Home  |  What's New  |  Features  |  Gallery  |  Reviews  |  Reference  |  Forum  |  Search

Painting the
Black Box Combat Series

1/32 F/A-18C Cockpit
Part Two

by Dave Roof

 

Hell Hole with Wiring

 


 HyperScale is proudly supported by Squadron.com

 

Introduction

 

Now that the main components of the cockpit are done, I will now cover the remaining items that go in the ‘Hell Hole’, as well as provide photos of the pieces put together.

 

6. The Avionics and ECS Gear

The various ECS gear and Avionics boxes were airbrushed with Tamiya XF69 NATO Black. The large cluster of avionics boxes were then masked, and the frame was airbrushed with MM Enamel FS 36231. When everything was dry, all of the items were given a dry brushing of MM Enamel FS 36375. Again, the cannon plugs on the large cluster of boxes were painted with SAC Bomber Tan, and the attachment clips for the boxes were painted silver.

 

 

Once everything was dry, they were installed in the Hell Hole per the instructions and my reference photos. It is a tight fit, but everything went in with no problems. Once the aft deck is installed, most of the gear is hidden, but we know it’s there!

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

 

7. Dry Fitting of the Parts

Well, now that all of the pieces are painted and detailed, it’s time to install them in the kit. I have not permanently attached anything yet, but so far I have had no problems getting the parts to fit. A little sanding will be needed on the cockpit tub sides, but that is all.

First you will need to remove the kit tub attachment point and the two ejector pin tabs on the nose landing gear wheel well top piece. Once this is done, sand the area smooth. You will also need to remove the side wall detail from each side of the inner fuselage halves.

 

 

When the casting block is removed from the bottom of the cockpit tub, it will fit in the same manner as the kit supplied tub. However, as with all resin products, a little extra sanding may be necessary. Constantly dry fit to ensure everything goes in correctly.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

 

8. Sidewall and Aft Deck Installation

Once you get the cockpit tub to fit properly, dry fit the side walls in place. No extra work was needed to get these parts installed. Do a quick check fit of the aft deck, and you’re almost done!

 

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Click Here to Return to Part One

Click Here to go to Part Three

Text and Images Copyright © 2003 by Dave Roof
Page Created 08 July, 2003
Last updated 17 March, 2004

Back to HyperScale Main Page