I have spent quite a bit of time fitting out the cockpit with a lot of scratch built detail, focusing mainly at the moment on the pilots seat and surrounding area and fleshing out parts seen on the real thing.
Since you last saw, I have added the corrugated tubing and straps made from foil. I then made up some tubing to hang either side of the pilots seat with some scrap sprue. I think they connect to the pilots helmet, maybe oxygen? I'm not sure.
I put the unit that connects to the mission grip onto the bracket I had made and then added a cable to it. The cable goes from the unit around the back of the seat and then connects to the mission grip itself.
On the left side I added a bracket that holds electrical ports and the ports made from hollowed out bolt ends (the wires will be added later).
I moved on to the two mission grips. I trimmed them free of any molded on plastic then carved 3 triggers for each out of white styrene and glued them on. The trigger on the right has a large guard over it so I made that from brass which let me bend it into the correct shape.
The grip has a base built on to it that was made to clip into a docking port which sits on the armor plating beside the pilots. The grip is held in place by a locking pin. I made the base from spare brass sheet, as well as the docking port. I made the locking pin from styrene and a brass rod. I would like to paint and finish the grips separately so I have left them off for now.
Next to the pilots mission grip I have put a documents holder, made out of brass to keep the thickness down. On the gunners right side I have added a brass panel and attached some tubing and the mission grip unit. Also for the gunners side I have made the large air duct that can be seen behind the seat. I stripped some electrical wire from an insulating tube and then threaded a brass rod into it, this allowed me to get a nice firm bend. Once I had the shape I attached it to the model.
Over all it is coming together nicely. I have spent many hours trying to recreate what I have seen in photos, getting the details as accurate as possible.
I have a video showcasing all of this on YouTube, check out the link below
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