Beautifully moulded in pale grey resin, NSE has captured all of the fine detail of the very busy Arrow cockpit in 1/48 scale.

There are 25 resin parts that go together to complete the set that has been specifically designed for the remoulded and improved 1/48 scale Hobbycraft CF-105 Arrow. Also included is a metal fret containing 39 etched metal parts and 2 lengths of brass rod.

I have not seen a photograph of the cockpit but the detail provided is excellent and consistent with the details in Bondo’s review of the set produced by MasterCasters on “What’s New” on 31st December. The intricate switches, console panels and instrument panels have been crisply produced and would look great highlighted with a wash to capture the detail.

The kit parts are no comparison to those supplied by NSE.

Assembly of the cockpit is very straightforward with some minor modification required of the kit plastic to allow the new cockpit to fit. The cockpit tub is made up of eight major components. The sidewall ribs are proved in etched metal and should be installed with the cockpit tub held firmly in place temporarily.

The remaining parts are the ejection seats and clamshell canopy. The ejection seats provided by NSE start with the basic seat then the resin upper ejection seat handle is added and the etched metal harness. The two etched metal frets contain all of the seat harness required to complete the detail for the seats. Each harness is made up of 10 separate parts and will look superb when complete. The final assembly is the clamshell canopies. These are provided in resin with pre-cut clear acetate inserts. The rear bulkhead and canopy frame is fitted first and then the fixed partition part of the canopy between the cockpits is fitted with its bulkhead insert.

The last major feat before the canopies can be fitted is the etched metal windscreen frame and acetate windscreens need to be folded and fitted. Two final nice touches are the entire upper area of the cockpit is provided in resin so the cockpit can be displayed as a stand-alone display item and an excellent etched metal nameplate to display beside the model aircraft or stand alone cockpit.

The instructions are easy to follow with exceptional graphic detail.
Cockpit colour guide is comprehensive.

In summary, North Star’s CF-105 cockpit is a vast improvement on the simplified kit detail provided and an excellent stand alone kit in its own right.

Modelling Skills required - Advanced

Highly Recommended

Thanks to North Star for the review sample

Text and Images Copyright © 2006 by Mick Evans
Page Created 31 January, 2006
Last updated 31 January, 2006

Back to HyperScale Main Page

Back to Reviews Page