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1:200 Scale Plastic Snap-Fit Antonov An-225 Mriya International Cargo Transporter – Super-Heavy Transport Aircraft Length:16.5″ Wingspan: 17.25″

These models from Flight Miniatures are made of plastic and don’t need any glue or paints. The assembly is very basic and takes only a few minutes. Assembly consists of nothing more than attaching the wings to the fuselage and then attaching the tail and elevators. Special care has to be taken while attaching the wings since the fitting in these models is quite tight and some pressure needs to be applied. The pressure needs to be applied on the wings and onto the fuselage. Do not, for example, hold the wings from the engines and apply force like that since this will damage and/or break the engine.

The level of detail is very nice and accurate. Wings will show the different panels and sections just as the real thing. The coloring and markings are not decals, so they won’t peel off. For the people who are really observant, engines are accurately proportioned and the type of engine is also accurately represented. These type of models are the type which one can see in airline offices and/or at travel agents (when they were still around).

This is not a toy. Recommended for 15 and up.

The Antonov An-225 Mriya (Ukrainian: -225 , lit.’dream’ or ‘inspiration’; NATO reporting name: Cossack) was a strategic airlift cargo aircraft designed and produced by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Soviet Union.

It was originally developed during the 1980s as an enlarged derivative of the Antonov An-124 airlifter for transporting Buran spacecraft. On 21 December 1988, the An-225 performed its maiden flight; only one aircraft was ever completed, although a second airframe with a slightly different configuration was partially built. After a brief period of use in the Soviet space programme, the aircraft was mothballed during the early 1990s. Towards the turn of the century, it was decided to refurbish the An-225 and reintroduce it for commercial operations, carrying oversized payloads for the operator Antonov Airlines.

With a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tonnes (705 short tons), the An-225 held several records, including heaviest aircraft ever built and largest wingspan of any operational aircraft. It was commonly used to transport objects once thought impossible to move by air, such as 130-ton generators, wind turbine blades, and diesel locomotives. Additionally, both Chinese and Russian officials had announced separate plans to adapt the An-225 for use in their respective space programmes. The Mriya routinely attracted a high degree of public interest, attaining a global following due to its size and its uniqueness.