Like most members of these forums, I am a “born-again” modeller, deciding after 66 years to return to my childhood hobby. It didn’t take long to learn that I need to learn a lot more before my models begin to look professional.
My “Beginner problem #1” has to do with cockpits. How in heck do master modellers, which seems to be almost everyone else in these forums, manage to get the incredible detail that we see in their cockpits?
Part of my problem is scale. I prefer 1/72 because I live in a small apartment with limited display space. But I’ve built one 1/48 model, and had similar problems getting the cockpit to look sufficiently realistic.
I have progressed far enough to learn how to make reasonably realistic safety harnesses, using painted strips of Tamiya masking tape. I’ve learned that a sharp toothpick works pretty well when trying to paint the dials on instrument panels. I’ve added a few scratchbuilt “thingamajigs” to make the cockpits look busier. I even bought some photo-etched parts for the Italeri UH-34 D helicopter I’m working on, but they must be designed for modellers with steadier hands and many more years experience than I’ve had.
I’m sure that there have been many threads here in the FineScale forums that address the problem of cockpit detail. I’m hoping that members will come to my rescue with good advice; the search engine provided by FineScale is virtually worthless when it comes to finding particular topics.
Best advice I can offer for single source info would be YouTube. While books and magazines are invaluable, there’s so many how-to’s on YouTube that you can’t help but find something that will inform and inspire.
The search function here has come in for a lot of criticism , mostly justified. What this Forum is really about is a sense of community; as time goes on you’ll see a wide variety of ways to build models and find that there’s almost always someone to help with specific questions.
Re the rubbish search function here…I’ve found that if you do a regular Google search [or substitute search engine of your choice] simply adding the word ‘Finescale,’ the results are usually much more useful.
As far as cockpit detail goes, it sounds like you’re on the right track. As Mike suggested, Youtube can be an excellent resource…though there is a lot to wade through!
The two most ‘next level’ techniques for me were using washes and dry-brushing. The first adds definition and simulates shadows to help details ‘pop’; the second adds real-light simulating highlights (as well as wear and weathering effects) to help fool the eye into thinking a model surface is much larger.
Both techniques are well-covered in online videos…but both are pretty quick and easy to master, and add a lot of satisfaction to the hobby.
For 1:72 scale I rely on the color photo-etch. I wait to build a kit until the PE set is available. And in general I do not worry nearly as much about cockpit detail as I do in larger scale. I am doing a lot of 1:72 lately for two reasons- I have run out of display room, and my fingers are starting to have tremors and loss of agility- I believe in use it or loose it. But I recognize there are some limits to working in such small scale. I limit detail to instrument panel and belts/harness, and that is it. Like you, I use a toothpick for painting small details, and make the belts from masking tape. So I think you are very much on the right tack.
1/72 cock[pits…chose your batles. If the coskpit is open or the canopy is super clear, go whole hog. If, as with your H-34, how much will you be abel to see? Yeah, you’ll know it’s in there and that has its own vallue. But do you want to burn out on something you’ll never see again? In a closed cocki 1/72 AC, a wash (made easier with Tamiya’s relatvely new washes) and dry brushing will usually get you by.
An old trick I use for 1/72 seat belts is to use the metal wrapper from the top of a wine bottle. I’m not sure what kind of metal is used, but it’s very flexible, cuts easily, and if you pick your wine carefully may actually be the color you need. Cut it into thin strips using an Xacto and a rule on a piece of glass, fix the end that attaches to the seat with super glue and shape the straps to the desired shape. One wrapper will do many models, and of course the wine will go bad with the wrapper removed, so must be drunk promptly.
What WillysMB said above is my go-to method too. If you get a few different types of wine, you will have different colors to choose from and of course emptying the bottles adds to the relaxation of the hobby. Also, the tan masking tape is a good way to go. It’s easy to do and can be removed easily if it doesn’t look good to you. It’s cheap too. Basic rule of thumb is “Practice, practice, practice”.