is photo etch for cockpits worth it?

[Alex SZ1996]

is photo etch for cockpits worth it? i have seen a bunch of videos on youtube with people building kits. some do with photo etch, some do without.

i think for me, photoetch would be easier, but is there anything to look out for?

[busnproplinerfan]

I could see it good for Hasegawa kits, but a lot of times you can get resin replacements except you have to paint them. I've made small parts from .005 or .010 plastic and stretched sprue before. One trick I did was make a radar or CRT screen from a film negative. I guess it's best to get the photo etch designed for the cockpit so it fits. I have an Italeri A-10 and a cockpit from another manufacturer, forget which and had a hard time fitting it in. The pre painted photo etched ones look nice to.

[fubar57]

I guess it depends how you want to display the model, canopy open or closed and the clarity of said canopy. I've only used PE on one of the 50+ models I've built. A PITA to install, looked great once done and all but disappeared once the fuselage halves were joined together. I'm not condemning the PE as they do look great but if you can't see it in the end, is it really worth it

[dnl42]

Only you can decide if it's worth it. As noted, consider the cost, the effort, and the final impact. I once spent waaaaaay too much time and effort adding resin wheel wells to a Tamiya 1/48 P-51C, which are only seen if you lift the model up.

 

Having written that, I do like to add aftermarket details. My favorite bits are now Yahu instrument panels and Master brass bits, which are relatively simple to use.

[Moggy]

I use a lot of etched parts. That said, it only makes sense when they're actually visible.

I build exclusively in 1/72 and more often than not I have cockpits and cargo bays open - I make a lot of small detail parts myself with plastic card, strips of various materials and adapt etched parts from sheets not made for the subject I'm working on.

Check the etched sheet to see it it has the parts you consider useful before you buy it. Not all parts in the etch sheets need be used.

However the important part to remember is to build what YOU like the way YOU like!

 

Cheers, Moggy

[busnproplinerfan]

I was seriously looking into the photoetch sets for the 1/72 Connie and B-29, same problem, unless I make the plane cut up for scrap, you don't see most of it. Depends how it's displayed when done. Or do one with loaded version with all the options and the others without. Good if you're doing multiples of the same plane.

[Alex SZ1996]

i plan to keep the canopy closed for display. painting the cockpit has never really been my favorite part, so thats a major point why im considering photo etch. 

i think resin cockpits are out of my skill range, so i wont go that way. but also since i will close the canopy, the extra details are probaly gonna be hidden. 

[janneman36]

I only do it when it is to be seen properly and sometimes it is easyer to put only a simple stick it etch panel in it like those from Yahu or the Look panels or zoom sets from Eduard..

These are easy to use and enough for most kits i think..

 

cheers, Jan

[stringbag]

Sadly, these photo etch sets are becoming rather too expensive in my opinion, particularly the pre-painted versions from certain manufacturers.  That, coupled with the fact that less is provided on the standard fret means that I'm very selective when purchasing.  Some manufacturers now sell the seat harness as a separate item. Not on really when one considers that the belts/harness are quite a prominent feature of a cockpit interior.  Of course, this is just my opinion.

 

Chris.

[exdraken]

1 hour ago, stringbag said:

Some manufacturers now sell the seat harness as a separate item. Not on really when one considers that the belts/harness are quite a prominent feature of a cockpit interior. 

As always, it depends!

The seat belts are often obsolete when using a different make resin seat or a pilot....

[Rabbit Leader]

I’l agree with the others and suggest it depends whether the canopy is open / closed and also what scale you are building in. I tend to look at the overall model and decide how much extra money I’m prepared to spend. Personally I’d rather splash funds on a set of AM decals or resin wheels then anything inside that might not be seen when viewed once completed. For a closed canopy I often find that anything below the fuselage opening will hardly been seen and it’s amazing how effective a splash of white or silver paint works to convince the eye that something is there! Decal IP’s are also highly effective to my eyes so I’m happy with those for most of the scales I model in. 

 

A good question that naturally will have many good answers. 
 

Cheers. Dave 

[stringbag]

27 minutes ago, exdraken said:

As always, it depends!

The seat belts are often obsolete when using a different make resin seat or a pilot....

I quite agree. However, I would never include a pilot in the cockpit particularly if I'd gone to the trouble of installing a resin or etched enhancement, As I said, it's only my opinion.

[Moggy]

Regarding cockpits in 1/72 - I almost always use vacform canopies instead of the injection moulded one that comes with the kit. This gives a lot more visibility to the detailed cockpit.

Still, the only parts that are really visible with a closed canopy are the ejection seat, the coaming and (probably) the instrument panel. Dark-painted cockpits doubly so . Yahu does beautiful ready-painted IP:s. So a good resin ejection seat may be worth more than etch in a cockpit.

Othe useful parts are thin-to-scale landing gear details.

