The Polikarpov I-185 was the last in a line of Polikarpov fighters that had served the Soviet Union from the late 1920s. It failed to reach production because of catastrophic engine failures during testing.

The I-185 was a development of the very successful Polikarpov I-16 fighter of the late 1930s.

Design of this new fighter began in 1940 with many features reminiscent of the I-16, although it was generally a new design.

The first prototype made its first flight on 11 January 1941 but it was underpowered so two more prototypes with more powerful engines were then constructed.

Their testing was interrupted by the German invasion in June 1941 and, when it resumed, the I-185 was found to have excellent performance and was ordered for production.

However the engines fitted to them were a major problem and one crashed on 27 January and the other on 5 April 1942. All work on the I-185 was then cancelled.

This model represents an I-185 prototype.

Modelist 1:72 kit. Completed in July 2001.