Hi. I need some advice. I'm building the 1/48 ICM Beer Delivery Spitfire. I need a pilot to put in the cockpit. Does anybody have recommendations on what to get? Thanks in advance for any replies.

Hi, Dan!

Do you want a plastic Pilot or a resin one? Or doesn't it matter? How much $$$ do you want to spend? Are you planning to show your Spitfire Mk.IX with an "open" or a "closed" Canopy? Are you planning to display your Spitfire in a "flying" or "on the ground"-mode?

These questions are important because it would be easier for other people to help you in finding the right Pilot to suit your needs...

My own advice would be to check on Ebay. You'll want to BE SPECIFIC, otherwise you'll be searching through HUNDREDS of 1/48 scale Pilots, of which MOST of them won't fit your application.

A suggestion:

On Ebay, you'll want to enter your search similar to this:

"1/48 WWII RAF Pilot, sitting"...

That should help you. If you don't like the choices, you can always try getting an old 1/48 MONOGRAM Mosquito kit, which contains 2 (two) very nice WWII-style RAF "Pilot" and "Navigator/Radar Operator" figures. Next choice is the old 1/48 MONOGRAM Hawker Typhoon kit, which will contain 1 (one) very nice "Pilot". This "Pilot" is actually the same as the one in the MONOGRAM Mosquito kit- This very same "Pilot" can also be found in the /48 MONOGRAM P-47D and P-51B kits, but if you can get the ORIGINAL Mosquito or Typhoon kits, the moldings of these "Pilots" are a bit better-defined... You can also try the 1/48 ICM RAF or US Pilots and Crew sets, but their details are just a bit softer than the MONOGRAM "Pilot" figures...

The above-mentioned kits can many times be had CHEAPER than some of the 1/48 scale resin "Pilot" figures, out there. If you MUST have a resin Pilot, I can suggest CMK, BLACK DOG, PJ, and a few others, but be prepared to spend some $$$- that's why I suggested getting the old MONOGRAM kits, first; PLUS, you get a nice Airplane kit with the "Pilot(s)"...

I'm not 100% sure, but PLUS MODEL may have a nice 1/48 RAF "sitting Pilot" figure to suit your needs- Usually, PLUS MODEL's figures are cast in the "standing"-position...

GOOD LUCK, and let us know how you fare...

VR, Dennis

Thanks for the reply!

The model will be flying, closed cockpit. So I suppose I don't need the highest quality out there. Plastic or resin doesn't matter.

I don't want to spend a whole lot of cash on it though, since it will hang from a ceiling and the pilot will be barely visible.

I'll check out the suggestions you made. Many thanks!

Hello, Again, Dan!

Ah haaa! OK, then... Let me check through my stock of 1/48 WWII RAF Pilots; I can even send you one FOR FREE, if you like. Just PM me your home address, and I'll be happy to send you one- Anything to help a fellow Aircraft Modeler, out!!!

All the Best,

VR, Dennis

That would be fantastic!

PM sent.

Dan