CR Models Civil Airliner Pilots with Hat (CR144805) 1:144

[Mike]

Civil Airliner Pilots with Hat (CR144805)

1:144 Counting Rivet Models

 

 

We’ve received some upgrade sets from our new friends at CRM, the initials standing for “Counting Rivet Models”.  They’re new to us, and based in Hamburg Germany, creating highly accurate sets for the airliner community, which is to some extent an untapped market, as most aftermarket companies seem drawn to the military side of things.  CRM are part of the new wave of producers that are using technology such as 3D printing to create their products, and it shows.  Their sets arrive in a clear blister pack with a card header within, which has a QR code that leads to the instructions, cutting down on recycling, as most instructions get thrown away after use.  Hold your phone’s camera up to it and follow the link to their download centre in your browser of choice, which has the instructions available for download in the de facto standard PDF format.

 

A growing number of airliner models have at least rudimentary cockpits included, and with clear windscreens, those details should be at least dimly visible.  To save you having to consider adding more detail to the cockpit, why not put some crew members in the seats, effectively hiding the seats and much of the surrounding detail, or lack thereof?  This set from CRM arrives in their standard clear blister pack, and contains two printing bases, each containing four figures in varying poses, glued to the header card, which is easily removed and rolls up when rubbed, leaving no residue.

 

 

Each pilot is posed differently with a common theme being the cap on their heads, and there are four basic designs on one printing base, the second base being a mirror-image of the other.  The pilots are posed reaching forwards, reaching up and even turning round in their seats with one elbow resting on a sill or console, and by combining figures from both bases, you can really individualise the crew figures for your models.

 

Donning my OptiVisor with No.5 lens magnifying things to 2.5x, the detail on the pilots is phenomenal, extending to a fine peak on his cap, a tie draping realistically down his chest, belt and short-sleeved collared shirt all of which will react well to careful painting.  Facial features are also depicted, which is amazing at this scale, and if you had a small enough paint brush and the steadiest hands, you could probably paint the eyes and other facial details.  Some Citadel Shade or Contrast paint of a suitable skin tone should be sufficient however, as they’re half the height of a 1:72 figure and roughly a quarter the size of your average 1:35 figure, plus they’ll be behind clear styrene windows.

 

 

Conclusion

Every set we get from CRM impresses, both in terms of the designs, uniqueness of the products and the capabilities of modern 3D printers when properly used, which are printing at 8K resolution.

 

It’s worth noting that you can also buy these figure sets with headsets or just hair, for even more variation, all of which are available from the link below.  Will we get any bald pilots eventually? Kidding.

 

Very highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[Viking]

I 'borrowed' these from Mike to try them out on my latest airliner build. They are great and really bring the model alive.

It is very hard to photograph them inside after the model is complete, but much easier to see them in real life. See them in my thread on the JetBlue A321 Airbus here.

[Mike]

They do look great - especially after painting.  Good job John, and well done for remembering

[Alan P]

I have to say, in 12 years of behatted uniform I never, ever wore my hat while flying. The only people I ever saw wearing hats at the controls were flight deck visitors posing for photos 😂

On 7/11/2023 at 1:40 PM, Mike said:

Will we get any bald pilots eventually?

There is a need for this 😂😂😂