My modeling experience detailing aircraft cockpits includes:

• Laboring over kit-supplied embossed instrument panels that need to be painted by hand and/or dry brushed;
• Giving in to using instrument decals, either the kit-supplied panels or individual gauge decals; or
• Using photo-etched panels backed by film pieces with gauge faces that need to be back painted white and sandwiched behind the metal fronts.

While the latter is the most realistic of the aforementioned methods, none provide the realism of the 3D printed panels that are now coming to market.

Being unfamiliar with these aftermarket products, I was anxious to get a close look at one. The one I was fortunate enough to evaluate is produced by Red Fox Studios, a company in Hungary, for the new Hasegawa 1/48-scale F-22 Raptor kit. (See Photo 1).

The panels are composed of acrylic plastic with both raised and recessed details and are printed in color.

AMMO by Mig has released a new line of acrylic paints for railroad modelers called the Rail Center. There are 41 railroad specific colors in the series, with twelve box sets:

• Ammo.R-1000 Spanish Renfe Locomotives
• Ammo.R-1001 Dutch Locomotives
• Ammo.R-1002 British Locomotives
• Ammo.R-1003 German DB Locomotives
• Ammo.R-1004 German DR Locomotives
• Ammo.R-1005 Germany DRG-DB Steam Locomotives
• Ammo.R-1006 Via Rail Canada Locomotives
• Ammo.R-1007 Classic American Railroad Companies – Locomotives Vol. 1
• Ammo.R-1008 Classic American Railroad Companies – Locomotives Vol. 2
• Ammo.R-1009 British Freight Cars
• Ammo.R-1010 American Freight Cars
• Ammo.R-1011 German Freight Cars

The paints depart from the familiar Ammo by Mig 17ml eye drop containers and are packaged in 15ml cylinders with stirring balls.

I know what you’re thinking, does the world need another P-51 Mustang model? In the case of the ARMA P-51B kit the answer is YES! If you love the Mustang like I do, you must build one of these kits. ARMA has created detail fidelity in this scale that I’ve not seen in scales much larger. The cockpit is a model in itself and includes decals for all the placards. Capping it are standard canopy and Malcom hoods that allow open or closed positions and the rails for Malcolm hood are included, a feature no P-51B model I'm aware of has ever done.

Decals options are provided for four aircraft including “Old Crow” one of Clarence “Bud” Andersons early Mustangs. One additional scheme is provided in the instructions for Captain John Pugh's “Geronimo”, with a checked nose that was later removed. Two frames of grey plastic hold all the parts of the kit.