Polikarpov UTI-4

The UTI-4 was a two-seater trainer version of the Polikarpov I-16 fighter. One aircraft was captured and subsequently used by the Finnish Air Force during World War II. It is currently preserved and on display at the Finnish Aviation Museum at the Helsinki Airport.

Construction Notes

The Hasegawa 1/72nd scale Polikarpov I-16 type 18 is a great disappointment. Just like the old Revell kit, this kit also has a wing that is too narrow (not as much as the Revell kit but still enough to be clearly noticeable to the naked eye). Therefore, the first step in this conversion was to build a new wing; you would have to do this even if you built a single-seater. The fuselage of the kit is good, but since this is a 2-seater it required a lot of work. See the diagrams below for an illustration of the modifications needed to complete this model.

References Used

These are the references I had when I built the model. Since then there have been new publications with more information about this type.

1. Suomen Ilmavoimien lentokoneet 1939-72 (Keskinen et al); 1972
2. Venäläiset hävittäjät (Keskinen et al); Suomen Ilmavoimien historia 7; Tietoteos 1977
3. my own observations of the preserved aircraft in Finland