Verlinden Cockpit up-date set for the Revell kit
Product number 1518
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You can see how big this kit is |
Have you ever started a sport? Let's say canvas jumping. I recently took up this sport, and when I consider a huge success to be able to do one flip at a time and come down feet first, someone came after me who did a triple flip and and rotated two full circles in the proces. I was only able to utter a slilent: Show-off!! in his general direction and the debate ended. I think the same response came from other cottage resin accesories manufacturers in this scale, when they saw the latest from verlinden-the set in question.
65 parts, yep 65 parts, not 6.5 parts but 65 (sixty-five) parts. The set is designed in the familliar Verlinden way. You make up the tub of the cockpit from the resin (or PE as with the Me 109 cockpit) walls provided in the kit, you fill this with provided details and insert the compete tub in the fuselage. Yes, that is it. But let's get to those 65 cockpit parts.
The construction of the cockit starts of witht the lower part of the cockpit. On the curved floor which has nicley done ribs you must fit the partial bulhead which has all the details needed casted on it. Clean up is simple and requires little efort due to exellent-Warbirds quality casting. You must fit some fidly bits on the floor and then follows the control stick mehanism that is simply made, but still looks like a chalange. Think carefully about the paining and installing proces of the mhanism. the stick itslef is nicley done and correct shape. When finished with the cockpit floor you must attact the forward bulkhead which is very thick, but clean up requiers seconds. The instructions mention you should then install the foot rest assembly, but I wouldn't do that since it will obstruct painting later. Also the profiles that hold the footrest requier a lot of cleanup.
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The main walls and bulkheads |
Then I would again deviate from the instructions and start doing the back assembly with the radios seat and so on. The baaack part of the cockpit is made from a curved ribbed part that is overlapped by the radio plate. This is then fitted to the rear of the bulkhead that is actually the rear wall of the cockpit. Then to the radio plate the armour plate is fitted. and the whole seat assembly is fitted to that. Carefull here! The supporting construction for the seat also requires some clean up. The safety hareness is partially cast on the seat and is the most decent representation ever. Still I prefer the lead strip, and Verlinden proided me the plesaure since you have to make the top of the harness with lead foil provided. For the stiches on the straps take a brush or a tehnical pen or use some dry transfers from Archers.
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| All the small bits that fit on the walls and the consoles |
Moving on to the cokpit sides with the enormous side consoles and the other stuff. Here I also suggest painting the walls before attaching any other items. The side consoles have a nice touch that enables the consols to fit nicely to the walls-you see they have a negative of the ribs over which they fit cast on the other side of the consoles-mhmmh, another Verlinden set...
Then follow the fidly bits-too many to mention. But let's just say that the casting is masterclass with no bubles, with no residue, with undercuts-the whole show. I would mention that the knobs that fit in the prop and throtle regulator are cast on a plate with ball knobs and strips to support them. Shave off the little balls and leave the strips and make them from plastic-less work
Now comes the sprint on the fnish lane-the instrumet plate. The plate itself is cast in resin and we (I) am very sorry for that, but you just can't have it all. Verlinden provided a piece of card on which the instruments are printed. The bad thing is that you have to have a cut and die set to stamp them out and the good side is that they are collored and not just black&white as with the instrument film. Fit the anti-glare panel over the instrument panel and add the gunsight. Remember to add some gloss lacquer as the lens of the gunsight.
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The instrument backing card |
The only problem I see, is that you have to heat up and shape some hoses in the cockpit. These are now just relief hoses, and then you have to put it in builing water and shape it to fit. Now if you have a lot of exeperience with resin, this should not present a problem, but if you don't have them, then you will gain it here. You will probably destroy the pieces in the proces, but that is not a real problem if you do the following: take a brass rod and bend it to shape. Then just wrap the rod with a smaller diameter solder (solder bends and wraps easily) then just paint it, and you will have a nice profile hose.
Again I must mention-65 parts for 1 cockpit. See the photos read the text and give it a two 'thums up', go to the hobby shop and buy it-no thinking necessary...
My opinion is that this cockpit is a matter of honor. Black box and Lone Star, your sets are both exellent, but here you are beat.
Now let's see another competition this time on the Me 109 familly.
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| The instrument panel, consoles, radio plate, and seat assembly |
I would again like to thank Wim Verlinden from Verlinden Productions for providing this and the Hellcat up-date set for reviewing on this page.
This is a hint of what the cokpit can look like after some work |
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