It's been almost a month since I last updated this project, hard to believe how fast the time slips by as the "real world" imposes itself on leisure time!
The Mastercaster Cockpit module is nearly complete after a fair amount of modification and additions. The major components were finished individually and are now being assembled.
I started with the resin seat from the Mastercaster set, removing the molded resin belts which proved a bit tricky and required some "reconstructive surgery" afterwards. Once painted and detailed I added some spare HGW belts.
The floor and back panel were done next, standard woodgrain done with Tamiya acrylic wood base (a mix of their Desert Yellow and Deck Tan) with Winsor Newton Burnt Sienna Oil grain and a light coat of thinned Tamiya Clear Orange. Rudder control cables were added with very fine Invisible Mending Thread. Finally some dirt and scuffing were added to the floor and foot boards using pastel weathering powders.
Next came the fuel tank, firewall, and plywood ammunition boxes assembly.
I next tackled the side walls which had been previously cleaned up by removing the molded internal bracing wires and rescribed to emphasize the veneer planking of their construction. A combination of Gaspatch Turnbuckles, Bob's Buckles, and 0.12mm Mono provided for the replacement internal frame braces.
The throttle frame support on the port sidewall proved a little bit of an "adventure". I had added copper piping and details to the Mastercaster one, completed the painting, and put it on the desk while I decanted a few drops of CA to mount it. I have no idea of how or why it was gone only minutes later, but almost 2 hours of searching the entire work space, then the entire room, my clothing, (even "Wonder Dog" got frisked!) failed to locate it, and it has not been seen since! It was replaced by a semi scratch built one using the kit throttle, mounting plate from the Tom's Model Works PE Set, and copper wire and sprue.
And that completed all of the sub assemblies......
Here's 3 shots of the partially assembled module which appears to be a decent fit in the fuselage. The indented circular molding just behind the rudder pedals has me baffled, it seems a logical place for a compass perhaps, but I'll have to do another reference search to hopefully clear up the mystery. The instructions are very poor, if anyone can advise me of what it is for before I close this one up I'd be eternally grateful!
And that's where she's at for now, hopefully it won't be another month before I do the next update!
Cheers,
Lance
Addendum: I've just answered my own question above concerning the hole in the floor just behind the rudder pedals; a photo in Greg's Blog shows its for a vertical frame member not shown on the Mastercaster's Instructions, an easy addition and Thanks Greg!
