Reviewed by Brett Green

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Most reviews of Hasegawa's recent 1/32 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9 agree that it is a beautiful kit, but that the cockpit is a fairly basic in this large scale. Another issue is that the instrument coaming has a non-standard cutout behind the gunsight

MDC has released a replacement cockpit that will vastly improve the detail of the kit cockpit. This set also corrects the prominent instrument coaming.

MDC's 1/32 scale Fw190D-9 replacement cockpit comprises 17 part in grey resin, one sheet of photo-etched brass and a small sheet of instrument decals.

The resin parts are perfectly cast in grey resin. Detail is very crisp and, in this scale especially, even subtle aspects really stand out. This excellent definition will also make painting a pleasure.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

The cockpit tub itself, the seat, the instrument panel and the gunsight are all highlights of this set. Even the rudder pedals have been meticulously executed, with ten parts going into this assembly.

The instrument panel is cast as two solid pieces with the dials represented as flat, blank faces. MDC supplies a decal sheet with all the appropriate instruments for the dials, data plates and placards. Indeed, there are enough decals for several 1/32 scale Luftwaffe fighter instrument panels.

Just make sure you set that artificial horizon straight!

The photo-etched fret includes harnesses, chaff pads, optional separate buckles, the pilot's map case, two styles of rudder pedals, and templates for cutting your own harnesses for the separate buckles. Half-relief detail on the etched parts is up to the high standard of the rest of the kit.

Assembly and installation looks to be pretty straightforward. The main modification to the kit will be the removal of the instrument coaming (the triangular hood over the instrument panel), which is moulded to each fuselage half. Some minor additional work will be required, including the addition of wire to the control column and foot straps to the rudder pedals, but these are noted in the instructions.

MDC's 1/32 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9 cockpit represents a huge improvement over the kit parts. The inclusion of the corrected coaming and rear deck is another great bonus.

To see how good this set really can look, check out photos of the completed and painted cockpit submitted by the set designer, Vincent Kermorgant, on the Preview page. These photos are also a good guide for the correct positioning of the instrument decals.

Any modeller who has some experience working with resin accessories will have no trouble assembling and installing this cockpit. In this scale, the improvement will be very visible.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to MDC for the review sample

Images and Text Copyright 2003 by Brett Green
This Page Created on 26 July, 2003
Last updated 22 September, 2004

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