The Antonov An-3 is a Soviet/Ukrainian agricultural aircraft. It is essentially a turboprop-powered development of the An-2 designed to upgrade or replace it. The first example flew as early as May 13, 1980, but because of a lack of official interest in the project, work proceeded very slowly–flight testing was not complete until 1991. It is one of the few turbine powered biplane designs to date.

The project was revitalized in the late 1990s when it was taken over by Polyot State Aerospace Enterprise, and a marketing campaign began in earnest in 2000, although sales have been limited. It is available in two forms, the basic agricultural aircraft (An-3SKh - "Selsko-Khosiajstwenni", Agricultural) and a civil transport version (An-3T) able to carry 12 passengers or 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) of cargo.

Although it is designated An-3, this number is not assigned sequentially. Antonov assigned it to the plane because it was meant to replace the An-2.

Another attempt to replace the An-2 on Soviet farms was made in 1970s with the WSK-Mielec M-15 Belphegor, but it failed.

Amodel's neat little An-3 kit is typical of their efforts in larger scales. The fairly low pressure molding results in good detailing in terms of engraved panel lines that look reasonable in this scale. There are three grey and one clear sprue along with a photo etch fret. As this is an update of their An-2 kit, you'll find a number of pieces not used for the An-3. As the wing sprue is the same for both kits, and the An-3 does not have a separate fin/rudder piece, you'll need to cut the horizontal stabs in order to attach them.

Photo etch is used for the many flight control hinges as well as for the wing and tailplane struts. Since the bulk of the attachment for the wings is on the fuselage, this will probably work out OK, though frankly, I'd rather have seen these items in injected plastic, especially as the photo etc is rather thin. Not all the p.e. shown is actually used on this kit. The clear bits are well done  though thick, with the canopy divided into three sections to provide the undercut typical of this aircraft. The cabin transparencies are individual circles of clear plastic. It would probably be best to install these early and sand them flush with the outer fuselage or leave them off and use Krystal Kleer or a similar method to do these small windows. The kit does provide a rudimentary cockpit with floor, bulkhead, seats and instrument panel. This is just fine for kits in this scale.

Markings are for two aircraft. One is the box art aircraft from the Ministry of Emergency Measures in Russia in light grey and white. The other is a very fanciful scheme in black, light grey and white from the City Airport of Achinsk in Russia. Due to the complexity of this later scheme, I imagine most will go for the box art one. Decals are fairly well printed and should produce no problems.

Amodel has provided us with yet another interesting kit for the smaller scale enthusiasts around. Actually, the An-3 is not a small airplane so doing this scale seems like a good idea. It should look great on your shelves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An-3

September 2010

Thanks to www.scale-model-kits.com for the preview kit. Get yours today at the link and at a discount.

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