1:32 Bf-109F-2/4 seatbelts STEEL

Steel seat belts for the cockpit of the Friedrich

The set holds only the pilot's seat belts for the Bf 109F-2 and Bf 109F-4 in 1:32 scale. The word STEEL in the name gives away the material of the fret: steel can be bent into a soft fold and, against springier metals, it keeps the shape it is given, which on a belt draped loosely over a seat is exactly what you need.

Why belts do so much in a cockpit

An empty seat looks unfinished on a completed model, and a molded rendering of the straps always has a thickness a real belt does not. German fighters carried four-point harnesses with a central lock, whose ends hang loosely over the edge of the seat in the cockpit. It is exactly that careless fold that gives the space life, and plastic cannot imitate it, because a mold allows no undercut.

How to seat them

First curve the strap over the round shank of a drill bit, so that it follows the seat. Make the bends gradually and dry, until the shape sits; steel takes only a limited number of corrections before it cracks at the fold. Glue in spots and with the minimum of glue, so that none runs onto a visible surface. If the fret is not colored from the factory, lay a primer down and choose the shade so that the metallic shine of the buckles stays visible.

When it pays off

• On a model with the canopy open and the seat visible
• As a small-scope improvement when you do not want a full set
• For both versions of the Friedrich at once
• When the plastic belts from the kit look too heavy