I’ve been looking at doing some dioramas for my 1/48 scale WWI aircraft. I was thinking about adding figures to it as well. Something I’ve not done before so I don’t know where to find them. Can anyone suggest some manufacturers/suppliers?
TIA.
Mike
1 Like
I would recommend ICM! They have very detailed figures (I am building a soviet wwii ground crew and pilots), and PLENTY of WWII pilot/ground crew kits (American, RAF, Soviet, and German, and possibly Italian too). Their figure kits are also in the $20 range,
1 Like
For WWI AeroBonus has a handful of pilots standing. Spruebrothers carries them too.
1 Like
ICM has good sets, some listed in their catalog:
and others that are out of print but can be found easily enough on the secondhand market, like eBay or at shows. I bought ICM’s 1/48 P-51B (a copy of Tamiya’s kit) just because the particular boxing had 5 extra USAAF figures included
Tamiya has some good 1/48 sets today, too, to go with their 1/48 armor line, though it’s heavy on WWII ETO subjects. But they now use photography for 3D sculpting to make the masters for their figures. The quality is as good as the resin figures that are out there. They have a very nice set of USN carrier pilots conferring on the deck before they mount up that is very good. It includes the little tractor the Navy used, with a crewman driving it
Eduard is another source. They’ve put out nice sets of 1/48 scale figures, ground crew, aircrew. They made a set of USN carrier deck crew that was great. Like ICM, though some of Eduard’s sets (like the deck crew) are out of print, so you have to look on the secondhand market.
CMK is another good brand, and you can order directly from them, in the Czech Republic, and through various vendors. Here’s their Figure catalog, filtered for 1/48 WWII figures:
Another brand is Djiti Productions. They have some very nice WWII air crew and ground crew. You can probably them via a web search; I’ve bought mine through the eBay seller dragon-hobby, very reliable.
AeroBonus is another maker of resin figures, which are very nice. Sprue Brothers carry them:
https://spruebrothers.com/aerobonus/
as does HobbyLinc and other vendors.
I also use old Verlinden figures, which are also available on the secondhand market. They tend to be a little on the smaller side, but Verlinden made some very nice figures, a lot of poses.
And then, I also use old Monogram figures. Monogram had some very good USAAF and a couple of USN figures in their kits in the 70s, also some Luftwaffe figures in the Me-262 and Dornier Do-317 kit. Those figures are readily available on the secondhand market. I have gotten a good number from an eBay seller named airplaneman2014. Though he’s gotten a little pricier, given the subjects.
And another tip for you, especially if you belong to a club: ask your fellow club members to save their kit figures for you, if they aren’t going to use them. The guys in my club give me their 1/48 figures; they’re not interested in using them.
Hope that helps!
Best regards,
Brad
1 Like
Model Railroad vendors have lots of figures if you need 1:48 ones. O scale is 1:48.
1 Like
Problem is I’m looking for WW One figures such as pilots and mechanics… Found a couple, but really haven’t done a deep dive into that rabbit hole.
There just isn’t that many WWI pilots out there unfortunately. Even taking a look on eBay there isn’t much available other then the Aerobonus that I’ve mentioned.
Eduard made some very nice figure set’s that included ground crew and pilots. Unfortunately the key word is “made” and they are very hard to find now.
1 Like
Thanks. Gives me something to look for.
Found them on Ebay. Everything except the German set.
1 Like
