Articles

1/48 F-22A Raptor Cockpit Set

1/48 F-22A Raptor Cockpit Set (for Hasegawa kit)
Wolfpack Design
Catalogue # WP-48086
Available from Lucky Model for approx £13.75

I recently had the fortune to be able to review the recent Hasegawa 1/48 F-22A Raptor kit, and despite Hasegawa’s provenance in producing great replicas for our enjoyment, the cockpit was an area that I felt could be improved upon. Obviously, Wolfpack Designs, of Korea felt the same way, and they have come to the rescue with this upgrade set.

There are a total of 25 parts, moulded in light grey resin, which comprise this set. A number of parts come on ‘communal’ casting blocks, such as the canopy locking mechanisms, and moulding quality, overall, is very good. There is a little in the way of flash to remove, but this is no challenge. There are a few, very small air bubbles present too, and these are more noticeable on the rear of the ejection seat, but again, these are minor flaws which are easily fixed.

The major component is the cockpit tub which has a very large casting block on the underside. This will need a good few minutes with a razor saw in order to remove it enough for the tub to fit into the cockpit. The profiles of the sides of the tub look to match the interior of the fuselage very well, but you will find you still may need to remove some plastic from the interior of the kit cockpit area.

Detail on this major part is very fine, from pipework and wiring, through to the sidewall and console detail, all subtly rendered and looking scale and proportionate. An absolutely vast improvement over the original kit parts.

You will need to remove the HUD visor/anti-glare shield from the kit parts, but this is as major as ‘surgery’ goes for fitting this set.

There is still a call for some kit parts to be used in conjunction with this set; namely throttle and joystick controls.

A big omission from the Hasegawa kit are those canopy locks which adorn the side of the pit opening. These are supplied in various sectional strips which you affix to the bare plastic rim. The associated canopy opening mechanism is also improved upon too, and should make a very realistic looking ‘open canopy’.

I’m a tad disappointed that no colour callouts are given for the cockpit on the beautifully presented and glossy instruction sheet. I suppose this information can be found online easily, and it makes me wonder whether companies tend to leave information out for this very reason. Decals for the instrument screens would have also been a very nice inclusion, but we can’t have it all ways.

So what do we think?

The Hasegawa kit was crying out for this detail set. Whether the canopy is open or closed, there is a lot of that cockpit which should clearly be seen, and this set makes up into a very comprehensive and ‘busy’ looking pit. Improvements could have been made with decals for the main instrument screens, and a good colour reference sheet. Highly Recommended.

Overall: 8/10

Our sincere thanks to the good folks at Lucky Model for the review sample used here. To buy this set directly, click THIS link.