Despite the popularity of 1/48 scale aircraft models, there's still a surprisingly limited number of figures produced to accompany them. Therefore it's great to see a new range of excellent white metal figures in this scale.

DMM48A.001 - Luftwaffe Pilots

The first set consists of a trio of WW2 Luftwaffe pilots, all in casual poses examining an aircraft - one standing with his arms crossed, the second kneeling down and the third bent over. The standing and kneeling pilots are one-piece castings, while the third figure is split at the waist. The casting is excellent with some very crisp details and only very light moulding lines to clean off. All the pilots are modelled wearing life jackets and equipped with flares around their boots. There are no painting instructions included, but there's the colour photo shown here to serve as a guide.
DMM48A.001 - RRP - £7.45

DMM48A.002 RAF Groundcrew

This trio of figures is particularly interesting as it depicts a scene I've never found among the figures produced by other manufacturers - the groundcrew are assembling 60lb rockets. The set includes 2 zip-lock packets, the first containing the one-piece bodies for the figures, the holding a separate separate arms and a foot for the kneeling figure, the rocket bodies (cast complete with the loaders' hands attached), and a set of fins )including 1 spare).

The figures are very well sculpted with good proportions, and the casting is excellent, with some very sharp details on the uniforms and faces. There's very little flash and the casting points have been kept small, so clean-up should be nice and quick. Again, there are no instructions included, but construction is self explanatory. A test fit showed one thing that I'll adjust - cutting the body of one of the rockets to allow the crewman's hands to align in a more natural attitude. It's a minor point and will only take a minute or two's work.
DMM48A.002 - RRP - £7.95

DMM48A.003 - WRAF Officer and RAF Pilot

The second RAF set is somewhat simpler, with just a pair of figures. The pilot is a one-piece casting, while the WRAF figure has a separate head and arms. The detail and casting is again excellent with little clean-up required. The proportions look good, but figures are the same height so I might shorten the female torso a little (a cut at the waist, below her satchel looks the easiest modification). As with the other sets, there are no painting instructions, but there's a colour photo of nicely painted figures included as a guide.
DMM48A.003 - RRP - £4.95

There are three further sets of figures produced:

48A.004 WWII RAF grouncrewman talking to pilot in aircraft.

48A.005 WWII RAF grouncrewman assisting a pilot into an aircraft

48A.006 WWII RAF grouncrewman assisting a wounded pilot

Conclusion

These sets should prove very useful for WW2 aircraft modellers. Prices are obviously higher than mass-produced styrene figures, but Dartmoor's figures are very well sculpted and cast with plenty of character and should look great with some careful painting to pick out the details. Recommended.

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