1:32 F-15C PAD-upgraded 3D-Printed & coloured Interior on decal paper (Tamiya) (Small version) (with 3D-printed resin parts)

The modernized cockpit of the F-15C with the PAD display, 1:32 scale

A large scale mercilessly reveals every smooth area where detail ought to be. The set therefore combines two technologies: relief colored items on a carrier sheet and, with them, several three-dimensionally printed resin parts. The designation of the smaller version means that this is a narrower selection of the most visible areas, not a full complement of the whole interior. The target kit is Tamiya.

What to watch out for

First wash the resin pieces in lukewarm water with detergent, so that the residues from printing disappear from the surface, and let them dry out properly. They are joined with super glue; ordinary thin cement for plastic does not hold on them. Cut the supports left after printing off with a sharp scalpel and sand the marks from them down wet.

What the abbreviation PAD means

It is a large-area color display which replaced the indicator of the radar warning receiver and a whole group of engine instruments in the cockpit. It brings their data together on a single area and moreover can show the picture from a targeting pod carried under the fuselage. It appeared publicly in 2018 and changed the look of the instrument panel so much that older and newer machines of the same type differ at first glance.

Who it is for

• builders of present-day machines, not of versions from the 1980s
• a large scale with an open cockpit
• more advanced modelers used to resin
• those who want the main areas finished and will do the rest themselves
• display cases whose cockpit is clearly in view

Neither the plastic parts of the machine nor glue are supplied.