by Len Buffinton —
When it comes to the front office, many builders, including myself, don’t take the required time to do it right. Speaking recently with Dennis Brandt, a well known builder and flier from California, the topic of cockpit detail came up.
Why do his planes always look so scale? Dennis explained, “Cockpit detail is important to maintain the illusion, and since the canopies are so big and clear, you need to put some effort into what everyone sees first.” He added, “If you take the time to put together a scale looking instrument panel and some seat detail, the rest is simple.”
Dennis has a background in scale aircraft models, working for Larry Jolly Miniatures for 15 years and being involved with many projects for TV and feature length movies. When asked to give some advice to we “sport builders” Dennis said, “I learned early on to create the illusion of reality. Many details can be left out and all but the most expert trained eyes will never pick it up, the miniature creates the look of the real thing. Its better to get the model in the air with at least some semi-scale detail than to fret for months over what and how to do it, only to never get the plane in the air, remember, you can always go back and add detail later. And YES, it is all about creating the illusion.”
What to do? How to get that look?
Look across the Internet for photos of cockpits of the full scale sailplane you are modeling — try multiple versions of the search terms. Google images is a great first choice. Surely you will find some! Also, look to some of the popular reference books available on the market, especially those from Martin Simons. Whatever way you go, once you’ve started, its easy to keep going and going and goin. Many older vintage style sailplanes have tube framework exposed inside the cockpit, this is easy to duplicate with thin plastic tube or even wood dowels. Once its painted, nobody will be able to tell the difference.
Look for a detailed article on cockpit detailing here on this site in the future. Until then, enjoy these photos sent in from our members all across the globe.
