1:32 RFC Fighter pilot N°4

An airman of the British flying corps, number 4, in 1:32

The fourth sequence number of the line that the brand Black Dog has devoted to the airmen of the Royal Flying Corps. The corps was active until April 1918, which places the figure unambiguously in the time of open cockpits, fabric coverings and grassy field airfields.

How to put a crew together from individual numbers

Numbered lines make sense exactly in that they can be collected gradually. A practical procedure is to start with the figure that will be closest to the viewer in the scene and to buy the others only according to it - that first one sets the scale of detail that the rest has to follow on from. The second principle is not to buy more figures than the base will bear: an overcrowded scene takes attention away from the machine the whole display is being made for. With a single biplane, two to three figures tend to be the ceiling.

Before you reach for the paint

First degrease the surface and look it over against the light to see whether a seam or a burr from manufacture has stayed anywhere; sanding is possible only while the surface is bare. Then apply a thin layer of base coat, which will reveal the places the eye misses on a single-colored casting. Once the base coat has dried, you can build the paint up in layers. Unify the finished figure at the end with matte varnish - it will protect the paint while it is being set into the scene.

Who the figure is for

• Modelers putting a crew together gradually by individual numbers
• Builders of scenes on a grassy field airfield
• Collectors of British aviation subjects from the years before 1918
• Those who prefer one well painted figure to a crowd