In flight models with no pilots !

QUOTE: Originally posted by cassibill I can't find pilots for my 1/144 so...

I don't know if they're sold by themselves yet, but Revell AG offers exactly ONE 1/144 scale model kit with a pilot figure. I don't remember which one it is, but, at about $2.50US for the average 1/144 scale model, I'd reccomend buying up that kit by the dozens! And then, just toss out most of the models themselves, but, KEEP THE WEAPONS AND THE PILOTS!!

I can't find pilots for my 1/144 so...

QUOTE: Originally posted by mississippivol I have a pilotless in flight bird on my shelf right now. It's actually missing four people (EA-6B). It's only 144th, but I didn't care if it had people in it or not...ultimately that was all that mattered. It really is all about what you care to build and how you want to build it, otherwise, it wouldn't be a hobby, it would be a job. Glenn

HEY,
where did you find that model? And, what brand was it? I have been trying to find a 1/144th scale EA-6B(and an A-6E, for that matter) for a VERY long time, and would love to see my search finally come to an end!!

Also, I'm neurotic when it comes to landing gear! Just the mere sight of landing gear sends me into fits of furious rage! I HATE LANDING GEAR! So, I always build gears-up. However, I'm also a little obsessed with there always being pilots in there, too! Little people with little planes... It'd be a comedy show, if it weren't so politically incorrect!

I agree with everybody who has said - do what you like. Be creative.

After seeing a Mustang and a Spitfire at a local airshow I had an idea of how I want to display the P-51 that I have on the dock. The sight of those baby's screaming along at low altitude with their gear being pulled up while they are still so close to the ground was one of the coolest sights that I remember from the show. I'm planning on doing the P-51 with a clear plastic disk to replace the prop blades, and the gear halfway up.

Most of my kits are displayed with gear down and a pilot in place - either suspended or sitting on a shelf. In fact, the only "gear up" plane is a Spitfire that lost a battle with my five year old. If it ever comes down - it will have to be a belly landing !

For myself - I really prefer to have the pilots in the plane, but if the canopy is open I don't glue them in. Another thing I do is chop their heads off... and then glue them back on, turned to the side. I think they look kinda robotic if they're just staring straight ahead. I've also chopped off arms and legs and re-positioned them so that they appear to be waving or entering or exiting the cockpit. I just think it lends a little personality to the whole model - kinda like capturing a moment in time.

I was a little miffed, in fact, with the last two 1/72 scale Hasegawa kits that I bought because they didn't include any pilot/crew figures at all.

Bottom Line; if it doesnt look silly to YOU, then by all means go 4 it. If visitors dont like it, they know where the door is!

Ive been to alot of museums and seen alot of planes hanging from the ceilings. Not one had a pilot. If its good enough for the real thing, why not a model?

I have a pilotless in flight bird on my shelf right now. It's actually missing four people (EA-6B). It's only 144th, but I didn't care if it had people in it or not...ultimately that was all that mattered. It really is all about what you care to build and how you want to build it, otherwise, it wouldn't be a hobby, it would be a job.

Glenn

Just build lots of F-4s! They fly them by remote control out of Tyndall AFB, FL. They use them a target practice for training F-15 pilots. They are a natural color with orange stabs.

Wroper

I've done several in-flights with no pilot. It was a matter of 'Do I wnat ot finish this kit or not!'. For current projects, I'm using white glue to hold the canopy in place so if I get hold of some appropriate figure pieces I can convert into a sitting pilot, I'll pull off the canopy and put him in.

AJ,
Ultimately, what others think doesn't mean a thing. If you like it, and others don't, then they can go take a flying %$#& at a rolling doughnut.
Granted, an in-flight a/c with no pilot might look a little odd-ish, but that's not really all that odd - I've seen Lewis Pruneau's 1/32 scale (I think!) B-52, a 1/16 scale R/C Lancaster (built to 1/16 because that was the scale of the wheels the builder found!!), a fully working steam engine with a bore and stroke of about 1/4 inch............"Why?" you might ask to all of these.
There's no reason - it just ticked someone's fancy (lucky them!). Ultimately, it's a very personal hobby, with a million and one ways of expressing your very own artistic flair.
Do what you like, and like what you do. If someone else has an issue with it, tell them to tell their story walking.
Cheers
LeeTree

I am in the loong process of building a 1/48 scale B24 on a bomb run.
Needless to say it will be in flight with full crew. Now that is tough! Finding 10 crewman who are in the right positions. (I even asked Revelogram if I could BUY more crewman sprues from them. . .I was told Revell would NOT do that, very rude young lady.)
I plan to have the aircraft on a pully like system so I can lower it down (to dust!)get a good look at-show off.
My big problem is getting the "bulged" tires to look good wheels in the well.

Don

I have to agree with bandit1, I enjoy building aircraft, not figures. I display many hanging from the ceiling with gear up and down no pilots. To date no one has mentioned the lack of pilots.

get a wonder woman doll, hang her from the ceiling, and tell people that she's flying her invisible plane. Then people won't think that planes without pilots is so odd. However, they may think you are.

Hey, the pilot could have bailed out

As has been rightly said, you build for yourself, so what makes you happy is the right way to do it.

I'm getting back into the hobby after a long hiatus, and plan to display most (if not all) of what I build hanging from the ceiling, with gear up and no pilots. My love of aircraft is based on their beauty in flight, so the exteriors will always be far more important than the interiors. In addition, I don't expect anyone to come into my display area, see that a hanging model has no "pilot", turn to me and say "How is it staying up there without somebody to fly it?" ;-)

If you want to build miniature people, bless you. Not interested in that myself, so I'll just work on the airplane, and trust fishing line over little plastic people to keep 'em flying!

Joe

I like to biuld with wheels in the well and hanging dirty they all get hung in my craft room regardless of style or whether the have someone at the stick. I build for me so it doesn't matter.

I believe that, unless you are building it for someone else or building it to be judged, what other people think doesn't matter. What DOES matter is the way it looks to you. Build it the way you want to, and you can be happy. Why build it the way someone else wants it to be ? Its yours.

Hey Bob,

I'm assuming you meant that it WOULDN'T look stupid at all, otherwise I don't quite know how to take your post

When I got back in this hobby about 8 years ago. I did all my aircraft gear-up and no props. I used pilots when I had em and ghost flyers when I didn't. I took alot of heat from the rivet counters in my club. But I let thier comments go through both ears and kept building how I wanted to build.

Do what you want to do. And when someone tells you different. Hit 'em with the modelers moto: LET'S SEE YOU BUILD IT!!!!!!
Bernie the K.
St. Paul, MN

HEY if you want to display you're aircraft in flight, I say GO FOR IT. I do NOT think it would be stupid at all. If you spend alot of time detailing a cockpit, by all means show it off. Just my opinion. Bob "THANKS for pointing out my mistake, I really need to proof read.