During WWII, the worst nightmare of Soviet ground troops were Ju-87 Stuka series dive bombers; for Germans, that was Il-2 Stormovik. TsKB-55/57, designed by Sergey Ilyushin and his team of Central Design Bureau, was a strong, all-metal aircraft, and propelled by AM-38 engine. It was operated by a pilot and a rear gunner, and they?re protected by armored bathtub along with fuel tank. But when it came to mass production stage and deployment as Il-2 in 1941, lack of material forced it to become a single-seat aircraft, with wooden parts used for wings and the rear parts of fuselage. Being called as Ilyusah, Flying Tank and Stormovik Storm Bird by Russians, the Il-2s served with Soviet air force brilliantly and gave their enemy a great fear and massive damage, which was enough to earn the name of The Black Death by Germans,in spite of massive damage of Il-2 themselves. Il-2s were so important that Stalin stated it as Necessary like air, like bread. Il-2s still had problems to solve, so the developments continued; rear gunner revived, more powerful engines were used, more armor and re-designed wings were made to be an enhanced version, Il-2M. Outnumbering the Bf109s (around 35,000 samples produced), Shturmoviks were produced over 36,000 and it?s still the best record of most-produced combat aircraft. Kit features: Fully engraved panel lines; Highly detailed cockpit & landing gear; and Cartograf premium quality decals. Paint colors needed: Dark Green, Silver, Steel, Clear Red, Clear Blue, Flat Black, Burnt Iron, Gray Green, Dark Gray, Red Brown, Light Blue, Light Brown, and White.