1:48 Eurofighter Typhoon pilot 2

An airman in current gear, the second pose variant

The number in the name distinguishes this figure from its counterpart, with which it forms a pair of different poses. The man is modeled in current equipment: a flight suit with a harness, a helmet with a visor, an oxygen mask and straps, that is the gear worn by the crews of European fighter aircraft from the 1990s to the present day.

Versatility is the intention here. The manufacturer recommends the figure for the aircraft of the British, German, Spanish, Italian, Saudi Arabian and Austrian Air Forces, because among the users of the same type the gear does not differ in its main features. Besides a fighter with a canard layout such as the Eurofighter has, the figure will also come into its own with other contemporary machines.

The material is resin. Once it has been cut from the casting block, the seams cleaned up and the surface washed, the casting behaves predictably during painting and takes both acrylics and oils. Standing beside an aircraft, it gives the model scale, which the airframe on its own in a display case will never reveal.

How to use the pair together

Two figures in different poses together on a base create a scene that a single figure can never manage. Simply turn them toward each other and the viewer will imagine a conversation before takeoff or a report after landing. In color it pays to set them apart with small things: a different shade of high-visibility elements, a different combination of straps, gloves taken off on one of the men. Identical uniforms do not matter; the eye looks for a difference in stance and in the details.