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Polikarpov I-153
MPM

 
Kit # 48008
SCALE 1/48
PARTS 15 vacformed and 25 injected parts, one vacformed canopy
DECALS two options
REVIEW BY Jouni Rönkkö

 
Contents
Here's another MPM's old vac. Before Classic Airframes relased their kit, it was only game in town. And it still  is a good kit. 

You'll get two sheets of white vac formed parts and some injected parts, decals and one vac formed canopy. Wings and elevator are in the one sheet and fuselage, cowling and wheel wells are in the other. Panel lines are engraved. All places which are intent to cut out are clearly marked with "X". Again there is small bumps, which come from vac forming technique. But they are easy to remove when parts are still in the sheet. 

Injected parts are nice but needs some cleaning.  For cockpit there is only a instrument panel, seat and control column. Landing gear consist six parts each side plus a tail wheel. All struts are provided. There is no engine at all, but it didn't show since I-153 had that front plate. 

Decals are for two Soviet planes, white 102 and white 6. This kit is old and it shows in decals which are badly yellowed. 

Instructions are typical for MPM, giving seven assembly steps. There is no numbers in the parts. 
Wingstruts are little bit problematic. No exact place are given, but drawings in 1/48 scale are useful. Painting instructions are fair. Only general colour names are given, like green, light blue and gray. 
Conclusion
Like all vacus it needs extra detailing, especially to cockpit. It could be real "show stopper"!
Decals isn't problem, since aftermarket decals should be available. 

Comparing  Classic Airframes to  MPM
How the old vacu compare to "modern" multimedia kit. Not bad I'll say.
Only thing where Classic Airframe beats clearly  the MPM is the  interior. Where MPM cockpit is sparse CA's cockpit is full of p/e and resin details. External details are good in both, even slightly different. Canvas texture is better in CA's kit. Either don't have engines.

If interior is important and you don't like build vacus, stick to CA's kit. If you like to have some challenge, try to find MPM's I-153. Or what the best, build both, they are good kits!