[fileasfog]

If anyone wants to get rid of pilots, fat or not I'll take them!

Talking about fat pilots, I was comparing my matchbox thunderbolt with my bud mahurin razorback thunderbolt.

I noticed that the matchbox plane was smaller than the corgi one yet had a much bigger pilot.

Both are supposed to be 1/72
anyone know which is the right size?

[mikeb1958]

Originally Posted by parsig9

Gotta be careful with the, "Fat Pilots Be Gone" stuff. Might just chase off some of our membership.

That's right! The PC people might come a callin' along with MATS (Mothers Against Tail Swazis). So watch out! Oh, and have a great Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to all you Walmart shoppers and Model Hanger Forum folks!

[mikeb1958]

Originally Posted by fileasfog

I noticed that the matchbox plane was smaller than the corgi one yet had a much bigger pilot.

That is what happens when a airfiled is next to fast food places! Maybe he said "Supersize it" way to many times at Micky D's!

[Min]

Originally Posted by parsig9

Gotta be careful with the, "Fat Pilots Be Gone" stuff. Might just chase off some of our membership.

Yikes! I didn't quite think of it that way when I posted... no offense to anyone/everyone. Thanks for all the responses, it's been great posting here as usual.

[PappyB]

Originally Posted by hworth18

Not that I have measured or compared pilots, but has anyone considered that Geminis pilots might be correct and that other manufacturers might be undersized?? If you think about it, fighter cockpits were really small and in many instances, pilots had to squeeze into them (Bf-109 for example)
Just wondering.....

I thought about this originally, and the pilot doesn't look as "off" to me in the 109 for this reason. However, it's the way they fit in the spit, particularly, and 51 that has me thinking they're definitely too big. Though, maybe the model used for the pilot figure just was on the "larger" side --- like "jerry" from Black Sheep Squadron

[Canucklehead]

This discussion got me to thinkin', which is never good.
In 1/72 scale, a 6' pilot would be 1" tall. That would be an exceptionally tall pilot for the WWII era. As stated previously, the cockpits of fighters were rather cramped to begin with, so it would be rare that you would find a pilot of that height (6 ft.) or greater.
I happen to have a Matchbox pilot handy, so I checked to see how he measures up. He's approximately 1/2 an inch from the top of his helmet to the seat of his pants. That would translate to 36" (3ft.) in 1/1 scale. Add another 1/4" for the length of his leg from knee to hip and that brings the total to 3/4" in 1/72 or 4'6" in 1/1, from knee to top of the head. Since MB pilots are cut off below the knee, you'd have to guess at the remainder, but assuming that he is close to average proportions, another 1/4 of an inch would be a close guess, bringing the total close to 1" (6 ft. 1/1 scale). The difference between 5'8" and 6' in 1/72 would be hardly noticeable, so let's say he's of average to above average height.
With this part done, I decided to crack open the Gemini Bald Eagle. It was then that I found out what the problem was. It's not that the pilot is fat, in fact he's fairly trim. The problem is that he's deformed to the point that he has no neck and his head begins in what would be, on a normal person, in the middle of his sternum. He has all of his legs though, which made it easier to measure him. 7/16" from head to seat, 3/16" from heel to knee, and another 3/16" from knee to seat. Total is 13/16", which would translate to 58.5", or 4'10.5". So don't ridicule him for being a fatty, instead admire him for being able to pilot an aircraft at all with what must be a very challenging physical condition.
I then tried to place the MB pilot into the Bald Eagle, but he's too tall for the job. They've got a bit of a booster seat in there though, so if it was trimmed out a larger, more accurate pilot would be able to fit.
Attached is a picture of the boys, Gemin's "Quasi" O'Sullivan on the left (I think his Mom has to dress him), and Matchbox's "Shins" McGuinty on the right.

[PappyB]

Well-done, Canuckle, well-done... I'm still chuckling Mystery solved -- and I apologize humbly for all my "fat" jokes...

[hworth18]

Very enlightening!!! Thanks for taking the time to figure this one out..

[Captain Eddie]

Thanks for sharing your "inspiration" (or is that perspiration?), Canucklehead! The pic of the pilots was interesting- I'm sure HM can do a lot better!

[Min]

Awesome stuff, Canucklehead! Yours was a very enlightening post indeed.