1:6 Bust of Josef František

The real subject

Josef Frantisek was a Czech fighter pilot whose name is bound up with the summer and autumn of 1940. He fought with the Polish No. 303 Squadron of the Royal Air Force, flew the Hawker Hurricane and was among the most successful Allied fighter pilots of the Battle of Britain. He did not live to see the end of the year. The bust holds his likeness as a portrait, not as a generic figure of an airman.

The size and what to expect of it

The bust captures the head and the chest; with a bust the scale is reckoned from the size of the figure, not from the height of the finished piece. The ratio of 1:6 is markedly more generous than the usual one in ten, so the face brings out even what is merely suggested on smaller busts: the eyelids, the lips, the wrinkles, the texture of the collar and the buckles of the equipment. With the size, though, the demands of painting grow, because a large surface will not forgive even a coarse stroke of the brush. The number of parts and the form of the base are given in the manufacturer's description.

Painting tips

• wash and degrease the piece before painting, otherwise the paint will not hold
• lay the primer coat on thinly, so that the fine features are not lost under it
• build the flesh tones up in layers and blend the transitions between them; on a large surface every step shows
• leave the eyes, the lips and the eyebrows until last, they decide the whole impression
• on a piece this large an airbrush suits smooth transitions as well; the details are finished with a brush

Who it is for

It is for modelers who take figure painting as their main discipline, and for collectors who want a striking figural centerpiece in the display case. You do not need an aircraft model or a diorama with it. The same figure also exists as a smaller bust and as figures in modeling scales. Paints and glue are not part of the delivery, unless stated otherwise.