Painting a Pilot Bust

Silver vintage airplane flying in a blue sky.

RC Scale

Silver vintage airplane flying against a cloudy sky. — The Ziroli Beech 18/C-45 in a military color scheme has a 114-inch wingspan and uses 38cc to 50cc gas engines.

IN THE OPINION OF MOST SCALE MODELERS, every Scale model should have a pilot. In some competitions, it is required. The Balsa USA Eindecker EIII that I’m finishing should have one as well. The model is approximately 1/5 scale. Looking around the shop, I didn’t find much that would substitute for a World War I pilot.

Aces of Iron Productions, Inc. has sold pilot busts for several years in a variety of sizes for different aircraft. I went with this one for a number of reasons. It will fit in the model at approximately the right size, it has realistic looks, it’s lightweight, and it didn’t cost $100. With shipping, this 1/5-scale pilot was approximately $33. I can paint it myself as well.

The pilot is made of hollow cast resin to help keep the weight down and increase the scale accuracy of the bust. This product will accept either enamel or acrylic paint. The company also offers a section on its website with painting tips and a downloadable and printable PDF version of the instructions.

I made some screenshots of the pilot figures on the website then looked at the finished products there. I assembled the paint bottles I had on hand, including craft paint and Testors plastic model paint. Some of these I mixed, such as the Testors orange with a flesh color for the lips. Some of the other colors were mixed on a piece of cardboard to check the shade that I was trying to get for the pilot.

I started with the largest area on the helmet as where I would use that color, which turned out to be sort of a brown/rust color. I painted the pilot face with a darkened flesh color then the smaller parts, including the eyes. Paint the belts and harness different shades of brown or black to suit your taste. The very last thing I painted was the large collar around the neck of the intrepid Eindecker EIII flier.

Bust of a pilot in goggles and fur-lined jacket, beige material, against a dark background. — The raw pilot bust from Aces of Iron Productions, Inc. as it was taken out of the box. Pilot busts are available already painted as well.

Bust of pilot wearing goggles, with four paintbrushes beside it. — The finished pilot bust from the author’s shop is painted and ready to install. He used all of the pictured brushes.

Toy pilot busts in various outfits and colors arranged in rows. — Some pilot busts wait in the author’s parts bin for a chance to be updated and used in the next model. Most of these are no longer available, but check swap shops for any that might be for sale.

Having the right size brush is very important as well. The eyes require a very small-tipped brush, while different sizes of brushes can be used on other areas. These can usually be found at local hobby outlets in packs.

Robart and Sullivan Products Updates

Both Robart Manufacturing’s landing gear product line and Sullivan Model Products are back!

Sullivan Products has moved to Florida with a new owner and new website and is ready to go! Robart’s landing gear was bought by HighViz RC. The company is working to get set up to supply landing gear, struts, and replacement parts as well. I’m looking forward to seeing more from both of these companies in 2025!

Nick Ziroli Plans

Another great source of information, plans, parts, engines, etc. is Nick Ziroli Plans. Besides the extensive group of warbird plans on its website, the company also has parts such as spinners (some with fans), propellers and propeller hub extensions, fuel tanks, and mufflers for Scale modelers. There are also plans from Vailly Aviation, Kerry Sterner, David Andersen, Jim Pepino Designs, Dick Graham, and several others.

One model that caught my attention was the 1/4-scale 1911 Avro Model D biplane. This one comes out to a 94-inch wingspan; a smaller one is available at 62 inches. This is a prewar WW I type, so I wouldn’t expect any aerobatics from it, but what a beauty.

SCALE RC ENGIN ENGINES

Cockpits & Pilots

Functional Parts

Armament & Guns

Custom Sizes at no Extra Cost

ScaleRcEngines.com

All products come in full color with minimum assembly

Wooden blocks and a metal tool labeled "CUB" on a dark fabric background. — This shows jigs for hinging control surfaces for different airplanes. Some models have as many as nine per wing panel.

People sitting under a pavilion with model airplanes on tables. — One of the pavilions at the IAC’s Site 4, where static judging will take place for the 2025 AMA Scale Nats. Mike Barbee’s Hawker Fury is in the foreground.

There are lots of others to check out, including the pictured Beechcraft Model 18/C-45 that was used extensively during World War II.

From the Shop

Making tools or jigs to reproduce parts and align hinge points and hinges, in general, is just something we have to do. I’m currently working on a landing gear jig for the Eindecker EIII. Using a 2 × 6 from the lumber yard and cutting it just a bit past the projected landing gear length, I’ve cut the slots just like the formers in the fuselage then added the original struts.

2025 AMA Scale Nats

The 2025 AMA Scale Nats will take place July 10-14 at the International Aeromodeling Center (IAC) in Muncie, Indiana. RC will compete on Site 4, which has the grass runway that was so nice this past year. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) F4 Scale Team Selection for both RC and Control Line (CL) Scale will take place on July 11-14, with CL F4B on Site 6. As I wrote this in early December 2024, the event director was trying to obtain a block of local hotel rooms at AMA rates. I hope this happens because the IRONMAN competition will again be in Muncie the same weekend.

Fair skies and tailwinds.