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Aircraft pilots & PE seatbelts


foxhandybread

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Hi all. Interested to get an opinion on this—I like to build aircraft (in 1:72) with pilot figures. I know most prefer to do without, especially when using after market detail kits for seatbelts etc but I can't help wanting to have the little chaps in there too, for me it makes the model come alive a little (despite my atrocious painting skills).

 

I'm currently working on a build that I'm trying to get as detailed as possible but also want to include pilots. My thinking is, when using a PE set for the seatbelts, the logical thing to do for realism with pilots is to drape the belts over the figures themselves rather than attach them to the seats and stick the figures over the top. Is there a general consensus on this? I've not searched very deeply and haven't found any builds where anyone has done pilots belted in before, although I'm sure it has been done. Does anyone have a take on this? Is it worth doing? If so, are there any gotchas or methods for achieving the best 'in-flight' look?

 

Cheers

Ben

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1. most kit pilots have belts moulded to them

2. photo-etch belts are too stiff to fit to the pilots

3. when you wear a harness in an aeroplane it is pulled really tight and it gets pulled into your clothing and conforms to your body, You cannot achieve this with photo-etch.

4. some belts come up from behind the back the pilot, eg in a Hurricane, and in some aircraft the belt comes from a higher place to come over the shoulder, eg a Bf109. I use a thin sliver of tape to bridge the gap betwixt the moulded-on strap on the pilot's shoulders and the point where the belt attaches to the aircraft

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Agree with what Black Knight says, above. It would be just about impossible to attach the PE seat-belts to the pilot and make it look like they belonged there. This would be particularly difficult in 1/72nd scale.

 

Chris. 

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IMHO the best material to simulate belts in this case is metal foil. With this you can reproduce the length of belt from the seat onto the pilot, and "blend" it with the belts moulded on the figure. I use the foil coming from wine bottles or chocolate wraps or the back of medicine blisters, easy to cut and can be shaped as you like

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