Aerobonus and Aires continue their excellent pilot releases with this 1/48^th scale Soviet fighter pilot for the ICM I-153. The set comes in four parts: the head, body molded to the seat, and two arms. Casting is flawless with crisp detail and no air bubbles or imperfections.

Assembly is straightforward for the arms and head, cutting them easily from the pour block. The seat and body are not difficult but here’s a trick. Remove the head and arms and cut the pour block back to give access to the legs. Slowly trim them loose with a sharp knife and multiple score cuts or gently with a saw. Once done, cut the seat free and you and lightly sand the few seam lines and glue on the arms. I kept the head separate for painting. I used a slight dab of filler on the arms and a light sanding and primed the entire set with Alclad gray primer. I let this dry overnight.

There are a full set of instructions included with generic colors (uniform is khaki, seat belts are light gray, etc.). I started with the face and used Scale 75 paints and base coated the face with base flesh. The eyes were painted and then several highlights and shadows added. The uniform was painted khaki, the boots black and gloves/helmet brown. Highlights and shadows were added to these in repeated thin layers. The piece was flat coated and details of the helmet, seat belts and buckles picked out in the listed colors. A light wash was added around the belts to give depth. Another flat and gloss to the goggles and done.

This is a quick and easy build with great fit and will add just the something to show your plane in business rather than parked like so many others. Highly recommended

My thanks to the excellent people at Aires for the review sample and to IPMS/USA for letting me review it