A very impressive kit of Russia's largest World War II bomber, the Pe-8. Developed in the late 1930s, the type is a good example of bomber aircraft design of the period, being large, bristling with turrets, and, for the time, reasonably fast (about 400 km [240 miles] per hour top speed). And did we mention large? Even in 1/72 scale, the model builds up to a 54cm (21 inch) wingspan and 32cm (12.5 inch) length. The Pe-8 was also used as a transport, flying Soviet officials from Moscow to the US and back during the war. This release has markings for Stalin's personal Pe-8 ON, which was used to fly him to the Tehran Conference for the first meeting of the Big Three (Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin).