The plastic Nomex fire retardant jacket looks fake even after 2 days of trying to shade it with Vallejo paints. So, I decided to use Tamiya Epoxy Putty to from the jackets. The folds are pressed in with toothpick and I used the Tamiya Extra Thin Cement to melt it into folds.
Two more views. It needed some texturing later with Tamiya Surfacer Primet and dabbing by a stiff brush once its cured and sides trimmed and shaped by filing and sanding.
RIO Instrument panel decaled and softened to conform to the contours. Details are hand picked with Vallejo paints. Tamiya Panel Lines Accentuators are used to matte the drybrushing and highlight the details.
Front Pilot's instrument panel decaled and hand picked and toned with Tamiya Panel Line Accentuator. The original is toned down 50% with Tamiya Enamel Thinners to control it from being too dark.
Front Instrument Panel installed int he front hub for the pilot of this BOMBCAT.
RIO Tub hand painted 100%.
This is the best part that I enjoyed of the kit. The instruments are quite accurate to the ones that were upgraded. A semi glass cockpit, that eventually transitioned to the Dick Cheney rejected JOBS Project- the F14D Super Tomcat. Too bad, he had his way to prevent transition to AMRAAM. Sigh.
The fit of the main parts are a pain, perhaps due to the age of the tooling on the big panels. However, the smaller parts are incredibly good. Really enjoyed this portion of work.