Aires

1/72 F/A-18 Hornet Cockpit Set For the Hasegawa kit

Stock Number: 7174

Reviewed By  Jim Pearsall, IPMS# 2209

MSRP: $21.95 Review item courtesy of Aires- www.aires.cz . What you get: You get a resin cockpit tub, a resin ejection seat, a resin avionics bay for behind the seat, a resin instrument panel with cockpit anti-glare panel, a sprue of small resin detail parts, one set of clear parts and a fret of photoetch. When we talk about details, the photoetch is about 1 inch square, and includes the seat belts, new gauge faces, rudder pedals, canopy mirrors, gun sight, map light, the wiring for the canopy opener, and a screen which goes over the avionics bay. All the resin parts are flash free, with no bubbles, and very finely detailed. There's a throttle handle with all those buttons, plus there are additional details on the control stick. Why you need this add-on: This picture just about says it all. The object on the right is the cockpit furnished with the Hasegawa F/A-18. The object on the left is the Aires cockpit. The addition of a 3D instrument panel and consoles, a superior ejection seat, seat belts, gun sight, details which go behind the seat, and a much finer canopy raising mechanism also raise the realism of the appearance of the interior. The price puts it into the area usually frequented by AMS sufferers, but if you really want to improve the cockpit, this is your kit. Assembly: This is pretty straightforward. You cut the stiffener and cockpit coaming out of the Hasegawa F/A-18. You check for fit. They don't. The instructions warn you that there will be "Thinning of the plastic parts and dry-fitting of the assembly needed!" And that's very true. If you look at the picture of the 2 cockpits above, you may be able to see that the Hasegawa cockpit is about 1/8 inch narrower than the Aires. I sanded on the cockpit until I could see light through the sides. And it fit! Also, the Aires coaming is longer than the part you cut out of the kit. I discovered that there is a small "hump" on the inside of the fuselage, probably to give the fuselage part stability under the canopy. You have to file/sand/scrape this hump off to get the part to fit into the fuselage. Be sure to get this fit right before you start with those fine and finicky details like the rudder pedals. The gauges are also a delight for someone who has shaky hands, like I do. There are not only PE gauges, but also gauge faces printed on clear sheet plastic which go behind them. After I got the seat belts, the ejection handle and the details painted on the seat, I set it aside- too much chance of either breaking or losing one of those tiny parts. I started the cockpit installation at the back of the opening. I first assembled the Hasegawa part which goes behind the cockpit opening, and then I put in the part behind the cockpit/seat, with the avionics bay. Unfortunately the screen which goes over the bay completely blocks any view. Sigh. I then installed the cockpit itself. I did not install the gun sight until much later. If you've seen my review of the Eduard L-39 Albatros, I mangled that gun sight at least a dozen times before I finally destroyed it. I can learn, albeit slowly. Once the cockpit parts were installed, it was time to go forward with the Hasegawa F/A-18. It's a nice kit, and the Aires cockpit did not in any way interfere with the assembly, painting, or decals. I did have to take some care with the masking of the cockpit area, as there are some fine details there, but it went pretty well. Finishing Once the landing gear, speed brake, doors, and antennae were installed and the decals done, it was time to finish. I installed the gun sight on the coaming and the map light on the inside of the right side of the windscreen, and then installed the windscreen to protect the gun sight. These are EXTREMELY small parts. I had to be VERY careful that I kept these parts under control. Yeah, right. I (and helper) spent about 45 minutes on the floor looking for one of the gun sight brackets. There was another moment of panic. The instructions show a part inside the canopy which isn't included in the Aires kit. When I figured out it was a Hasegawa part, life became simpler. I painted and installed this part inside the canopy, along with the mirror assembly which goes on the front rail of the canopy. This is slick design. I've seen a number of mirrors for jet aircraft, but this is the first I've seen which is comparatively easy to install. While the glue was setting on the canopy, I attacked the final small parts. I installed the stick and the seat. Fit was very good here. And the seat pretty much blocks any chance of ever seeing those rudder pedals I sweated so long over. Now the canopy was ready to install. I used white craft glue on the canopy hinges at the rear, so I'd have some time to work. I installed the opener, after checking to see if it pushed the canopy up too far, to an unrealistic angle. It did, but it's so thin, I cut it and reinstalled it in moments. There's also a fine wire/cable assembly which goes to the opener. It goes in fine, too. I wouldn't recommend using anything but white glue on this, as it has to be messed with to get it to sit right, and CA isn't going to be forgiving enough. Overall Assessment If you're going to build your Bug with the canopy closed, you can probably live without this add-on. If you want to do a VERY accurate interior, you NEED this set. It adds a lot to the look of the aircraft. Thanks to Aires for the review kit, and to Brian Baker who gave me this kit to review after Dave Morrissette sent it to him. Brian believes that they quit building real aircraft in about 1948.

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