaster MiG-15 sheet which also supplied the number. Not much else in marking or stencils. Painted using Mission Models Russian Green over Light Blue. Lots of putty on this beast, not for the faint of heart. Once you get the interior finished, most of the work is on the exterior, getting parts to align, seam work, glass not fitting, rather

labor intensive. The main landing gear however was fairly straight forward in assembly and a very strong contact point, the tail wheel is fragile, and already sagging when taking the pics. Interesting subject to display once completed. I went with the 4 bladed props though I believe the 3 bladed props for this version would've been more accurate. I just liked the look of the 4 bladed set and went with that. In the end it was a fulfilling build, despite the challenges. Thanks for viewing.

Fly Navy

Chuck

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