Here is my latest "W" cobra, Academy's 1/35th. I scratchbuilt a new rear bulk head,the electronics boxes were made from evergreen plastics as is fire extinguisher and the rest of the avionics equipment along the cockpit and instrument panels. Painted with Model Masters aircraft black. The crew cooling hoses were made from a soft rubber hose, wraped with a single fine piece of speaker wire. The piece of copper w/ the round plastic attached at the end is the map light. Need to add one more.

Looks great Joe, good job.

Very nicely done cockpit Joe. Let me know how this build goes. Its been awhile since i built an Academy aircraft or Helo so am wondering if their quality has improved since.

with some background and photo tweaking, other people will think you illegally reppied out the cockpit of the Cobra with a jackhammer! :-)
Looks wonderful and can't wait to see the final product!

Happy Holidays-jinithith2

All those dials look fantastic!!

great painting Joe, the cockpit looks really busy with all these dazzling knobs!

is it going to be an OIF machine?

jazza the Academy Cobra kit builds very well. No flash or fit problems, and very minor sink holes which are easy to putty and sand. Cobra Company has a resin kit out to up-date it, http://www.cobracompany.com/35009.htm

Twobobs had a nice set of decals out, "Whiskey in the mix" they are no longer in stock. Good news though, Twobobs and Fireball Model works are planning releasing new sheets after the holidays.

As for the knobs, simply done by sharpening a tooth pick using sandpaper, then dab the paint on to the raised knobs. Just keep wiping of the paint from the tooth pick, doing so helps so that paint dots don't become large.

As for the smaller knobs and dials well...after I sprayed on my flat black and once it dried, I too my hobby knife and taking my time, I scratched of the black paint from the knobs and in the dials. Simply enough right.

Thanks guys and oh yeah, Elad it will be a OIF helicopter.

Joe,
Anything w/ Rotors gets my attention. Looks Great so far, nice detail painting. The Cobra Co. resin set is really a nice kit. All in all good in 1/35........but try this in 1/48. My whole helo collection is done in 1/48, and this detail requires a magnifier and a lot of paitence.
Keep up the progress and keep us posted.

are the panel lines engraved? how is the detail???
I am leaning greatly on buying the W version, but the squadron description of the T+ version (multipart canopy engraved panel lines, multi part caockpit blah blah blah) is shaking me and I don't wanna buy something I don't want...
thanks!

jinithith2 the Academy Cobra has engraved panel lines and raised rivets. I would definitely recommend getting this kit. As I said before it goes togather well. The canopy is in three pieces, and it can be displayed in an open or closed postion.

I second Mother's recommendation. It is a great kit. By the way, it is the same kit as the T+ version, just different decals. The T+ was the protype name, it was calle the W when it went into production.

Hi Joe!

Wow! Great looking cockpit! With all these lights it looks like a Christmas Tree! The level of detail is amazing... the seatbelts are not painted yet, are they?

Jean-Luc

I was struck speechless by that cockpit. Looks to be another stunning helo coming together, mother.

Can't wait to see more.

I love all the scratchbuilt extras, Joe. Clearly a sign of some good research. Look forward to seeing more.

Wow, excellent detail to that cockpit Joe! Although I've been building armor kits starting out the past year, I did pick up this kit at one of the Hobby Lobby half off sales because I love the Cobra. Glad to hear it's a good kit, will have to build it in the coming year. Will definitely be hitting up this thread for tips on the cockpit, very nicely done!