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1/72 seating pilot - modern era


wkw

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Hi guys,

 

New joiner here.
 

Not so sure if this topic has been covered previously or not. I have decided to go back to aircraft modeling, after taking a break for 20 plus years. I’m into Post Vietnam era jets and I have very hard time finding seated pilots. 
 

I am planning to work on 1/72 F-4J/S, EA-6B, A-6E, A-7E kits which have been collecting dust in my store room for at least 2 decades. After spending sometime searching the net, I have hard time finding any seated pilot figures. The best bet I have is the pilots came with the Fujimi Tomcat and Intruder kits.

 

May I seek your assistance directing me to somewhere that I can get some 1/72 pilots from the 90s’ until now?
 

Thanks  in advance.

 

Wkw 

 

 

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Greetings, and welcome aboard. :welcome:

 

Your best bet would be some of the PJ Productions resin figures. They are available at Hannants and no doubt other retailers. They are very well detailed, and available in a number of styles and poses, though usually need a little trimming under the backside to get them to sit right.

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There was a recent thread in the "wanted" section seeking similar advice:

As I advised there, Revell's recent set is by far the "best value" source, with Hasegawa a distant second (though potentially more readily available). Everything else I know of such as PJ resin is comparatively expensive and/or only provides small quantities per set.

 

Another option is casting your own resin copies of kit figures (as long as you're doing this just for your own use there's no issue with copyright, etc).  The pilot figures in Fujimi's F-14 and A-6 kits are beautiful, multipart molds that would be suitable for all the types you mentioned.

Edited by CT7567
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Thanks for the great advice guys. I think the Revell kit is pretty good so I’ll look for one. PJ resin will be my back up. 
 

I do have a Fujimi tomcat and Intruder in my stash so the last resort is to recast their pilot figures myself. This requires skills which is totally new to me.

 

Thanks again for the help. Much appreciated. 

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On 9/5/2020 at 11:46 AM, wkw said:

I’m wondering if I can use pilots from the Hasegawa F-16CJ (spruce G) or Tamiya F-16CJ as modern USN pilots? 
 

thanks 

It depends on your definition of "modern" (and to a lesser extent how picky you are about accuracy).  For the types you mentioned above, it seems you're mainly looking for 80s/early 90s? There were several models of helmet in use by USAF and USN/USMC in that era, most of which are very similar.  A Google image search should give you some visual references.

 

At 1/72 scale, I would say the Hasegawa pilots should pass for any audience but experts in flight gear of that era (for the record, the helmets are the most obvious detail but there are also subtle differences in the other flight gear worn by USAF pilots vs USN/USMC aviators).

 

I haven't got the Tamiya kit so am not sure about that figure but I believe the helmet is a later model (post-2000) that has a more "oblong" shape due to integrated display/sighting equipment.  The Revell AG 1/72 F-16 tooling includes this type of gear.  USN/USMC have adopted similar helmets but these would mainly apply for the Super Hornet and F-35B/C.

 

Edited by CT7567
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Thanks for the insight CT. I plan to build USN jets from 80s’ to OEF era. 
 

I hope I can find some pilots fitting into this period of time. But then I’m quite certain it’s a wishful thinking.

 

Already got pilots from Fujimi Tomcat and Intruder to begin with. Believe they’re good for F-4J or S from the 

late 80s. I also have an OA-4M from Fujimi that I want to work on.... too many projects and too little pilots. 

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OK, with that span of time in mind the Fujimi pilots would pretty well cover up to the mid/late 90s, so most of the types you've named.

 

Another kit source I was reminded of while browsing the stash is Hasegawa's F/A-18C/D.  All the C/D boxings include two decent pilot figures (equal or better to that in the F-16 kits).  Because the first pilot is on the upper fuselage sprue (common to all types) and an updated figure was added to the C/D specific parts tree, there are two figures even in the single-seat kits.  The Hasegawa kit is a distant second vs Academy for best quality legacy Hornet in 1/72, but this makes it more readily available and cheaper (and the kit isn't terrible, just not the best available).

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On 9/9/2020 at 12:09 AM, CT7567 said:

OK, with that span of time in mind the Fujimi pilots would pretty well cover up to the mid/late 90s, so most of the types you've named.

 

Another kit source I was reminded of while browsing the stash is Hasegawa's F/A-18C/D.  All the C/D boxings include two decent pilot figures (equal or better to that in the F-16 kits).  Because the first pilot is on the upper fuselage sprue (common to all types) and an updated figure was added to the C/D specific parts tree, there are two figures even in the single-seat kits.  The Hasegawa kit is a distant second vs Academy for best quality legacy Hornet in 1/72, but this makes it more readily available and cheaper (and the kit isn't terrible, just not the best available).

Thanks 👍👍👍👍

 

Time to do a little shopping for Hasegawa F/A-18D. 
 

 

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1 hour ago, wkw said:

Thanks 👍👍👍👍

 

Time to do a little shopping for Hasegawa F/A-18D. 
 

 

Just to be clear, if your goal is robbing pilots the C or D both include two, so you're better off with a C kit that would give you a spare figure (assuming the D is manned you'd want to use both figures in that kit).

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/11/2020 at 11:46 PM, CT7567 said:

Just to be clear, if your goal is robbing pilots the C or D both include two, so you're better off with a C kit that would give you a spare figure (assuming the D is manned you'd want to use both figures in that kit).

Correct CT. Will grab both C and D versions when I see any at a reasonable price. I’m also researching the possibility of recasting these pilots figures for personal use, which will be easier in a long term basis.

 

thanks again. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 9/6/2020 at 1:46 AM, wkw said:

I’m wondering if I can use pilots from the Hasegawa F-16CJ (spruce G) or Tamiya F-16CJ as modern USN pilots? 
 

thanks 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Pappy said:

 

 

One thing to note if using the Hasegawa F-16 figures is that that are designed to be posed in an F-16 (duh!) which means that the right arm stretches out straight due to the side stick controller used in the F-16 family instead of angled inwards  towards a centrally located control column

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

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