1:48 Male pilot sitting in SU-31 (Quinta Models)

A pilot in the cockpit of an aerobatic machine

A man in the pilot's seat changes the whole feel of a model. The aircraft stops being a shape on a base and becomes a machine just before takeoff, with the pilot's hands on the controls and his head turned along the runway. Aerobatic specials moreover fly without the crew equipment known from combat types, so the figure does without a life vest and a bulky oxygen mask and the pose and the helmet stand out more.

The item offers a seated male figure in 1:48 scale for the cockpit of the Su-31. Together with the other figures of the same line a whole airfield story can be put together, where one person sits in the machine and another stands a little way off waiting for his turn.

Painting the figure in layers

• Start with an overall dark base, which takes care of the shadows in all the folds by itself.
• Apply the upper tones with drybrushing only over the raised places, so that a modeled impression comes about.
• Build the skin from three shades, blend the transitions and rather only suggest the eyes with a dark line.
• Unify the finished figure with a matte varnish; gloss on a small area would look like plastic.
• Leave the helmet semi-gloss, by contrast; the contrast of two surfaces brings a small figure to life.

Once the paint has dried, try the figure in the cockpit again, because every layer of varnish adds a slight thickness. Adjust the hands to the controls only at this stage and use glue only in such an amount that none is squeezed out onto the sleeve. The aircraft model, paints and glue have to be obtained separately.