Lately etched sheets's prices have increased to ridiculous levels esp. when you discover that it has fewer useful parts and a number of what can only be called "generic" parts. Elder sheets had both a lower price and (often) double the number of useful parts!

 

As I said - etch has its uses but it is not the be-all end-all of modelling.

 

Cheers, Moggy

[Mike]

As mentioned earlier, it's subjective and entirely up to you in terms of effort, detail and cost.  In modelling it's entirely cool for you to do you, and every rational person should be ok with that.  When it boils down to it, it's no-one's business but your own

[Alex SZ1996]

the scale im jumping into is 1:48. i have built a handful of 1:72 and two 1:48 fighter jets when i was a kid. but i have never used photo etch on a aircraft before, so just hearing some opinions can be very helpful.

i dont want to buy loads of aftermarket upgrades, beacuse it will end up too complicated and never get completed. but i should be able to handle some small upgrades here and there.

 

[Aardvark]

In 72nd scale modern injection technology reached a level where they are almost identical with resin aftermarket  parts. Combination modern plastic part with  good printing decal maked results identical with colour photoetched.

In such cases, any aftermarket is not worth the money just accurate made model!

In addition, as an alternative to color photo-etching, there are 3D decals about which I wrote in topics on 

Rumourmonger

about  the Su-57 and Pe-2.

 

But any case it's Your choice.

 

B.R.

Serge

[colin]

I've spent a lot of time and effort fitting PE to models for it all to just about disappear when it's finished.Now if I think it can't be seen when done I leave it out.I do mostly 1/48 at the moment

[JohnT]

What all the others say above. 
Think your subject model through. Extreme examples are say the 1/48 B29 Superfortress from Monogram//Revell which, once the fuselage halves are joined you will see almost nothing of the interior and at the other end 1/32 Me 110 or Ju87 with the cockpits open and interior quite visible. Etch and resin pretty much a waste of time in the former and useful for the latter 2. 
Mind you some folks still include interior details on the basis of “Well I know it’s in there”

 

You pays your money and takes your choice and don’t let anyone say you are wrong

[Aardvark]

1 hour ago, JohnT said:

Mind you some folks still include interior details on the basis of “Well I know it’s in there”

Did someone call me?  I'm here!

😁😁😁

B.R.

Serge

 

P.S.

In reality chances 

that you will meet any expert on rare aircraft is practically zero, but be prepared for serious criticism if you make Messerschmitt, Spitfirе, etc.  Also, you should be especially careful when placing models of Russian airplanes on Russian forms, because there may be not just modelers, but modelers former pilots of these aircraft, then be prepared for not always positive evaluations of your work.

In this case, errors in detailing or its simplification matter. In other cases....how many modeller's talk  my about my mistakes in cockpit Curtiss XF-87 Nighthawk from ProResin in 72nd scale? 😉

Edited January 5, 2020 by Aardvark

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

I build a lot of ships so am pretty comfortable with photo etched metal in general (it's fairly essential with ships), but have mixed feelings about it with aircraft.

I like photo etched instrument panels, seat belts and sometimes rudder pedals. Sometimes other prominent bits and pieces work well in PE too. In general though I feel that a lot of big-name PE players fill their frets up with a load of superfluous junk increasing the price of the set for no net benefit. Often the kit no longer fits together if you actually use all the parts - it's hugely time consuming and very frustrating to have to start breaking bits off and repairing damaged paint work when you sleep-walk into following the instructions faithfully on the assumption that the vendor has actually trial-built their product, which often they haven't.

 

I like PE, but sometimes less is more and a half-way competent paint job is usually better than pre-painted PE.

 

I'm fairly happy with a Yahu instrument panel and a set of traditional unpainted PE seat belts usually, although I prefer Ultracast-type resin seats with seat belts included where I can - when painted reasonably well they look superb for a fraction of the effort.

[Alex SZ1996]

i have stashed up some 1:350 ship kits, and i got photo etch for pretty much all of them because they would look toyish without any. on the other hand, i think aircraft doesnt need much if any photo etch. a good paint job goes a long way.

 

[Kushan_Farsight]

As someone who dances between 1/72 and 1/48, its an entirely subjective choice, that really is best to determine 'per model'. At 1/48, i find there a lot more detail on display, and therefore its worth it in some cases. 1/72 can sometimes be a little disappointing how much can actually be seen once the fuselage is all closed up -  especially if using stock thick clear canopies - i can see why people move over to vacform at this point .(ive been following a number of 'Plunge Mold' approaches by a few modelers on here and may well give that a try this year).

 

Some people really enjoy pushing the most out of an Out The Box build, and showing how well a stock craft can be made. Others will add aftermarket parts 2-3x the value of the original kit!  - there is no 'wrong answer' here. 


Although saying that, PE at 1/144 is probably a bit much......... but i bet theres one or two on BM who have done it