Completed Critique USAAF PILOT 1944

[Joe55]

This is a Thunderbird Miniatures, 100mm, WWII Army Air Force Pilot, sculpted by Mike Good. Its an excellent kit that includes optional heads. One wearing the service cap and another with the leather helmet and goggles which I opted to use. Also included is a twisted length of wire for the headphones along with the plug connector, a resin piece, and another bit of wire for the parachute actuating cable. The only thing missing was the Mae West strap which I added using a piece of lead foil. This was a fun project and by all means let me know what you think.

Joe

 

[Mariobusta]

Beautiful paint job on a beautiful figure . I like the shine on the leather . Nice

Cheers

Neil

 

[megroot]

great painting.

Marc

 

[Wings5797]

Super paintwork Joe.
I like the way that you have handled the different materials, the leather finish is right on the money.
Well done Mate a very good piece,
Keith

 

[swralph]

Very nice paintwork

 

[billyturnip]

Lovely work Joe, I agree with Keith on the effect of the different materials.

Roger.

 

[Joe55]

Beautiful paint job on a beautiful figure . I like the shine on the leather . Nice

Cheers

Neil

I'm glad you like the way it turned out Neil. I looked at tons of photos and wanted to replicate the sheen typically found on these leather jackets. I have a reproduction A2 Jacket at it is rather shiny, not to mention it smells nice too.

Joe

 

[Joe55]

great painting.

Marc

Thank you Mark!

Joe

 

[Joe55]

Very nice paintwork

Thanks for checking him out and commenting swralph!

Joe

 

[Joe55]

Super paintwork Joe.
I like the way that you have handled the different materials, the leather finish is right on the money.
Well done Mate a very good piece,
Keith

Thanks Keith! I used a mix of matte medium and Future in two coats about 15 minutes apart. I was worried it would come out too glossy, but I reckon it turned out just about right.

Joe

 

[Joe55]

Lovely work Joe, I agree with Keith on the effect of the different materials.

Roger.

I appreciate it Roger, thanks! I've noticed that you continue to pump them flats out!

Joe

 

[Mike - The Kiwi]

Hey Joe - good on ya!

Neat surprise this one, as hadn't see this figure by Mike before.

He's got a gritty look on his face.

What paint mediums did you use?

Thanks for sharing mate

Mike

 

[Joe55]

Hey Joe - good on ya!

Neat surprise this one, as hadn't see this figure by Mike before.

He's got a gritty look on his face.

What paint mediums did you use?

Thanks for sharing mate

Mike

Howdy Mike!

Ya, I picked this up in Dallas a couple of months ago at the Lone Star Figure Show. When I first laid eyes on it I knew it was a keeper! There is another version that is a Tuskegee airman, also with two optional heads. Just a little clean up, but all in all an excellent little kit. I used both Andrea and Vallejo acrylics with a touch of future for those areas that require some gloss.

Thanks Mike for checking him out and commenting!

Joe

 

[worldwarpainter01]

Amazing... love the leather jacket

 

[Adrien Campbell]

Joe - fantastic paint brush skills/work. Thank you for posting. Mike is a tremendous sculptor IMHO; I am impressed with breadth of scales that he does, anatomy, balance, and detail/research. Out of curiosity, how did you find the casting quality from Thunderbird? I have purchased one item from this label before and was not too pleased with the casting quality. I am super tempted to purchase just because of the sculptor and the subject matter.

Thanks in advance,

Adrien

 

[John Bowery]

Joe,
Conjures up the Era nicely. Great colours.
Cheers
John

 

[Joe55]

Amazing... love the leather jacket

Thanks, I'm glad you like it!

Joe

 

[Joe55]

Joe - fantastic paint brush skills/work. Thank you for posting. Mike is a tremendous sculptor IMHO; I am impressed with breadth of scales that he does, anatomy, balance, and detail/research. Out of curiosity, how did you find the casting quality from Thunderbird? I have purchased one item from this label before and was not too pleased with the casting quality. I am super tempted to purchase just because of the sculptor and the subject matter.

Thanks in advance,

Adrien

Thanks Adrien! I agree, Mike is a hellova sculptor and I'm convinced that he does his homework before he pushes any putty around. As for the castings, I can only relate what I have experienced thus far. At this point I've done two offerings from Thunderbird Miniatures. My first was the bust of a Buffalo Soldier, also sculpted by Mike, and this one. On the Buffalo Soldier, from what I can remember, there was only very minor clean up besides the removal of the casting blocks. Regarding this pilot, there were two voids and mold parting lines on the inside of each leg. One void was found in the right elbow and the other on the side of the right shoe. I easily fixed both by pushing in a little lump of duro in each and smoothed them over with a toothpick. The mold parting lines were handled by some quick work with a needle file. No big deal. Would I buy from them again? The answer is absolutely! Hope this helps.

Joe

 

[Joe55]

Joe,
Conjures up the Era nicely. Great colours.
Cheers
John

"Conjures up the Era nicely." You have a way with words John, thank you!

Joe

 

[Ferris]

Terrific work Joe! I really like the looks of this one. Nice work on the leather.

Cheers
Adrian