Del Prado · Figure study · SOL066 / MW066
The scarf and goggles make him look ready for a familiar Battle of Britain scene. The name on the catalog entry tells a different story: Edgar “Cobber” Kain’s fighting career was over before that campaign began.
The pilot in the photograph
The reference figure is bareheaded, with goggles pushed above the forehead and a white scarf filling the open collar of a blue-grey uniform. One hand holds a tan shoulder strap; the other rests at the side of the tunic. Dark boots have contrasting pale and yellow-toned tops. The standing pose is relaxed, with no weapon or dramatic gesture competing with the face.
Those details are useful when a loose figure is advertised simply as an RAF pilot. Compare the position of the goggles, the scarf’s folds and the diagonal strap before relying on a seller’s guessed name. The photograph shows the front well, but it cannot establish the wording under the base or the condition of the bag behind the shoulder.
A short career in France
New Zealand’s official history account identifies Kain as a Hastings-born New Zealander flying Hawker Hurricanes with the RAF’s No. 73 Squadron over France. His fifth credited victory in March 1940 made him the RAF’s first fighter ace of the war. He became widely known in Britain and the Dominions while the air campaign was still centred across the Channel.
On 7 June 1940, after being rested from operations, he attempted low-level aerobatics over Échemines and crashed. He was 21. That date is decisive for a collecting display: a named Kain figure belongs with his earlier service, not with a scene placing him among pilots fighting the later Battle of Britain.
Search SOL066 and MW066, then compare the figure
Trains and Toy Soldiers uses SOL066 for the Kain subject. LastDodo’s Men at War index records MW066, while Diecast.es uses DEL-MW66-F for its booklet-inclusive listing. Record the code supplied with your own example and keep the full name beside it.
A prefix change alone does not prove a different casting. Conversely, a matching number on unrelated packaging cannot override a different pose. Ask for the figure and its label in the same photograph when buying a supposedly complete issue.
A better place beside a Hurricane
Place Kain beside an aircraft only after checking its scale and the period represented by its markings. A simple French airfield setting with room around the pilot gives the shoulder bag and boots a purpose. Keep a short label naming No. 73 Squadron and France, 1939–40; the uniform alone cannot convey that context.
For condition, inspect the goggles, scarf, strap at the hand and edges of the boot tops. These are the small details that distinguish the sculpt. Request a rear view to check the bag and another from below for the base inscription. Do not use a clean front photograph as evidence that the entire model is undamaged.
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