1:48 MiG-17 F - Zoom Set (for Kinetic Kits)

Narrowed set for the cockpit of the MiG-17F

Not every model needs the full extent of metal parts. When a kit has a closed canopy, or when you want to be finished in an evening, what is really visible is enough: the face of the instrument panel, the consoles around the seat and the harness. The narrowed variant aims at exactly that way of working.

What sets it apart: it contains a selection of parts for the inside of the cockpit, usually color-printed from the factory, so the laborious masking and painting of individual dials falls away. What it lacks, on the other hand, are the items for the outside of the airframe that the full sheet for the same aircraft carries. The difference shows in the time spent at the bench.

The real subject: a fighter from the start of the 1950s with an afterburning engine, which became the most widespread machine of its class and served on three continents. Its cockpit is cramped and clear at the same time, so the instrument panel is the first thing a viewer notices on an open model.

How to proceed: do not sand the printed parts and do not put them in alcohol, as the print can be damaged. Glue them to a cleaned-up surface, emphasize the edges with a thin dark line and finally go over the whole space with a matte clear.

The package contains the photo-etched sheet. The kit, paints and glue are not part of it.

One last tip: photograph the finished interior while the fuselage is still open. Once the halves are glued you will see only a narrow strip of it, and the picture will remain the only record of the work done.