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F-104 cockpit


moondrome

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some progress was made

 

test fitting the panels.  as you can see one of the attitude indicator is upside down, when I realized the mistake it was too late and decals don't forgive...

 

IMG_20200926_130746

 

 

as you can see there's a lot of detail missing behind the instrument panels; this is how the kit was designed.  So today I had some covers scratchbuilt to fix this. but I don't have photos yet ( coming soon)

 

IMG_20200926_130830

 

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hello! this rainy weekend was productive, and I can say i'm really enjoying this kit.  here's some updated pics

 

 

IMG_20201004_212227

 

 

as you can see I added some panels on the back of the instrument panels and some wiring.  not too much details but better than nothing

 

IMG_20201004_212259

 

IMG_20201004_212316

 

the seat is still missing some parts , including the belts and cushion

 

IMG_20201004_212330 IMG_20201004_212346 IMG_20201004_212415

 

 

i randomly added some tamiya light blue on the cabin because it was looking too flat, also I did some chipping.

 

IMG_20201004_212429

 

here's all assembled

 

IMG_20201004_212542

 

IMG_20201004_212557 IMG_20201004_212605 IMG_20201004_212615

 

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I remember this kit from years ago but I can't recall ever seeing it built up, looks smashing.  Shame about the attitude indicator but it's pretty well obscured in the end.  

 

Does there happen to be a date on the kit anywhere?  I'm wondering how far back in the dim mists of history it was released.  Pretty sure they did an F-16 cockpit also.  

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4 hours ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

I remember this kit from years ago but I can't recall ever seeing it built up, looks smashing.  Shame about the attitude indicator but it's pretty well obscured in the end.  

 

Does there happen to be a date on the kit anywhere?  I'm wondering how far back in the dim mists of history it was released.  Pretty sure they did an F-16 cockpit also.  

Thank you!   according to scalemates this kit was first released in 1983 ( ESCI) and reissued by italeri in 2001 and 2020. unfortunately the f 16 cockpit is not available at the moment from the italeri online shop :(

 

cheers ,

 

daniel

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I'm surprised the large-scale model cockpit concept didn't catch on more.  Seems like a good way to display a model aircraft in a reasonable scale alongside its cockpit in a larger, more visible, and easier-to-detail size.

 

I spend much time (too much, really) detailing 1/72 cockpits that are never really going to be appreciated because of their tiny size.  I enjoy doing it, the voices in my head compel me to do it, but still it'd be nice to see detailed cockpits without resorting to magnification.

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well you should definetly give it a try to this kit then! :) i'm sure you will have fun. of course there's the typical italeri WTF moments when building this but nothing too serious.

Also I haven't seen anyone doing it but I think this kit is suitable for adding some LED lights to the panels.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

hello! some update on the Martin baker seat:  after taking a look at some photos ,  I removed the central part of the parachute container box and nowyou can partially see the central beam behind. 

Instead of using the decals for the harness and belt I decided to use some fabric samples and make my belts using the decals as template. I know it sounds easy , but actually it was a tedious process ,and I had to try several times before they looked good enough...😓 

 

IMG_20201015_222250

 

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On 10/4/2020 at 9:47 PM, moondrome said:

hello! this rainy weekend was productive, and I can say i'm really enjoying this kit.  here's some updated pics

 

 

IMG_20201004_212227

 

 

as you can see I added some panels on the back of the instrument panels and some wiring.  not too much details but better than nothing

 

IMG_20201004_212259

 

IMG_20201004_212316

 

the seat is still missing some parts , including the belts and cushion

 

IMG_20201004_212330 IMG_20201004_212346 IMG_20201004_212415

 

 

i randomly added some tamiya light blue on the cabin because it was looking too flat, also I did some chipping.

 

IMG_20201004_212429

 

here's all assembled

 

IMG_20201004_212542

 

IMG_20201004_212557 IMG_20201004_212605 IMG_20201004_212615

 

 

 

Looking good! i love the paint chipping on the black parts and faded grey.

I started this kit way back in 2009. I stopped becasue I got stuck on the seatbelts part. I painted the individual seatbelts according to photos but i simply couldnt make heads or tails of what belt went where and stopped. It had quite a complex array of seatbelts.
I found the instructions quite inaccurate for painting. Infact I painted according to photos. For the bottom seat I pained the lower part yellow and top dark black. Now sure why you opted for light blue?

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thank you @Pappy for taking a look at this thread , and I'm  happy you like it!

 

@AdriaN (MLT) : yes ! the instructions are quite hard to understand on the seatbelts. if you lost the seatbelt decals you can try cutting strips from fabric. most of them are 3mm wide, except for the grey one on the quick releasebox which is 6 mm wide and the 4 little ones that are 2mm wide.   i can give you more detalied advice on how I did mine if you want.

about the color of the seat: yes black seat cushion over yellow is the most common color I found, so you are right. But I found this picture and I liked it more light green ( from Belgian air force I think)

 

f-104g_fx-47_23_of_39.jpg

 

 

 

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18 hours ago, moondrome said:

thank you @Pappy for taking a look at this thread , and I'm  happy you like it!

