![]() ![]() Paragon got close and GP made a good effort in this area. Most, including the Verlinden and Wingz sets have a flat piece to glue the seat to. Staying with the seats, the Paragon and GP sets are the only ones with what comes close to correct seat mounts. ![]() I was unable to actually scale it as I could not locate where I packed the notes I have the dimensions written. However, the back is a little short and the seat as a whole is a little wider than the others. The Verlinden seat is also a two piece affair. I do question the tuck n roll cushion though, to date I have yet to see one like this, all the ones I have seen pictures of were smooth. The GP seat is one of the best parts of that set, it too has an added cushion but covers the seat back like the ones I have pictures of. The Wingz seat is in two pieces and while the bottom is OK, the back has a cushion that looks like it was cut off short. Seats The Paragon set has the best seat of the sets, it looks like a P-51 seat, no back cushion to it and it fits the Has kit really well too. The floors of all sets are good but all leave out some of the detail, ie: either the air/heat vent control knobs are missing or the wing fuel gauges were left out. They are all passable to use but the PE versions will better reflect the look. The Paragon and Wingz sets include resin rudder pedals while the Verlinden and GP sets provide PE sets. The lower switch box is also well done in shape and detail. The gauges look good and in the right place and the bezels are crisp and positioned properly. The Paragon set includes a resin instrument panel that with patience will detail out nicely. Also, the switch box is PE and will look great when finished as it looks the correct shape and size. Verlinden also has a PE front with acetate gauges that look good and correctly placed instruments. Nothing more than a narrow rectangle with very little detail added to it. But, GP missed the shape of the lower switch box badly. The GP set includes a PE panel and acetate gauges from Eduard and they look great. The Wingz set has a decent resin panel and will detail out with patience and also captures the shape and look of the switch box below it. I next looked at the instrument panel and the switch box that sets below it. A Waldron cockpit set would really be the icing on this one. The detail is nice and crisp, most all the components are correctly shaped and sized, But it too could use a tweak here and there to update it to today's standards. That's not saying it's perfect, but just still the best. The Paragon set, even after 11 years is still best captures the look and feel of the P-51D cockpit. Some of the individual pieces seem to be a bit oversized, the oxygen regulator, canopy crank handle and flare port among them. Some pieces are nicely shaped and detailed and others suffer from having little detail. The detail of the pieces vary from good to not so good. The left side is PE with individual resin pieces. The Verlinden set has a resin right side with added PE. The GP set has most of the right components but detail is lacking and some of the boxes etc are incorrectly shaped. Secondly, the oxygen hose is routed over the top of the radio circuit panel, in front of the radio panel itself and across the front of the circuit breaker box below the oxygen regulator. First is the too large rivet detail and the thick, square formers and longerons. The Wingz set has good detail but suffers from a couple of things. The Wingz, GP & Paragon sets are resin with the Verlinden using PE along with resin. I started by comparing the cockpit side panels. I settled on my P-51D Erection & maintenance Manual, P-51D Illustrated Parts Catalog and the books Production Line to Frontline and the Squadron P-51D Walkaround. I then looked through all my P-51 material to decide what refs I wanted to use. The fourth set, Paragon, is currently OOP but hopefully Neil will release this one again as Paragon is once again in business. There are currently three available sets Wingz, Grand Phoenix (hereafter referred to as GP) and Verlinden's "Super set". So, as the P-51 is my most favorite aircraft, I decided to gather up the four sets made for the 1/32 Hasegawa D model and compare them. Not a thing wrong with that, everyone has their favorites. One of the most FAQs over the years on the modeling boards has been What's the best P-51D cockpit set? And as usually, there will be several replies, each one with their own opinion of the one they think is best. WW2 | 1/32 P-51D Cockpit Sets Comparison: Wingz, Grand Phoenix Reviewed by Craig Quattlebaum ![]()
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