1:32 USSR WWII Aircrew Parachutes

The parachute as part of the seat

During the war Soviet airmen did not sit on an upholstered cushion but directly on the packed parachute set into the pan of the seat. It made up a substantial part of what is visible from an open cabin: the canvas pack with its lacing, the straps running over the shoulders and the thighs, the metal rings and the chest snap hook. Without it the interior looks empty and the seat too shallow, because it is missing exactly the layer the pilot rested on.

The set offers this equipment in printed form for the large scale, where the stitching and the shade of the canvas are distinct. The color matches period materials, which were far from white and moved rather in muted brown-gray tones.

A piece of period equipment

The equipment of Soviet airmen was built for the rough conditions of field airstrips, for winter and for getting in fast. The straps were therefore seldom neatly arranged, and in period photographs they often lie over the edge of the cabin or hang out over the side of the fuselage. This untidiness is valuable on a model, because it betrays that someone really used the machine.

Use

The parts are cut out along the outline and applied to a finished surface with the shine taken off. They can be straightened with water, and a softener will settle them into the fold between the cushion and the backrest. Anyone building an open cabin can leave some of the straps led out over the edge of the pan, as though the pilot had just got out.

Suitable for Soviet-built fighters and attack machines, where the cockpit is often uncovered and the interior makes up the main part of the final impression. The box holds only the printed parts for 1:32 scale; the seat and a figure are not part of it.