Stormtrooper's Josef Mai

As most of you know, I am quite taken with military aviation of the Great War. There was never a question of whether I would return to this passion of mine; the only question was, "When?" Well, the time has come, and it is all due to the mostly-masterful work of Igor Danilkin, and his patron, Stormtrooper Miniatures, Ltd.

The third release in Stormtrooper's Exclusive series of 1/9 scale busts is a portrait of German ace, Ltn. d. R. Josef Mai - Jasta 5, based on the well-known photograph of Mai, in September 1918, standing before his obliquely black-and-white striped Fokker D.VII (OAW). . .


The bust -- 3 pieces + plinth -- is impeccably cast in a light grey resin [nb: An "Open Box" review can be found here]. While it is admittedly not an endorsement for a portrait bust, one of the two items I take issue with in this otherwise superb piece is the likeness! The portraiture can be more easily passed-off as that of  "Hard-luck Hermann"! However, I am confident that the remedy to this is readily at hand, as we shall soon--hopefully--witness. The other item alluded to above is the collar of his tunic. There are an additional one or two relatively minor issues--which makes them all the more annoying!--that I will address in the course of the prepwork. Finally, kudos to Stormtrooper for including a referenced painting guide(!), though I am compelled to point out that the above picture was taken in late Sept./Oct. 1918, not 1917; and that Mai was promoted to Leutnant d. R. on 27 Sept 1918.

Herr Mai passed away on 18 January 1982, just short of his 95th birthday.

If WWI Kanonen are your thing, then this is, IMHO, a must have! Highly recommended!!