RE: Ziroli Skyraider Build
Cockpit time!
My dad like's to have scale looking cockpits, while I usually paint the inside of my canopy silver. I decided I better keep him happy by making up a decent cockpit. I also figured since I bought a good looking pilot he needed a decent place to sit.
So, for two weekends in a row, me a my two little boys spent some craft time together. My wife loved it, the boys loved it and I was rewarded with a decent looking pit. The boys spent their time making sparkling cards for their grandmothers, not to mention a huge mess, and I borrowed some of their beads and plastic junkets to glue onto balsa and plastic sheeting.
For the instrument panel i just found some instruments on the internet, printed them on photo paper and cut them out. I then took some plastic sheeting, cut it into squares, carved a hole in it and glued it on top of the photo instruments. as you can see, some of them were not lined up very good and I had some glue running all over the place, but I blame that on trying to assist the kids with their projects at the same time.
I then took beads and plastic pieces and glued them in various positions to simulate levers, dials and other cockpit things. I painted them and the end result is a cockpit with beads and plastic things. Oh well, looks good enough when you put the pilot in with it, he covers most of everything up. Oh, and it looks even better when you close the canopy... and stand 10 feet away, looking into the sun... Anyway, it was a fun project and some good family time.