1:72 L-39ZA Albatros 3D-Printed & coloured Interior on decal paper (Eduard)

Two Cockpits in Tandem in a Small Scale

The Albatros from Vodochody became the basic trainer in many countries for decades, and the ZA version added a combat role to that: a gun pod under the fuselage and pylons under the wings. Inside, the arrangement of two seats one behind the other remained, with the instructor at the rear sitting slightly higher than the student.

In 1:72 scale that interior is the hardest part of the build. Photo-etched parts for two instrument panels and two seats are of a size at which tweezers are more enemy than tool, and almost nobody manages to paint a legible dial a few hundredths of a millimeter across. A printed sheet solves it differently: the motif is already finished, in color and with fine relief, and it transfers with water, so it is handled like an ordinary decal and does not ping away.

The contents are both panels, the side walls of both compartments, the seats with their harnesses and the areas under the canopies. The shades match the Eastern-style cockpit finish, which is hard to hit from bottles. Small placards and warning texts are included too, the kind that could not be suggested with a brush at this size.

Work at this size has one extra condition. Cut the part out close to the edge of the motif, because even a narrow rim of white carrier shows on a small panel, and settle it with a brush almost dry so that the thin paper does not ripple. The parts are cut to fit the parts of the Eduard kit. The aircraft model itself has to be obtained separately and the interior finished before the fuselage halves are glued together.