Seated pilot figures

[mgtaylor]

How many do you think of us here miss the old days where your old school
32nd scale revell kits came with a seated pilot figure ?

A little googled "Honcho" to fill out the cockpit. A figure to give the whole aircraft a sense of size and scale reference a person.

I think these things are particualrly missed with scale Open Cockpit/fixed Gear Airplane Models ie WWI Aircraft.

Of course where along the line current popular manufacters dropped figures from thier kits I dont know exactly how or when it happened except that today it is an accepted given that these somewhat pricecy kits will not include a Pilot Figure much less one posed to be seated at the controls.

Much like it is simply accepted that Battery Operated toys do not include batteries.

Perhaps it has been an effect of the growth of dedicated scale model Figure sculptors and makers that the standard of a detailed scaled Pilot figure has becoome an art in and of itself which by nature is cost prohibitve for ACFT Kit manufuacters to include.

I for one miss these figures especially for WWI Aircraft. One of the most endearing or spectatulor features of Revell's original 1957 1/28 scale WWI series releases were the Gang of ground figures and standing Pilot figure all together which made for an impressive vignette. While these were primative figures at best I feel they offered the kit a sense of Size and scale for the real Aircraft which otherwise would have been missing. Not to mention a sense of motion or action caught in a 3-d snap shot.

Just some thoughts.

Yours Mike

[crankcase]

...and it undermines the realism when suspending the models on threads in flying positions, as I have done with my 1:28 revells!
recruit the pilot figures, i say!
marc

[ManfredL]

Mike,


interesting point you make there and I agree.

Apart from loving WW1 aircraft I am learning to sculpt and among other projects have been working on a sitting pilot for the 1/48 Albatros aircraft series for a long while. I also have plans for more.

However, some of the problems that arise are:

Every cockpit is not the same so you will have to adapt a figure for each pit for a natural impression. Joysticks are different as well. Should one fit the hands to these every time or integrate these into the hands?
Some models due to material thickness prevent for example anatomically right limbs. One has to scratch cockpit items or shorten the legs of the pilot for example. Would a customer accept this?
Will the figure have seat belts sculpted on it?

I haven't yet decided where to go as the finely crafted lower legs on my little pilot are slightly too long at the moment.

[mgtaylor]

Manfred, Good points. Your on your own there with 1/48th scale. Your Right there are dozens of PLane Manufactuers, even small micro-mm diferences between kits can make for huge looking errors on a figure.

Large Scale WWI however has a break. 85% of the Kits are form One Maker and even one more based on Roden. For example I have a Beautiful Seated Manfred Von Richtofen from a limted Run Spanish Andrea Minitures 32nd Resin Fokker DrI. So far I have Dry fitted him to Every 32nd Scael Kit i have and he has been a Perfect scale Fit to each kit.

Unlike a WWII complicated Acft Cockpit each with specific differences most these WWI planes benefit from reltively simple and in most cases common Cockpit elements. SO far all I ve had to modify were the angle of his knee bend to better fit the rudders pedals which I did by the very same method John Reid Demos in his epic "how to build" Acft Diaroma's.

Simply cut half way thru their knees from behind break file and re-cement in the right position, putty fill, file and paint.

He really shows in Detail what we all have had to do absent of any specificly sculpted figures for our planes and that is re-mold, modify and co-Op other figures for our use.

Iam considering now a 1/24th figure set of Car Drivers to "make over" for a Contact Resine 1/24th Scale WWI Plane.

I am empathize with your delemia. I have a set of CopperState 48th Pilots for a hanging Mobile Project I was going to do and some are wearing thich fur lined uniforms, puffing them up while other in the same scale look like skinny counterparts. Again I think even very minute differnese in that scale seem much more eggagerated becuase of their relative scale.

TO me a good example of that in Large scale are just the slight differneces in SIze between 35th and 32nd figures. SOme have argued (I think in desperation of a lack of suitable 32nd figures) will say Poo they look good enough. While if you take the same 35th figures and put them on a slightly larger 32nd scale plane like a WWII Mustang and immediately they have a nagging impression in the back of your mind of them looking like little "Elfs" from the Keebler Factory working on a 747 !

I have no doubt however due to the burgening line of 32nd Scale WWI Kits that at least ONE Progressive AM Maker will eventually realease some sooner than we all might think based on the near absolute lack of them in the past.

Yours Mike

[Scimitar]

PJ Productions is preparing WWI seated pilots at 1/32 scale... I saw the masters at the IPMS Brussels expo (Brussels Air Museum, last week-end).

pjproduction

[TeamStewart]

As far as 1/48 scale goes, Copper State Models sell a range of WWI pilot/observer figures, with seperate arems and heads for better fitting.

http://www.amug.org/~copperst/figures.html

I had a quick look, and Preiser make a range of "passenger" figures in 1/32 as part of their railway accessories. Maybe you could get a few of these, re-work them a bit and create resin molds from them and make your own figures.

Also, allowing for height differences, would some "re-worked" 1/35 scale military figures do the job? There are plenty of them around.

I have heard of people using the Preiser HO scale, 1/87, passengers as crew for 1/72 scale aircraft.

[PetarB]

I don't see much in the way of 1/72 scale WWI pilot figures. To be honest its a very fiddly scale to work at in sculpting, however, I do have a bit of experience in this area. Any thoughts about a 5 pack of resin WWI pilots?

[TeamStewart]

Originally Posted by PetarB

I don't see much in the way of 1/72 scale WWI pilot figures. To be honest its a very fiddly scale to work at in sculpting, however, I do have a bit of experience in this area. Any thoughts about a 5 pack of resin WWI pilots?

Expensive.

I got a pack of these guys cheaply. A very interesting selection, too

Dark Dream Studio, 72003 - Pilots of the First World War:
# 48 figures per box
# 24 poses
# Average human height: 22 mm (= 1.58 m)

Got them from Always Model in Taiwan. Very quick service to US, and reasonable shipping costs.

It cost pretty much the same as buying the CMK Richtofen 3 piece resin set from Hannants in UK, which has standing figures, none seated.

[Scimitar]

PJ Productions figures are available now:

pjproduction

[TeamStewart]

Originally Posted by Scimitar

PJ Productions figures are available now:

pjproduction

They look nice, but are €4.20 for two!

The DDS ones I got were, albeit unpainted, US$7.95 for 48.
A bag of unpainted Preiser 1/87 seated "passengers" is about US$13.

In my mind, a 1/72 scale figure seated in a cockpit isn't going to be seen much above the chest, so I'd go for the cheapies.

No jokes about Scottish "thriftiness", please.