Contact-Résine 1/24
Fw 190D-9 Cockpit Set

When Trumpeter released its nice-looking 1/24 Fw 190D-9, I was really surprised when the aftermarket community didn't release a variety of mods and markings. The basic kit is actually quite nice straight out of the box, though the cockpit is just a bit soft on details. The early test shots had the classic 'boxed-in' main wheel well problem that plagued most Fw 190D kits until Hasegawa finally got it right with their re-tooled 1/32 kit. I was happy to report in the production review of Trumpeter's 1/24 kit that this model had likewise been corrected. You can read the kit review here.

The inherent problem with larger scale aircraft kits is that the first place the casual observer (or IPMS judge) will look after casting eyes upon your project is inside the all-too-visible cockpit. The look and feel of the pilot's office will make or break any other work you've accomplished on the overall aircraft.

Contact-Résine stepped up to the challenge with a new cockpit for the Trumpeter kit comprised of resin and photo-etched details plus decal instrument faces. This French-based hobby company has been turning out some impressive aftermarket detail sets for larger-scale subjects, and this set is no exception.

The Fw190D-9 cockpit set starts off with six resin parts. These include a cockpit tub, seat, two-part instrument panel, and control stick. The parts are cast in tan resin and the casting is free of bubbles. Detailing on the parts is sharp and quite nice. After you've painted the tub the compulsory RLM 66, the detailing can be picked out and painted to busy up the cockpit as in the cover photo above.

One of the essential elements in a cockpit this scale is the ability for the casual observer to look inside and see what time it is. Trumpeter addressed this with acetate instrument faces in the upper cluster only. The Fw 190D has two instrument clusters, an upper panel and a recessed lower panel. Trumpeter provided faces for the upper panel, but the lower panel is blank.

The Contact-Résine cockpit provides instrument faces for the upper and lower clusters using decals. The decals are applied to the faces of the lower cluster instruments and the upper cluster gets sandwiched between the photo-etched bezel face and resin base. In addition to the photo-etched instrument panel face and bezels, the photo-etched parts also provide seat belts, shoulder harness, rudder pedals, and throttle.

This is a very nice improvement to the Fw 190D-9 kit. I can hardly wait to 'test fly' this new cockpit in my Trumpeter Dora! After seeing these photos, I think you'll agree that this set should definitely be recommended!

You can purchase this set online from Design & Marketing International. Houston-based Design & Marketing International is the exclusive importer for all of North America of a number of interesting product lines, including Contact-Résine.

My sincere thanks to Design & Marketing International for this review sample!