Cockpit part 2

I did not really like the side panels of the cockpit at first. They look bogus and need some detailing. I should say they need some re-modeling but I do not have the skills here and now. I chose instead to create some rivets by putting tiny drops of glue on the parts. I then painted the dried drops in a metallic shade to create more appeal. To be honest, I would not do that again if I had to. I found the idea to be good at first but the glue spreads a bit before drying and now my rivets look like big screw heads. Small bits of two part epoxy (like Milliput) would be much better. One has to learn some time!



The gear stick is off scale. I am comfortable with it being a wooden sphere on a metal stick, but the latter is way too large. Later versions of the knob were a wooden thinner ovoid one or a black plastic ball. I painted the shaft in Tamiya chrome silver, with borders and highlights in Citadel boltgun metal. The knob itself was first painted in Citadel scorched brown and highlighted with Citadel snakebite leather. I then painted a yellow spot on its top to mark the Lotus logo (no decal provided for it).







The steering wheel is painted flat red with chrome silver spokes and hub. I had forgotten how thick the red paint was, and how many coats would be needed to cover a simple circular shape... Anyway, the result is there, with the brush marks... As the moulding gives thick spokes, I painted their dashboard-side halves flat black in order to make only thin spokes clearly visible. A black wash followed by chrome silver was all it took to give depth to the ribs at the center of the wheel. The decal for the Lotus logo is really disappointing: it is black! Even the early Gold Leaf cars had a coloured one. A Citadel varnish coat helped for the enamel look.

See also Cockpit part 1