So I was looking for some figures for a project that I’m working on and I go to the spares box which has an assortment of 1/72 figures from aircraft kits collected over the years. We’ve all heard the stories and some of us have similar collections in our spares bin but looking through them all for the first time in a long time I was so shocked I just had to share. I pulled out some of the best.
The Pile
I thought this guy was having ulcer problems with that hole in his stomach.
Then I turned him over, his problems were far greater than I realized
This guy has obviously been in the air too long without a potty break
This guy looks like me (6’4") trying to drive a smart car
You’re kidding right? I’m supposed to make this look like a pilot?
Buddha?
Doglas Bader?
Okay, little silver aliens are flying my airplane
Can’t see how these guys are going to grip those guns they are supposed to be holding
These next two are just a sample of ejector pin madness suffered in the 60’s
These are supposed to be the same scale?
I’m not personally familiar with this style of salute.
I always liked these half man turret guys. Legs are so overrated.
This guy is actually kind of cool, samurai sword and all.
This figure is 1/48 I believe. He came to me via a friend who passed on some old modeling stuff given to him by his older brother. Would love to know the history of this figure and where he came from if anyone recognizes him.
All in all I found about a dozen pilots that look useable. It’s a shame that most kits these days do not include figures but then again if they got the same attention they did in years past they need not bother.
I think I know this guy… I believe he’s an Airfix bomber pilot from one of the late 60’s kits, one arm and opposite leg extended. That was before they switched to the “crotch-protector” (hands over lap) design pilot figs (early-mid 70’s.
Have you got one of the “foetal position” guys that used to inhabit the ball turrets in the Airfix B-17’s and B-24’s? [:D]
I think the big grey fella centre-front in the main pile is an old Frog jet pilot figgie.
What an excellent post Dave! Some dang funny stuff there. I’ll be looking MUCH closer to the cockpits of your builds from now on to see if I can find any of these creatures sitting there. [swg]
Dave, you have way too much time on your hands…[:-^] That is some funny stuff . I have a lot of the same pilots in a encampment coffee cup waiting for freedom. I had more but the family cat fished many of them out for her game of torment.
Reminds me of all the reasons I build my planes without pilots in them.
I remember having the Frog /Hasegawa 1/72 RF-101C Voodoo as a kid and the pilot in that kit. Lower legs crossed, hands in lap and what I guess the kit designers though would look like the top end of the control stick sticking out of his hands. Well it didn’t look like any control stick and I don’t think you need me to tell you what it did look like.
Not exactly the most mission minded pilot I’d ever seen. I still laugh a bit when I think about it sometimes.
Glad you guys enjoyed the walk through memory lane.
Jon, I can totally relate. Why pay for a proctologist… just schedule a performance review with your employer.
Frank and Guy. not likely to see these guys in any of my builds.
Sean, time is somethig I don’t have a lot of but this was just too funny to pass up.
Upnorth, I had one of those too but missed taking a picture of it. You can see him in the pile, bottom left, painted brown and beige and I think it’s the same guy in the scale comparison.
So… should I just chuck them in the bin or can I/we come up with something more creative. I do have cats that I can use to torture them like Sean did.
I do wish manufacturer’s would provide some high quality (okay I’ll settle for decent) figures with their kits. I’ve noticed that Dragon is releasing some kits of their 1/72 armor with figures and I hope maybe some of the aircraft kits will follow their lead. The only aftermarket figures are either the crappy vinyl airfix crews or expensive resin ones. Preiser does make some decent injected polystyrene sets but they are hard to find - could it be because they are so popular - anyone listening? Okay, I’ll stop ranting now. [soapbox]
This made me think of this guy who I painted when I was young, he had a rather misfortunate drip which I think I find funnier now than I did back then, what does it say about me.
This is unrelated but the battery cart at work broke so we needed a stand in while it was in the welding shop, I thought it looked funny enough to document.
