ICM continues to add to its excellent aviation figure series with this latest contribution, WWII Pilots of British Naval Aviation. The title of the kit is a bit of a misnomer as the included figures only feature a single pilot. The other two figures are a sailor and a naval officer. In addition, I was surprised to see that this set only included three rather than the usual four that ICM offers in such sets.

All that being said, I’m actually quite taken with the figures provided. The naval sailor and officer are, to the best of my knowledge, the first ever offered in plastic in this scale, and the detail is lovely. The pilot figure comes with a beautifully detailed parachute and harness slung over one shoulder, and with very little modification (mostly the color of his pants) could be changed out to an RAF fighter pilot with ease.

As usual, all three figures supplied are imbued with character and the facial expressions are excellent. Both naval figures are extremely simple to assemble, and even the more complex pilot figure isn’t difficult, assuming that you assemble the parachute and harness separately and then install the right arm around the assembly.

Painting is straightforward, although I admit I fudged a little bit with the blue pinstriping on the sailor’s platan, as I just couldn’t create three blue stripes in this scale. Even so, he certainly looks the part and I like the fact that ICM provided a tiny separate paint brush to plant on top of the paint can (or tin, as they would say) that he’s carrying.

Still, I would have loved to have seen what a fourth figure in this set might have looked like.

If you need some good figures to set up with ICM’s Sea Gladiator or, in this case, a Sea Hurricane or other such aircraft, this set should have a strong appeal for you. They’re a diorama in a box and quite charming. Highly recommended.

My thanks to ICM for continuing their lovely line of aviation figures, and to IPMS/USA for a chance to add these to my collection.Happy modeling, everyone, and stay safe!