With this all sorted out it was on with the build and the starting point is the cockpit. This is very good from the box and can be enhanced greatly with Barracuda Studios Interior decals but I opted for Eduard’s Colour PE and a set of HGW fabric seat belts. The PE set is very comprehensive and I especially like the pre-glazed instruments (new for Eduard) and the individual switches for the panels. The addition of this PE necessitated the removal of the surface detail form the kit parts but this was easily done with a sharp knife and a sanding stick.
Everything was then painted up and the PE added as directed in the instructions. Take care with the switches as these re very small and may seem over the top but the result looks great. The Throttle quadrant for the cockpit sidewall is also all PE and looks far better than the kit option. I also added Lead Wire from some of the avionics boxes for extra detail, this doesn’t have to go anywhere as it will disappear behind the side consoles. I could have used PE seatbelts (Eduard’s new STEEL series is very good) but in this scale I find that fabric ones look far more realistic. They may be fiddly to construct but the extra effort is definitely worth it.
With the cockpit done the rear wheel bay was added, no issues here and then the fuselage was closed up without any issues – I do love a Tamiya kit!!