Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire Mk IXc Cockpit - by Ralph Riese - Brisbane, Australia

I decided to use BarracudaCast's BR32001 "Spitfire seat with leather backpad", and BR32003 "Spitfire cockpit upgrade set" to enhance Tamiya's new 1/32 scale Mk.VIII interior after seeing the sets on the website. The seat looked great as it included the leather backpad missing from the kit seat. The cockpit upgrade set looked interesting as it included replacements for prominent sidewall items, the missing oxygen hose, a new compass, and a set of extra decals.

I have very limited reference material on Spitfire interiors, and prefer to build rather than research. I have equally limited experience with scratch-building and aftermarket resin so wanted to start with simple "drop-fit" improvements on the kit parts. These considerations in mind, the sets looked to meet my interests. I was pleased to see the sets when they arrived. Even more pleasing were the instruction sheets. These included clear and concise step-wise assembly and painting instructions. The seat set included instructions and color pics showing how to remove the seat from the casting block - very helpful for a resin novice. The cockpit set included crisp color pics of the kit cockpit with the set and prominent wiring added - very, very helpful for a scratch-building skeptic. The cockpit set also included a large number of data stencil decals, three instrument face replacement decals, and replacement compass face decal. With the research done for me, I opened the sets, followed the assembly instructions and painting guides, and copied the decal placement as per the color pics. Having already built the Mk.IX kit OOB, I think that the sets really made a difference to the finished cockpit. The sets fitted as shown. The replacement parts have more detail than the kit parts. The sidewall wiring layout was simple and satisfying to add. The decals were sharply printed and laid down without issue. No easier way to keep the modelling momentum flowing!

BarracudaStudios products used:
BR32001 Spitfire Seat with Leather Backpad
BR32003 Spitfire Cockpit Upgrade Set