Full Resin Cockpit

[sheppsea]

Hi All,

I'm just starting my first full resin cockpit, made by Eduard for the Airfix Spitfire Mk Vb

I normally quite enjoy working with resin, but I must admit that this is grating on me a little and I'm only half way through; removing lot of pieces from resin plugs is procing tedious and I think I just find it quicker and more enjoyable to remove it from sprue. I think I'm going to stick to PE for detailing cockpit going forward, and then use resin for specific items

What are people throughts generally? Are full resin cockpits worth the effort, or is it just me that doesn't enjoy it?

[digger303]

Little bit of resin parts I have dealt with left me thinking. The stuff is brittle, hazardous, tedious to clean small bits and more likely to arrive broken in some kits. yeah not really a fan.

[sheppsea]

I agree, I gave up on the full resin cockpit last night and just built the one out of the kit (along with some PE) and am enjoying it much more; a slight waste of money as the resin cockpit wasn't cheap, but you live and learn I suppose

[digger303]

I agree, I gave up on the full resin cockpit last night and just built the one out of the kit (along with some PE) and am enjoying it much more; a slight waste of money as the resin cockpit wasn't cheap, but you live and learn I suppose

I have a USA weasel kit that is resin by L.Z models and I have been too leary to even think about attempting it.

[SteveW]

I recently fitted the Airies resin cockpit for the Revell Me-410. It took a lot of work to get it to fit and allow the fuselage halves to come together. Having compared it to the kit parts and looking what was visible after completion I wished I had not bothered. I am now starting to have a good look at what can be seen to see wether it is worth the hassle. The same with PE. Instrument panels and seat belts are now my main points after that I see how it works out.

[MarkVerploeg]

Overall i don't mond working with resin cockpits
But i only used a couple of them
The Eduard SU-27UB cockpits where good but the Aires A-10 cockpit i had was terrible in terms of the fit
It wouldn't fit in the fuselage
But the Eduard cockpit products i used so far where fairly easy to use

[sheppsea]

Its not really that's is difficult, just that I didn't really enjoy it and found it much more tedious than plastic, and basically didn't feel worth the effort

I suppose its like all things in life, there is no certainties and sometimes it would be worth getting resin cockpits, its just I can't see me revisiting it again

[MarkVerploeg]

I agree that it can be boring
Removing large casting blocks takes ages and yoy have the risk of snapping parts of it in the proces
In a jet i would say it is possible as a large portion will be visible
It is just the way they are made
WWII fighters have completly different cockpits and much smaller canopies so they hide more and a lot of the detail is up against the sides so still hard to see
But i am no resin cockpit regular ,i used a couple but that is all
I do have a slight addiction for Eduard's cockpit sets in photo etch and some how they always find their way to the cockpits i build
The printed details are better then what i can do with a brush and my lousy patience
And those usually are a nice upgrade over kit cockpits and possibly cheaper then resin set

[JohnModeller]

Resin cockpits and engines are very nice in my opinion, as it helps me get results like this, which I have no hope of scratch-building. That engine (eduard Brassin) was a real pain to fit as it was designed for the Revell 109, but it really did lift the model into a different class. The same can be said for the cockpit (Aires Cockpit). Basically, the only parts that were from the kit (Trumpeter 1/32 Bf 109G-2) was the wings, fuselage, the G-2 variant guns and ammo feeds and undercarriage. The rest was Aires and Eduard Resin and Eduard PE. Mind you, Eduard Brassin tends to fit better, while Aires tends to be more grinding and fettling.

[Stokesy44]

Depends on the kit, specifically how much better is the resin than the kit parts and how much will it be seen? I don't subscribe to the 'I know its in there, so its worth it idea,' If you can SEE it when the kit is on display and it really does look better then go for it.

I would consider it in the following:

Modern jets with big canopies, where the side consoles, IPs and seats are highly visible - full replacement cockpits are awesome.

For older aircraft, specifically WW2 stuff, replacement bits might be better than splashing out on full sets. I've built a number of 1/48 single engine fighters and have bought replacement seats with molded on harnesses, they look beautiful and are highly visible. Good value too.

Larger scale kits with lower levels of detail. Revell's new 1/32 WW2 kits spring to mind. Light years ahead of their old stuff but cockpits still pretty basic, replacement resin or coloured PE well worth it.

Don't be fooled by Emperors New Clothes syndrome. Some stuff just isn't worth it, PE or resin, as you just cant see it.

[Kevthemodeller]

Don't be fooled by Emperors New Clothes syndrome. Some stuff just isn't worth it, PE or resin, as you just cant see it.

Well said I totally agree, I've not built a cockpit but armour and I carefully study what any one PE/resin kit gives you if I can't I leave it. Some of these resin AVF stowage kits are very pricey and some don't really give you stuff you can't get else where cheaper!

[schweinhund227]

in my books ! only worth the efforts on very close to heart A/C. run of the mills ? seat-belts and nice gauges is fine by me.
sorry to hear you have having issues with this set ! take a breather ! and go back to it .

[krusty69]

I think it really depends on the kit I've done some were the fit was terrible. and you could see anything when it was buttoned up. on the other hand I built trumpeters 1/32 a-6 and used avionics full interior, I think it fit better than the stock parts and was beautiful. the ejection seat were a work of art, I do think they look better than any photo etch. if you want to take a look they are in my portfolio. I did use some artistic license on the dash switches
thanks
krusty

[Twokidsnosleep]

Wise he is that Stokesy fellow

[GMahaffey]

I think if your going for WW2 kits, the resin may be not ideal, but for modern jets they are much better. For one, there is much less parts that go with the modern jets. I have an F-16A MLU Block 20 kit from Kinetic. The idea is that its a gift for a friend. They are Dutch and I am doing the 2004 Tiger Meet F-16 livery for the Royal Netherlands Air Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht). The Aires resin cockpit I got, as the Kinetic cockpits and seats are very basic on details with no decals, has minimal parts, maybe 4 small parts, the side walls, combing and instrument panel as one part, seat, cockpit tub with a spare stick, along with film and photoetch. I haven't done a WW2 resin cockpit set but I believe that there would be more parts to assemble and clean.