1:48 Blackburn Buccaneer S.2C/D 3D cockpit decal (for Airfix 12012 kit)

The cockpit of a British low-level machine

The Blackburn Buccaneer was born as a carrier-based strike machine meant to attack at low altitude and high speed below the reach of radars. Against the first machines, the S.2 series received Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engines, which noticeably raised both thrust and range. The C and D suffixes distinguished the naval aircraft by their equipment for guided missiles, and some of them later passed to the Royal Air Force, where they served until the 1990s.

The set offered covers the cockpit as a whole: the main panel, the side consoles and the small labels that would be very hard to paint with a brush. The print is layered, the edges of the frames and the knobs have height and cast a shadow under side lighting, so the interior does not look like printed paper.

British low-level machines tend to have a rewarding cockpit full of instruments and colored handles, but those are precisely the things that are hardest to paint at a small scale. The Buccaneer moreover appeared only marginally in the modeling range for a long time, so it makes sense to take the current kit all the way.

Before you start gluing. Finish the cockpit completely and let it dry, then degrease the surfaces with spirit on a cotton swab. The items come off their backing in water at room temperature, because hot water softens the binder too much. Press the seated panel down with a soft cloth so that no air stays trapped under it.

The version is for 1:48 and for the shape of the cockpit from the Airfix kit. The two-seat Buccaneer offers a view into both stations side by side, so the full-color panels show very markedly on a finished model.