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Next, I made some progress on the cockpit. Monogram's Hellcat is very much of a piece with its sister kits--the exterior detail was pretty good, better than what had been available before, but not much interior detail. In this case, the cockpit consists of a bulkhead to attach to the right fuselage half, and a slot for the tab on the pilot's back. There's an instrument panel decal, and that's it.

Now, in the intervening years, the decal has been improved, so that it actually looks like an F6F's panel. And my choice was to use the decal, though whether I could actually apply it, or use it dry, was a question. I did photocopy it, just in case.

Here are the raw materials, the decal, and a piece of styrene sheet, painted matte black:

[ATTACH=full]5005[/ATTACH]

I took the plunge and actually soaked the decal in water. I was encouraged when it didn't disintegrate. I was able to apply it to the styrene, and once it had set, I filed the sheet to shape. Here is a shot of the instrument panel now:

[ATTACH=full]5006[/ATTACH]

I've also added the support and the base for the gunsight. From another angle:

[ATTACH=full]5007[/ATTACH]

I'll attach this to the flat tab in the fuselage, where the instructions would have us otherwise apply the decal.

It remained to build a basic cockpit. I've scratched it from sheet styrene:

[ATTACH=full]5008[/ATTACH]

I attached the floor to the kit builkhead (which I also thickened with a piece of styrene sheet), then added the side panels:

[ATTACH=full]5009[/ATTACH]

The throttle quadrant is a piece of sprue, filed to shape while still on the tree, then sliced off and applied, with a piece of Evergreen strip for the level, and a little white glue for the knob (I may add a little more to make the knob bigger).

Finally, I added the control column from a piece of aluminum wire, masking tape for the hand grip, and Miliput for the leather boot over the coupling:

[ATTACH=full]5010[/ATTACH]

A view from a little to the side:

[ATTACH=full]5011[/ATTACH]

That's all that I plan to add to this piece, because you won't see too much, when the canopy is glued in place. All that remains is to paint it, and to apply some instrument and placard decals by Mike Grant.

There are some small panels to be added off the main instrument panel, but those will be done separately.

More to follow...

<blockquote data-quote="the Baron" data-source="post: 5497" data-attributes="member: 75">Next, I made some progress on the cockpit.&nbsp; Monogram&#039;s Hellcat is very much of a piece with its sister kits--the exterior detail was pretty good, better than what had been available before, but not much interior detail.&nbsp; In this case, the cockpit consists of a bulkhead to attach to the right fuselage half, and a slot for the tab on the pilot&#039;s back.&nbsp; There&#039;s an instrument panel decal, and that&#039;s it.Now, in the intervening years, the decal has been improved, so that it actually looks like an F6F&#039;s panel.&nbsp; And my choice was to use the decal, though whether I could actually apply it, or use it dry, was a question.&nbsp; I did photocopy it, just in case.Here are the raw materials, the decal, and a piece of styrene sheet, painted matte black:[ATTACH=full]5005[/ATTACH]I took the plunge and actually soaked the decal in water.&nbsp; I was encouraged when it didn&#039;t disintegrate.&nbsp; I was able to apply it to the styrene, and once it had set, I filed the sheet to shape.&nbsp; Here is a shot of the instrument panel now:[ATTACH=full]5006[/ATTACH]I&#039;ve also added the support and the base for the gunsight.&nbsp; From another angle:[ATTACH=full]5007[/ATTACH]I&#039;ll attach this to the flat tab in the fuselage, where the instructions would have us otherwise apply the decal.It remained to build a basic cockpit.&nbsp; I&#039;ve scratched it from sheet styrene:[ATTACH=full]5008[/ATTACH]I attached the floor to the kit builkhead (which I also thickened with a piece of styrene sheet), then added the side panels:[ATTACH=full]5009[/ATTACH]The throttle quadrant is a piece of sprue, filed to shape while still on the tree, then sliced off and applied, with a piece of Evergreen strip for the level, and a little white glue for the knob (I may add a little more to make the knob bigger).Finally, I added the control column from a piece of aluminum wire, masking tape for the hand grip, and Miliput for the leather boot over the coupling:[ATTACH=full]5010[/ATTACH]A view from a little to the side:[ATTACH=full]5011[/ATTACH]That&#039;s all that I plan to add to this piece, because you won&#039;t see too much, when the canopy is glued in place.&nbsp; All that remains is to paint it, and to apply some instrument and placard decals by Mike Grant.There are some small panels to be added off the main instrument panel, but those will be done separately.More to follow...</blockquote>

[QUOTE="the Baron, post: 5497, member: 75"] Next, I made some progress on the cockpit. Monogram's Hellcat is very much of a piece with its sister kits--the exterior detail was pretty good, better than what had been available before, but not much interior detail. In this case, the cockpit consists of a bulkhead to attach to the right fuselage half, and a slot for the tab on the pilot's back. There's an instrument panel decal, and that's it. Now, in the intervening years, the decal has been improved, so that it actually looks like an F6F's panel. And my choice was to use the decal, though whether I could actually apply it, or use it dry, was a question. I did photocopy it, just in case. Here are the raw materials, the decal, and a piece of styrene sheet, painted matte black: [ATTACH=full]5005[/ATTACH] I took the plunge and actually soaked the decal in water. I was encouraged when it didn't disintegrate. I was able to apply it to the styrene, and once it had set, I filed the sheet to shape. Here is a shot of the instrument panel now: [ATTACH=full]5006[/ATTACH] I've also added the support and the base for the gunsight. From another angle: [ATTACH=full]5007[/ATTACH] I'll attach this to the flat tab in the fuselage, where the instructions would have us otherwise apply the decal. It remained to build a basic cockpit. I've scratched it from sheet styrene: [ATTACH=full]5008[/ATTACH] I attached the floor to the kit builkhead (which I also thickened with a piece of styrene sheet), then added the side panels: [ATTACH=full]5009[/ATTACH] The throttle quadrant is a piece of sprue, filed to shape while still on the tree, then sliced off and applied, with a piece of Evergreen strip for the level, and a little white glue for the knob (I may add a little more to make the knob bigger). Finally, I added the control column from a piece of aluminum wire, masking tape for the hand grip, and Miliput for the leather boot over the coupling: [ATTACH=full]5010[/ATTACH] A view from a little to the side: [ATTACH=full]5011[/ATTACH] That's all that I plan to add to this piece, because you won't see too much, when the canopy is glued in place. All that remains is to paint it, and to apply some instrument and placard decals by Mike Grant. There are some small panels to be added off the main instrument panel, but those will be done separately. More to follow... [/QUOTE]

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