so has anyone seen this item on the Aires homepage? I saw it a few weeks ago, and asked around but didn’t find out much. then today on spruebrothers.com I found it had been added to their “in stock” list.
what I’m wondering, is why it took so long?? I would have thought it would be a no-brainer for Aires to produce an aftermarket kit for the most popular 1/48 spitfire kit. i do like the hasegawa Mk.V spitfire, and the true details cockpit is really nice and easy to install. but with this new Aires cockpit and the nearly flawless tamiya spitfire Mk.V it should be great. i have two on order.
From what I hear, the Tamiya kit doesn’t need the 'aftermarket" but each to their own. Maybe that’s why it took so long. I have the Tam MK. V on the way. I’ll only use the color PE.
Just outta curiousity, what’s the advantage? I mean, exactly what does the Aires cockpit offer that’s lacking in the Tamiya office? And not something like, “It’s more accurate”… I mean, floor, pedals, panel, seat, side panels, what?
fidelity my friend, fidelity. true, the oob cockpit has everything the Aires cockpit has. for me, the deal breaker is the instrument panel. the Aires execution of the panel, with the acetate sheet underneath the PE face, makes for a photo realistic finish. with a magnifying glass, you could almost read everything on the dial faces. its amazing. but the one thing I will do, is replace the Aires seat and PE belts with an Ultracast replacement, which I find to be far nicer. once they’re painted up, there is no equal. i also find the british gunsite with the acetate screen very attractive. the nice thing, is that since the fuselage for the tamiya mk.V and mk.I are the same, which will allow the Aires set to be used with the mk.I