 

@AdriaN (MLT) : yes ! the instructions are quite hard to understand on the seatbelts. if you lost the seatbelt decals you can try cutting strips from fabric. most of them are 3mm wide, except for the grey one on the quick releasebox which is 6 mm wide and the 4 little ones that are 2mm wide.   i can give you more detalied advice on how I did mine if you want.

about the color of the seat: yes black seat cushion over yellow is the most common color I found, so you are right. But I found this picture and I liked it more light green ( from Belgian air force I think)

 

f-104g_fx-47_23_of_39.jpg

 

 

 

G'day Daniel,

 

Your cockpit is very heavily chipped and it looks well done and used. That is your preference and I completely respect your choice however, the one point I would raise is that none of the handles have any sign of the same wear or chipping which looks a little out of place for such a worn cockpit. I mean this as constructive feedback and do not intend to give offense.  Whilst the ejection handles would only be used once, most of the other handles are for things like the park brake, emergency hook and brake parachute so it makes sense that these would be used more frequently and hence show evidence of wear.

 

Secondly, your photo appears to be of the original (downwards firing) Lockheed seat instead of the later (upwards firing) Martin Baker GQ-7 series seat? Paint colour is also a personal choice but if you are using this picture for reference you may need to do more research,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

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14 hours ago, Pappy said:

G'day Daniel,

 

Your cockpit is very heavily chipped and it looks well done and used. That is your preference and I completely respect your choice however, the one point I would raise is that none of the handles have any sign of the same wear or chipping which looks a little out of place for such a worn cockpit. I mean this as constructive feedback and do not intend to give offense.  Whilst the ejection handles would only be used once, most of the other handles are for things like the park brake, emergency hook and brake parachute so it makes sense that these would be used more frequently and hence show evidence of wear.

 

Secondly, your photo appears to be of the original (downwards firing) Lockheed seat instead of the later (upwards firing) Martin Baker GQ-7 series seat? Paint colour is also a personal choice but if you are using this picture for reference you may need to do more research,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

hello @Pappy thanks for the feedback !👍 I didn't know about the lockheed seat, I corrected the cushion color , I hope it looks more accurate now.

 

I will  also add some weathering to the handles, thanks for making me notice 👍

 

in the meantime I added the remaining details to the seat: emergency oxygen bottle , the PEC seat portion ( what is this PEC by the way?) , and lower firing handle.

 

I also started the pilot helmet

 

IMG_20201017_124850

 

 

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G'day Daniel, it looks much better.

 

PEC - Personal Equipment Connector - This is where the pilot's oxygen, microphone lead and G-suit inflation hoses connect to. Normally the oxygen will be delivered by the oxygen regulator (through the PEC) however during an ejection (or cockpit emergency such as fumes in the cockpit ) oxygen can be fed directly to the pilot from the emergency bottle located on the seat, but this will only supply enough for a short duration, say 10-15mins, which would be enough to descend to a breathable altitude (<10,000ft) in the instance of a high altitude emergency.

 

The original Lockheed C-1 seat ejected downwards because the designers did not think it would have enough energy to clear the high T-tail. Unfortunately, this resulted in many deaths during low altitude ejections. Lockheed later re-designed the upwards firing C-2 seat but by this point, many foreign operators had opted (or retrofitted) the GQ-7 series seat (which is what the kit provides -sorta)

 

Keep up the good work, it is looking good!

 

Pappy

Edited by Pappy
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hello modellers!

 

I want to share with you the latest pictures of this funny but demanding kit.  I have finished the helmet, clean the "lab" ( my hobby room) which was super messy, and tried to add some final touches to the cockpit.   I added little details to the handles as suggested by @Pappy trying to make the aging more uniform. 

 

I hope you like it

 

daniel

 

IMG_20201020_184212

 

IMG_20201020_190104

 

IMG_20201020_184238

 

IMG_20201020_184504

 

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On 10/16/2020 at 6:39 PM, moondrome said:

thank you @Pappy for taking a look at this thread , and I'm  happy you like it!

 

@AdriaN (MLT) : yes ! the instructions are quite hard to understand on the seatbelts. if you lost the seatbelt decals you can try cutting strips from fabric. most of them are 3mm wide, except for the grey one on the quick releasebox which is 6 mm wide and the 4 little ones that are 2mm wide.   i can give you more detalied advice on how I did mine if you want.

about the color of the seat: yes black seat cushion over yellow is the most common color I found, so you are right. But I found this picture and I liked it more light green ( from Belgian air force I think)

 

f-104g_fx-47_23_of_39.jpg

 

I didnt follow the instructions for painting the kit overall, as they are incorrect!
For seatbelts I used..... @Pappy's photos that he had posted way back in 2008! Thank you @Pappy. In fact I had printed them all way back in 2009 and based the seatbelt colours according to HIS seatbelts. But got lost trying to put them into place and also tried adding a few extra seatbelts by painting over the extra blank pieces of the mesh sheet.

Did you find the helmet parts didn't fit well? i remember the sun-visor and mask didnt fit onto the helmet part well. What made you go for blue, not red? Never found reference photos of that particular helmet.

 

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56 minutes ago, AdriaN (MLT) said:

 

I didnt follow the instructions for painting the kit overall, as they are incorrect!
For seatbelts I used..... @Pappy's photos that he had posted way back in 2008! Thank you @Pappy. In fact I had printed them all way back in 2009 and based the seatbelt colours according to HIS seatbelts. But got lost trying to put them into place and also tried adding a few extra seatbelts by painting over the extra blank pieces of the mesh sheet.

Did you find the helmet parts didn't fit well? i remember the sun-visor and mask didnt fit onto the helmet part well. What made you go for blue, not red? Never found reference photos of that particular helmet.

 

Hey adrian, yes the oxygen mask doesn't really fit on both sides of the helmet, but anyway for me was fine open so I glued it to just one side. As for the color I just tried blue as in the Italeri gallery

 

https://images.app.goo.gl/VvBzU7eeCJa9v3r98

 

 

Cheers 

 

Daniel

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