The Subject

The Tu-2 was designed and built by the Tupolev bureau to a requirement for a high speed level and dive bomber.  The aircraft made its first flight in January 1941, mass production began in September 1941 with initial combat introduction in March 1942. 

Engine shortages required a halt to production while the airframe was redesigned and when production restarted in 1943 the aircraft had an improved airframe as well as the Ash-82 engine.  800 were produced during the war with total production of 2,460, ending in 1952.

The Model

I acquired this Hobby Boss kit shortly after it was released in 2014 because I did not know what a Tu-2 was and thought it was just another designation for the Petlayakov Pe-2, which frankly looks very similar.  Well, it was inexpensive so I decided to keep it until I knew something about it.  I eventually found a good painting reference for the kit markings and decided to hone my brush painting skills.

Construction was very straightforward, these kits lack a lot of interior detail and this one was more sparse than most.  Judicious use of paint and an overly thick canopy ensured this really wasn’t an issue.  There were some fit issues, mainly a couple of gaps where the model, split horizontally, fit along the fuselage sides.  once I got things together I filled these gaps and any ledges due to poorly molded parts were simply sanded off.  

Paints are all Tamiya acrylics applied over a Mr Surfacer primer that was sprayed on.  I found they brushed okay but I used Chilhada’s video as inspiration because so many folks seem to have difficulty brushing Tamiya.  Using his techniques I had no difficulty painting the Tu-2, but close examination shows I could apply maybe another coat or two in some areas.

Colors used were all out of the jars, no mixing.  The black is Nato Black.

Decals went on with no issues over a clear coat.

Summary

This was a fun build.  Construction was over a weekend but brushing, as always, takes a bit longer due to the curing time needed for the paints.  The kit painting guide is off, as all the online experts seem to agree that most had the scheme I used, albeit black and green were factory applied and the brown was field applied.