I created this blog because I could not find the kind of tutorials I needed for some models and miniatures I wanted to build. I hope it will be a useful source of information for anyone who may experience the same lack of first-hand, step-by-step reports.
I am not an expert by any means, so feel free to comment my posts or to contact me to share your advice.

Wednesday 29 July 2009

Cockpit part 3

I finally cemented the cockpit assembly into place. My first disappointment was to see that it looks like there is a ton of space between the dashboard and the rim of the body. I hope that the windshield will make it less visible. If not, then I missed a good chance to paint things black!
I managed to put the steering wheel where it should be without breaking any part. The challenge was to make a correct alignment between the angle of the steering column and pinion, the fitting at the cockpit end of the rod and the wheel itself. I will never try to make the wheels turn with the steering wheel: A) there is no protection on the paint and B) there is too much friction in the guides of the steering mechanism for the operation to be safe.
I wanted to model some wiring behind the dials of the dashboard as I have some good reference pictures. However my attempts were complete and epic failures, cyano glue is apparently not what it used to be. What is seen on the picture are a few coloured wires bundled together with a thicker wire. The bundle is just resting on the right of the seat with nothing to make a permanent assembly anywhere. The larger red wire is bent behind the dashboard and masks the back of the dials. It was picked from a 14 gauge household electric cable. The thin wires were picked from a telephone cable.
Had I to make the operation again, I think I would have used painted metallic wires with no plastic sleeve in place of the thin wires. I would have then been able to bend them into the proper shapes and put them into place like the oil thermocouple seen here.

See also Cockpit part 2 and Cockpit part 1.

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