1:48 Pilot Immersion suit Draken Viggen

A suit against cold water

Flying over the Baltic and the Gulf of Bothnia meant, for a full half of the year, the risk that an ejected pilot would end up in water of a few degrees. There survival is decided by a count of minutes, and that is why the Scandinavian air forces wore a full-body waterproof suit with sealing cuffs at the neck and the wrists. A figure in one looks noticeably bulkier than a pilot in an ordinary flight suit, and it is exactly that heavy silhouette that shows at once on a model.

Who the equipment belonged to

It was worn by Finnish pilots and by some of the Austrian pilots of the SAAB 35 Draken, and also by Swedish crews of the 32 Lansen, the 35 Draken, the 37 Viggen and the SK60 trainer. This is therefore a figure usable with three air arms at once, which is very practical for a collector building one type in several sets of national insignia.

The season of the scene

The suit determines more than the shape of the figure, because it sets the time of year for the whole scene. A pilot wearing one looks out of place on a summer apron; he fits instead into a view with wet concrete, remnants of snow at the edges, a gray sky and the position lights switched on. It suggests itself to add ground crew in warm jackets around him so that the view matches itself.

Before it goes in

The casting wants checking against the light, the soles leveling and the smooth surfaces of the suit painting in a matte color rather than anything else, because gloss floods the small folds. A lighter tone on the crests of the folds and a darker one in the seams give the bulky fabric the depth a uniform coat would lack.