Aerobonus has started a new line of their products. Next to useful accessories enhancing bases or dioramas with mostly jet planes, company have started to produce quarterscale figures of the pilots. When I write these words variety of available figures is not very big yet and comprises of just four figures, but I really hope it will expand in future. In this review I will try to take a closer look on the figures representing Soviet pilots which were released in July and August of 2013.

If not stated otherwise I will be referring to the characteristics of both sets. Two of their first releases are dedicated to Soviet Air Force pilots: fighter pilot (set No. 480 066) and Naval Air Force pilot (set No. 480 069). Fighter pilots is moulded as a complete figure so there is nothing part to attach. All fun of making this one will have to be limited to painting. Navy pilot is a bit more complicated as there are two hands to be glued to the body. All the parts are casted together on the single block with two guards on the sides protecting content from accidental break or other damage.

As the Aerobonus is a product line of well known Aires, the quality of the casting is very high. Figures are attached by pour stubs to their bases, easy to be cut off with a razor saw blade. I realize that maybe it sounds stupid but the only flashes which will have to be removed are between the legs of both guys. It was done on purpose by the producer to help the resin flow and dissolve properly inside the form. It's very thin and I don't expect any problems with removing it with a scalpel or other sharp modeller's knife. On a fighter pilot figure I have noted just one place which seems to me to be not casted quite properly, however this will need some further investigation to be absolutely sure. This place is a front left bottom corner of the vest. Its shape does not look like a typical fold of cloth but I have no idea what else can it be. If you decide to remove it it will take you just few moves of a fine rounded file. Naval pilot is free of any similar imperfections.

Figures comes in a plastic pouch together with a folded painting instruction. Painting instruction show both figures from front and back from an angle so it is easy to figure out how particular details should be painted. Painting of the Naval pilot suite is optional: orange or grey-white. Producer provides just general names of necessary colours without referring to any particular number or brand. This is reasonable as clothes when got worn were usually bleaching in different styles and directions so pointing on just one true colour would be at least amusing. Beside, you can make it much more personalized and unique amongst other. In the painting instruction you can also find a producers suggestion of the airplane types suitable for the figures. For the Navy these are different types of Yak-38 while for the fighter pilot it is Tu-22, Su-24 (I have never concerned these two as fighters) or Su-27. There are ellipsis at the end of the listing so the variety is not limited just to the types given in the instruction.

Certainly Aires in their Aerobonus line have provided a good add-on to the any type of diorama, vignette of base with the 1:48 airplane. It will surely look much better to display our jets together with its pilot, just to improve general appearance of the base, as a comparison of size between man and his machine or as a bigger composition. After many years of we will be able to appease our hunger for good quality 1:48 scale figures.

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