ICM 1:72 TUPOLEV SB 2M-100A
'INBOX Review'

 

Reviewer: Johan De Wolf  (rec.models.scale)   

Kit Details

History

In the 20’s and 30’s Soviet aircraft design was well ahead of the developments in the rest of the world. The SB stands for fast bomber and that was exactly what this Tupolev design was. It was one of the first twin engined monoplane bombers with retractable under carriage. It first flew in 1934 and soon after that series production started. In 1937 an improved version entered production with uprated engines (3 blade props) and different armament. From the mid 30’s SB were active in conflicts like the Spanish civil war, the Khalhin-Gol incident and the winter war with Finland. The SB could operate with relative impunity because of their speed. But with the arrival of the modern monoplane fighters the SB’s became vulnerable. By the time the 2nd world war started the SB had been overtaken by fighter development. Even so it was still deployed in large numbers by the Soviet airforce and consequently losses were high. Even fitting it with newer engines (M-103, 105) and redesigning it (AR-2) didn’t help much. By the early 40’s the SB’s time was definitely over. 

The kit

Lifting the lid of the sturdy box reveals 7 sprues packed together in a single bag. The parts are crisply formed and highly detailed. Ejector pin marks are only in places that are not visible after construction. On the large parts there is some flash here and there. The clear parts are thin but could be more transparent and the rear canopy in my kit was a short shot. The decal sheet looks very good. The 8 page A4-size instructions include a short history, technical data, parts overview, 11 construction diagrams and 4 colour schemes.

Accuracy

The length is within 1mm of the correct figure, span is about 3mm short. I won’t fuss about the span as the wing plan form is highly accurate. This kit has been designed in cooperation with the people at M-Hobby, and it shows. As the parts count already suggests, this is a highly detailed kit. Surface detail is extreme, with every lump, bump and rivet accounted for in minute detail. The inside of parts also show structural details where needed. Shape wise, I dare to say that this is the most accurate kit so far.

Construction 

That ICM likes to go their own way when it comes to parts break down was already apparent with their Tu-2 and TB-3 kits. This kit again deviates from the norm. Instead of splitting the fuselage vertically, and attaching the wings at the root, ICM takes a new approach. The fuselage is divided up into a tail section and a nose section that are split vertically and a fuselage mid section including wing inner panels that is split horizontally. Looking at the parts it is immediately clear why this elaborate approach makes sense. There will be no nasty seam at the wing root and it makes inclusion of a wing spar easy. The wing spar will provide strength and the correct angles for the wings. 

Construction starts with the center section. It incorporates two wing spars, bomb bay detail, wheel bay details and cockpit parts. Oddly enough the instrument panel is totally devoid of detail. This together with seat belts are probably the only parts where the kit needs help from the aftermarket companies. Next is the fuselage front section that also includes further cockpit detail. The tail section is filled with details for the rear gunner’s position. In all, some 30 parts go into the fuselage interior. The engines are made of 9 parts each. Next the wings are added. All rudders are separate parts and can be positioned as you like. For the landing gear you have to option of using wheels or skis, a total of some 20 parts. The bomb load gives you 3 options; 8 50kg bombs, 4 150 kg bombs (2 external) or 3 250kg bombs (2 external). A combination of these up to a 1000kg’s is also possible (51 parts in total). Last parts to be added are the transparencies, machine guns and some minor external details.

Painting and Decals

Colour call outs are in Model Master and generic terms only. An approximate FS match would be helpful. Painting details are given throughout construction. The decal sheet gives four options: Two machines used against the Fins, one with skis, both in Aluminium dope or light grey all over. Both colours were used but it is extremely difficult to judge from photographs which is which. Then there is a machine from the Khalhin-Gol incident, based in Mongolia. This has green squiggles over light grey or alu dope. The last option is a green over light blue painted aircraft used against the Germans.

Conclusion

This is the best kit of the SB so far. However it is not of the shake and bake variety. It has to be built, meaning that you have to dry fit and if necessary adjust each part before gluing it. As with previous ICM kits this one takes patience and determination but it will reward you with a superb replica. Taking shortcuts will mean puttying and sanding, and thus loss of surface detail. Because of its high part count and the kind of short run nature of this kit, I won’t recommend it to a novice but an experienced builder should be able to finish it without problems.

This kit is also available with Spanish civil war markings (#72161) as the SB 2M-100. As all the parts are there to build a license built Avia B-71 as used by the Czechs and Germans, it seems likely that a kit of that version won’t be far off. It would be nice if there would also be M-103/105 versions down the line.

Having seen this kit, I have high hopes for the Do-17 and Do-215 variants ICM have announced for later this year.

References

 

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