This is the second PJ Production figure that I have had the pleasure of reviewing, and like the first, assembly was easy, with minimal part clean-up being required. The detail is reasonable for this scale, and the figure can be used with most early 1950’s U.S. Navy aircraft of this scale, as the pilot is outfitted in khaki clothing alone, and not wearing a G-suit that was to come. The only modeling skill required involves painting a figure; otherwise, I would recommend this as an item manageable by modelers of nearly any skill level.

There are a mere six parts for this particular figure, consisting of the body, arms, two optional heads, and a piece of tube for the oxygen mask. I appreciated the way that the molding was set up as you can see that I was able to leave the figure attached to the mold base during my painting and assembly process. I found the resin easy to work with as I cut the parts using my razor saw. There was no issue with the fit of any of the parts for the figure, so no filler of any type was needed to fill gaps between pieces, which can sometimes happen with resin. I used a mix of Gorilla brand super glue and a thin CA to assemble my figure, and this held the parts in place with no issues.

To paint my figure, I used Vallejo Khaki, Off-White, and U.S. Tanker Highlight, which I custom mixed for the uniform and glove colors, while the flesh was painted with colors from the Andrea flesh set. The helmet was painted with Alclad Gold, and for the alternate head, Model Master Acryl Insignia Blue was utilized. The oxygen mask is a mix of Vallejo Dark Rubber and Flat Black, while the straps are Life Color Olive Drab. I used Model Master Acryl Semi-Gloss Black for the helmet padding, goggle padding, and headset on the alternate head. The goggles did receive a final coat of Tamiya Clear Orange mixed with some Clear Yellow. The life vest is Model Master Acryl Insignia Yellow, and the shoes are Andrea Leather with Vallejo Leather Belt soles. Final touches on the alternate head were made with Vallejo Natural Steel, Old Gold, and Model Master Lacquer Gloss Black.

My hits for this release would start with the level of detail, which is good for this scale, and that the moldings were crisp for the most part. The fit of the arms and head were without issue, and the pose looks natural. The option of a second head is nice to have if using the figure in an aircraft where a crash helmet was not required to be worn.

I do not have any true misses to mention on this particular item. As with my previous PJ Productions review, my one piece of feedback would be that it would have been nice to have some color recommendations for painting, but this is not a big issue, and a person purchasing this item will likely have reference materials on hand to aid them as I did. In addition to the photo on the outside of the box that shows the front and slightly left side view of the figure, there is an enclosed photo showing the front and slightly right side of view of the figure.

In conclusion, I would highly recommend this figure to anyone wanting to add a nice pilot to the cockpit of their latest early 1950’s era aircraft. With some minor clean up, this item quickly builds up into a very nice figure representing the outfitting of a typical pilot from the early days of Naval jet aviation.

I would like to thank the folks at PJ Production for providing this kit to the IPMS-USA for review, to Dave Morrissette, who runs the review corps, for selecting me to do the build, and to you for taking the time to read my comments.