Petlyakov Pe8 Soviet Long Range Bomber

This 1/72 scale kit comes from a Russian model company that I don’t remember working on one before called Zvezda. The pros for this kit are as follows: I like how they give the Humbrol equivalent that best matches their own paint. The decals were very easy to take out of the paper with no ripping or folding over whatsoever. You have two building versions that you can do. Version 1 has the wheels downward with bomb bay doors open and underside cockpit door open. Version 2 has everything closed and retracted. I ended up with wheels down, bomb bay doors open, and underside cockpit door closed. The painting experience is good too. The cons for this kit are as follows: The first one is subjective as you only have one paint scheme and it’s Pe-8 No. 42107 from aviation regiment No.746 of far-ranging air force February 1943. The instructions for building this kit are pretty much incomprehensible because almost nothing fits! I had to use a combination of putty and spackle to fill in the gaps and the underside cockpit door was too small to fit the plane. I had to make part, of the door, from scratch from one of my spare pieces from a kit I had worked on years ago. In conclusion, I give this kit a rating of 4 stars out of 5. Zvezda, if you’re reading this, I highly recommend that you do a better job with your instructions to make them more comprehensible. Other than that, it’s quite a rare piece in Russian Air Force history and if you’re interested in aircraft like this. Then game on!