Heres another shot of the Cockpit tub before attachment to the support brackets/former.
Note the fold down sides on the cockpit...these can be glued to the underside of the
fuselage opening once the cockpit is in place.
I also recommend leaving the Instrument panel off, until the cockpit is installed.
You can assemble and install the supporting parts for the Instrument panel, but
leaving the panel until later will allow you to position it high enough, to fit tightly up
against the upper cowling.
The Instrument panel is photographically detailed, and can be glued to card and installed.
But I have also provided a second panel that can be cut to create recessed gauges
Its a small touch, but it adds a lot of interesting depth to the cockpit.
Disclaimer: Most aircraft instrument panels like this are almost flush. Gauges are mounted fairly
smooth with the panel surface, so this recessed gauge effect is an extremely exaggerated look.
Unit to the right is the Gun Sight, which will mount on top of the instrument cowling after the fuselage is completed.
...
On my first "white build" run through, I assembled the fuselage from front to rear.
After fitting the cockpit in place I made my last connection at the seam just behind the cockpit.
Shown here:
That last connection is always the toughest one, because you don't always have access to the insides of the fuselage.
Its nice to reach inside and work the connection with your fingers and massage the parts into the best possible fit.
But not in this case, because the only available access to the fuselage interior, is through the cockpit opening.
And once the cockpit is in place, you lose that opening.
So, on my second build attempt, with a full colour version, I decide to try building the fuselage from the tail end.
And I made that center connection without a cockpit in place, which allowed me to reach inside and get a better fit.
I then installed the cockpit from the front, sliding it all the way backwards until the support bracket contacts the center bulkhead/former.
I continued with forward fuselage connections and made my last one at the front of the fuselage.
It really didn't make things any easier however, because I still had that one "last" blind connection to make.
I just moved tlast difficult connection to another spot.
The cockpit went in just as easy, and everything else worked just the same.
So, its completely up to you how you assemble the fuselage.
You can always try a run through to get a feel for the method, before committing to a final build.
Just do a low quality print of the fuselage parts on cheap cardstock.
Don't worry, it can be dismantled again to retrieve the formers, cockpit, etc. and they can be re-used.
...
Heres on last shot showing the cockpit assembly installed, from the front of the fuselage.
It has been pushed into the center section from the front and pushed backward until it contacts the center bulkhead/former.
Obviously I have not pushed the cockpit up into place and I have not glued the side tabs into place yet.
