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In-Box Review
172
Meteor F-3 Resin Cockpit Set.
Gloster Meteor F.3 Cockpit resin improvement sets
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by: Tim Hatton [ LITESPEED ]

Pavla have released an update resin set for the cockpit of the Meteor F.3 recently released by Cyber Hobby. Pavla has also released the canopy as a separate item and the pilots seat also as a separate item. The cockpit upgrade does require some surgery to the kit.

Gloster Meteor F.3 Canopy.
Placed inside a resealable plastic bag, there were no signs of transit damage. The quality of the canopy is very good, very thin and clear. Definitely worth using in place of the kit canopy. There is plenty of plastic between the three elements that make up the windscreen, canopy and rear glazing. The frame work is very well defined. Obviously great care will be needed to separate the components when cutting. As they are the canopies feel pretty strong, but once cut into they will need some support on the inside. Not an item to rush and use a fresh surgical blade. But they will improve the look of your Cyber Hobby Meteor no end.
Ref no: V72080.
Price: £1.56.

Gloster Meteor F.3 Seat.
Placed inside a resealable plastic bag. The pilots seat is nicely moulded, nice thin walls and a lap strap moulded into the pan of the seat.
Cat no: S72065.
Price: £1.75

Gloster Meteor F.3 Cockpit and Canopy.
These items are placed inside a transparent plastic blister package.
Contents.
1 x spade grip.
1 x instrument panel.
2 x sidewalls.
1 x complete cockpit floor, front and rear bulkheads, roll bar and rudder pedals.
1 x pilots seat.
1 x rear deck for the area behind the pilot.
1 x vac formed canopy
3 x support bars.
Ref no: C72098.
Price: £11.02

The spade control grip replaces the incorrect style of control stick of the kit. There is a little thin flash inside the structure. The instrument panel looks the part and is similar to the instrument panel of the kit, except the HUD mounting is cast onto the panel. There is a little thin flash to be cleaned up where the pilots legs go. Side walls are very nicely detailed and look much better than the superficial kit items. The rest of the cockpit is a one piece floor, rear bulkhead with roll bar, front bulkhead, rudder pedals and the distinctive bulge of the protruding wheel bay and replaces completely the kits cockpit tub. The detail looks very good, but there is some thin flash in the roll bar to be removed. There is some grill work on the nose side of the front bulkhead. This part does look significantly better than the kit part because of the roll bar and the rudder pedals. Finally making up the rest of the cockpit is the decking behind the pilot seat.
See above comments for the vac formed canopy.
There are a couple of small rods that fit into the nose and are joined onto a kit part for what I think makes up for part of the the front landing gear.
Instructions are well illustrated with line drawings. The instructions are clear and colour references for all the components.

Conclusion.

These are excellent releases from Pavla to upgrade the Cyber Hobby Meteor F.3. If you are going the whole hog, then the complete cockpit upgrade is not one for the faint hearted as the kit is pretty expensive. To fit this set there is a bit of surgery to carry out around the cockpit surround. If you are happy with the kits cockpit, then I would recommend the purchase of the canopy set and the seat with the cast lap harnesses.
SUMMARY
Highs: Parts look far superior to the Kit parts. Nicely cast detail.
Lows: Some tricky flash to clean up.
Verdict: I know the kit is expensive for a 1/72 jet fighter, but if you want a much better depiction of the cockpit and canopy, push the boat out a little further and acquire these gems. Highly recommended.
Percentage Rating
90%
  Scale: 1:72
  Mfg. ID: See text.
  Suggested Retail: See text.
  PUBLISHED: Feb 12, 2011
  NATIONALITY: United Kingdom
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 90.86%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 88.99%

Our Thanks to Pavla Models!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Tim Hatton (litespeed)
FROM: ENGLAND - NORTH WEST, UNITED KINGDOM

Aircraft are my primary interest from WWll to present day.

Copyright ©2021 text by Tim Hatton [ LITESPEED ]. Images also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. Opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AeroScale. All rights reserved.



   
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