1:48 Pilot Swedish Airforce 1950s to 1970s

The man from the Tunnan, the Lansen and the Draken

The figure captures a Swedish Air Force flier at a time when jets of domestic design served over Scandinavia. He is modeled in an everyday situation before climbing into the cockpit or after landing: a parachute harness is strapped to his body, he carries the helmet under one arm and stands at ease, so he can be placed beside any aircraft of the period.

The Swedish Air Force of the day was among the strongest in Europe in numbers of machines and had its own original doctrine. It counted on dispersing squadrons to stretches of road and reserve strips, so that an enemy could not knock out an airfield with a single blow. The equipment of the ground crews and of the pilots, who had to be ready to take off from an improvised site, matched that.

The casting is resin and before painting it has to be cut from the casting remnant, cleaned up and degreased. After that it takes acrylic or oil paints just as readily as plastic. The presence of a human figure changes the whole feel of a display case: only beside one does the viewer see how large the aircraft really was.

Painting the figure step by step

A proven sequence starts with a light base on which the basic tones of the flight suit, the harness and the footwear are laid. The face is handled separately: a thin layer of a flesh shade, a brownish shadow into the eye sockets and under the chin, a lighter touch on the forehead, the nose and the cheekbones. Finally come the small details such as buckles and edging, applied with the tip of an almost dry brush. It is sensible to finish the figure before it is glued to a base.