[easy8]

I'm curious to know what you guys think about why, oh why do the manufacturers of our beloved diecast aircraft, always seem to make the pilots an afterthought or just don't do them? Save for Matchbox, most of them are pitiful excuses for miniature humans. Gemini Aces, no neck, blobby things, Witty's jet pilots, as Louie once put it, "look like aliens"....and their WWII line of pilots are washed out weirdos....then of course Dragon, with their pilotless drone approach (except for their weapons set with 2 pilots and some CH exclusives)....what gives?

easy8

[STARMAN 352ND]

I have always thought it was because there so small there really is not much they can do with them.
As far as painting them such as their faces...they should hire a few good artist to do the job.
JP

[mhackl]

Simply put...
It's because they are so small. I know that this sound like a simplistic point of view, but I can tell you this from experience. Yes, I know my pilot sucks too. Masking and pad-printing hits become expensive at that size because quality control becomes a big problem.

It's not that it can't be done or done consistently. It's just that it's not cost beneficial considering what’s gained. To begin with, half of the market detests the idea of pilots in their models. It has to be one of the most contested issues next to whether chili should have beans in it or not.

This is not the rule but just one reason. We had a much more elaborate pilot designed for our Mustang, but with the factory dragging it's feet and resisting almost everything tedious, we had to make some sacrifices that we really didn’t want to make to get our models on the market. We were eighteen months late releasing our first model. How’s that for a blown deadline.

[LzyBns]

MHACKL,
Are they done on machines or hand painted? If there hand painted I feel sorry for the person who paints them. I'm currently painting two sets of Preiser German pilots and ground crew, I'm into my second month of working on them. Even with a magnifing glass it's hard. and one of the sets I had to attach heads, arms and torso's. I should be done in about 6 more months....

[mikeb1958]

Originally Posted by easy8

I'm curious to know what you guys think about why, oh why do the manufacturers of our beloved diecast aircraft, always seem to make the pilots an afterthought or just don't do them? Save for Matchbox, most of them are pitiful excuses for miniature humans. Gemini Aces, no neck, blobby things, Witty's jet pilots, as Louie once put it, "look like aliens"....and their WWII line of pilots are washed out weirdos....then of course Dragon, with their pilotless drone approach (except for their weapons set with 2 pilots and some CH exclusives)....what gives?

easy8

Because they are really "illegal aliens"!

[wmosner]

I don't care if my planes come with pilots or not but if the manufacturer goes to the trouble to include one then I think they need to do a better job. I have the Forces of Valor SU-122 and T-34 tanks in 1:72 and they both come with tank commander figures that I believe look quite good and they don't cost near what a 1:72 plane goes for.

[mhackl]

Originally Posted by LzyBns

MHACKL,
Are they done on machines or hand painted? If there hand painted I feel sorry for the person who paints them. I'm currently painting two sets of Preiser German pilots and ground crew, I'm into my second month of working on them. Even with a magnifying glass it's hard. and one of the sets I had to attach heads, arms and torso's. I should be done in about 6 more months....

There is little to no technical automation in these factories. Almost everything that can be hand done is, and that goes for almost all of the brands you buy today.

Almost all painting with the exception of base colors is done with the subject in the left hand and a paint sprayer in the right.

Here's a few pics of the production process for "Patty Ann II". The first is general assembly and the second is the tampo process. It kinda takes the luster off, but I thought you might want to see a little. However, I can't show the casting process. That's an ancient Chinese secret.

[mhackl]

The real evolution in pilot quality is rubber or pliable plastics. You may have noticed that twenty-first century's 32nd scale pilots are the best available. This is largely due to the scale, but it's also due to the materials used.

Some others including Carousel 1 have gone to these materials but have not compensated for the newly capable material in their designs.

[easy8]

Wow, thanks for the answer Mhackl! Very interesting stuff, even if they could just do a simple "wash" to bring out some of the pilots features it would help! Well, maybe someday someone could do some aftermarket WWII era seated "flying" pilots....probably still wouldn't be worth the money and effort though I suppose.


easy8

[mhackl]

You'll see a change, the market demands more today than it did when most of these products were designed.