The Il-14 was developed as a replacement for the widespread Douglas DC-3 and its Soviet built version, the Lisunov Li-2. A development of the earlier Ilyushin Il-12, (that first flew in 1945), the Il-14 was intended for use in both military and civil applications. The Il-12 had major problems with poor engine-out behaviour. Also, it had less payload capability than was originally planned (although the Il-12 was intended to carry 32 passengers, in service it only carried 18, which was uneconomic).

The development into the Il-14 was a vast improvement over the Il-12, with a new wing and a broader tailfin. It was powered by two 1,400 kW (1,900 hp) Shvetsov ASh-82T-7 radial piston engines. These changes greatly improved aerodynamic performance in engine-out conditions.

Total production of the Il-14 was 1,345 aircraft: 1,065 in Moscow (Moscow Machinery Plant Nr.30) from 1956 to 1958 and Tashkent (Factory Nr.84) from 1954 to 1958. Licenced production of 80 in East Germany by VEB Flugzeugwerke Dresden (FWD) from 1956 to 1959 and 203 in Czechoslovakia by Avia, Prague, from 1956 to 1960. It was rugged and reliable, and thus was widely used in rural areas with poor quality airfields.

The type was also used by the East German aircraft industry as a test aircraft for the horizontal stabilizer of the Baade 152.

When one is looking for interesting Soviet or Russian aircraft kits, Amodels is a good place to go. This one is part of their airliner series to 1/144 scale and is the only kit I know of in this scale of the IL-14. This plane may not be familiar to some, but it is quite similar to the Martin 404 or Convair 240 that was developed in the US after WWII. It is basically a short range airliner used to link smaller communities to larger urban areas. What we now call a commuter airline.

Amodel's kit is very nicely molded in grey with engraved panel lines and typical of short run type kits, there are no alignment pins or lugs, the parts basically being butt joined in many cases. The kit is nicely free from flash though the mold seams can be a bit large and one will need to do some minor clean-up of the window openings.

Cockpit is quite basic, consisting of just a pair of generic seats and a floor/rear bulkhead. While this may seem rather minimalist, I should point out that some airliner kits in this scale do not even include that. All of the windows are separate, meaning that one will have to be careful installing them. Personally, I prefer window decals, but there are quite a few modelers who want clear windows so there you go. Though it is difficult from just looking at it, it may be that the decal sheet has clear film over the window openings. This would be one way to keep from having to deal with the inserts. One can also used something like white glue or specially made clear liquid film to put in the window glass after the kit is decaled.

The nose gear well consists of several sections, but is properly boxed in. Main gear wells are open but have sections to be added prior to closing the wing halves to box them in as well. Engine nacelles are two halves with a single piece forward ring. The engine cylinder pieces then fit into these. Engine detail is rather generic, but more than adequate for the scale. Wings are a single lower section with separate right and left upper pieces. One will need to be sure that there is proper dihedral on the wings so test fitting before gluing would be recommended.

Main and nose landing gear are well molded and each comes with retraction struts. The main gear has separate oleo scissors. Wheels are a single molding. Gear doors are also separate so doing a wheels up stand model will take a bit of additional effort. The cockpit clear piece includes the upper section of the roof and there is an astrodome included on the clear sprue.

Instructions are nicely drawn and while it shows the need for nose weight, no indication of how much is provided. Markings are for two Aeroflot planes in aluminum with a white upper fuselage and fin. The two planes differ only by registration markings, allegedly in service during 1985. As with most Aeroflot planes, the tips of the wings and horizontal stabilizer are to be painted red. The decal sheet is nicely printed and matte. I've had fairly good results with Amodel kit decals so they should present no real problems, though they are somewhat resistant to setting solutions.

If you are an airliner fan, you should seriously consider adding this one to your collection. It is a rather widely used type that was in service with a large number of nations friendly to the USSR. It will definitely look good in your collection next to other similar types.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilyushin_Il-14

July 2014

Thanks to Hobby Link Japan  for the preview kit. You can find this one at this link.