Issue 170 - http://www.modelairplaneinternational.com 571:48
Now I haven’t fi tted a pilot
into an aircraft model
since the late seventies
as I consider the painting
of fi gures a dark art, of
which I am not privy to. But
the choices I had made in
relation to the confi guration of
the aircraft left me with no choice.
If I wanted the front variable intake
doors partially open, the auxiliary doors fully
open and all of the landing gear doors down,
I required the aircraft to be in a powered up
state, which means someone sat in a seat.
In my mind’s eye, I envisaged a student pilot
about to go solo, going through his pre-fl ight
checks.
So after watching a view instructional videos
about fi gure painting on YouTube, my feeble
attempt was made. Suffi ce to say I’m no fi gure
painter and the less said about it the better. I
would describe my attempt as adequate...
The ejection seat fi tted in the Yak-130 is not
your standard Russian K-36, but a stripped
down and much lightened variant. Designated
a K-36L, Zvezda have done a excellent job in
replicating it, even going so far as to replicate
the taller canopy breaker on the headbox of
the front seat. The separate harness detail,
which is fi tted in the absence of a pilot is
amongst some of the best I have seen, be it
resin or otherwise.
Finally it came to the canopy. Making up
masks on my Silhouette cutting machine. I
became emboldened by my past successes