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F14A Tomcat - PART THREE

The rear bulkheads of both cockpits cause trouble. In the front cockpit, the piece does not want to slide down into place inside the cockpit tub. Be aware, also, that the beveling on the edges dictates that one side is the front and the other side is the back on this piece. If you insert it backwards, a noticeable gap appears at the base of the part. I filed down the sides of this piece to get it to slide into place.

The issue with the rear cockpit bulkhead is one of not having enough substance. The bulkhead builds up in three pieces that do not actually touch when they are installed in the cockpit tub. This provides a place to see into the fuselage behind the rear cockpit. I solved this by adding some sheet styrene backings onto the pieces.

Lastly, when attaching the rear main instrument panel and instrument hood into the cockpit, the front of the hood does not touch the top of the front cockpit bulkhead, leaving a sixteenth of an inch gap. I added some strip styrene to the top of the front cockpit bulkhead to fill this void.

When all these fit issues were addressed, then it was time to address the details that Hasegawa missed in the cockpits. I purchased the Eduard photo-etchings set for the Hasegawa Tomcat (stock#48-155) to obtain lots of details for the cockpits. Included in the Eduard set are really nice representations of the cockpit canopy sills.