1:48 Bell P-400 Airacobra - Cockpit PE Zoom Set for Arma Hobby

A cockpit you really can see into

Instead of a sliding canopy the Airacobra had two side doors with a handle and a wind-down window, a solution taken over from the motor car. For a modeler that means one thing: the interior offers itself to a view from the side through the glazing, not only from above, and every unfinished corner is visible. An investment in fitting out the cockpit therefore pays off considerably sooner on this subject than on fighters with a narrow, deeply set seat.

What the set offers

The parts have their surface printed at the factory. The dials on the panel stay legible, the side consoles get a fine texture and the seat harness comes out as thin as nobody could ever mold it from plastic. The difference from bare plastic is greatest on the panel, where engraved dials would stay nothing more than flat rings. The scope is deliberately limited to what ends up inside the fuselage; the covers and panels for the surface of the airframe belong to the more extensive set for the same aircraft.

Before you start

It pays to decide whether you will leave the doors closed or open. Closed, the panel and the harness are enough, whereas open doors expose the side walls and the frame to view as well, so interventions of your own beyond the set are worth making there. Level the original plastic under the new part, otherwise the panel will seat askew. Dose the glue drop by drop with a pin and leave the printed areas without varnish; a strong thinner would dissolve the printing. The harness straps are broken over the edge of a blade before being glued in, so that they merge naturally with the shape of the seat.