Detailing instrument panels can be a very challenging task. Some models of aircraft have instrument panels that are exposed on the back as well as the front. You need to look no further than your sprues for suitable instrument cases. Those little short round cylindrical nubs that you trim off the parts are ideal for this task. Simple clean them up, cement them in the appropriate location on the backside of the panel, then add a few wires.

If your working with PE then you might want to get a couple of essential tools. I just started yet another project involving PE and the first tools I grabbed were The Bug from The Small Shop and Xuron’s 450 Pliers and 440 Scissors (see photo for complete model description).  Given the price we pay for such aftermarket accessories, it is important to use the right tools to prevent any mishaps in bending and shaping them.

Tweezers come in all quality levels, again you’ll want quality when working with PE or plastic parts that are extremely small. I like using reverse action tweezers as clamps when assembling PE. They allow me, that is if you use good quality precision tweezers, you can clamp, CA the parts together without the tweezers sticking to the parts.

NOTE: Try to apply the CA to place not so obvious when you can. On this ejection seat I applied the CA to the inside of the assemble, where it will be out of sight once assembled. Again test fitting and planning are essential to assembling PE parts.

These tools together with my trusty bench magnification lamp made working with delicate PE and plastic parts much easier.

Happy Modeling!