The I-16 was a truly revolutionary design when it was first introduced in the mid-1930's. In fact, it was the first low-wing monoplane interceptor with fully retractable landing gear to enter service anywhere in the world. The I-16 saw extensive service not only in the first years of the Second World War, but in the Spanish Civil War, in the Sino-Japanese Conflict, the battles at Khalkin Gol in Manchuria and the Russo-Finnish Winter War years before as well. Although it had long passed its development peak long before the Soviet Union was invaded by Germany, no less than 1,635 of the Russian Air Force's total of 4,226 aircraft were I-16s of all variants!

These 3D printed models require no assembly but compare favorably with injection molded kits and exceed the detail of most comparable resin and white metal models by a good measure. Photography of these little gems is a challenge for our equipment and limited skills, we hope that we've been able to show the well proportioned model including the detailed canopy, wing flaps, engine exhaust outlets and even the partially retracted tail wheel! Note that the landing gear is represented in the retracted, in-flight position on these models but it should be fairly straight forward to add photo etch parts for a "gear down" rendition, perfect for an early Soviet air base diorama.

Although the surfaces are not perfectly smooth (3D printing is done in layers), the plastic used can be sanded and painted much the same way you would handle resin or styrene.

NOTE: While we currently maintain limited inventories of most items, some items may be "printed on demand", which usually requires 10-15 business days from order to shipment.