Founded in 2013, Yahu Models' expertise goes back more than 20 years in producing photo etch and utilizing screen printing. Most of their current product line consists of aircraft instrument panels.

This product comes in a clear bag containing an instrument panel, a photo etch (PE) fret for the two sidewalls raised objects, and a clear sheet is provided for instrument faces. I am really impressed at how sharply the detail is represented. The instrument panel is thin brass with raised instrument features in full color and the background color (black) is not shiny and looks just as it would in an actual aircraft. On the photo etch fret, details are full color and very crisp. Instructions are just one page and give the basic information on where to locate each item. The instructions do not indicate preparation of the kit panels, but it is obvious what needs to be done.

The first item I started working on was the main instrument panel. The raised details must be removed to accept the Yahu panel. Once the features are removed, I painted the panel the appropriate color as indicated by the model kit manufacturer. Attaching the Yahu panel, I used foil adhesive but white glue would also work fine.

Next in the assembly process were the sidewalls. Only a couple of PE items go on the right-hand side. The left sidewall has more items to add, primarily the circuit breaker panel. Only one of the clear instrument dials is needed, so the rest must be for other cockpit versions.

For a cockpit update set, this offering seems small compared to some other options. With the Great Wall Hobby (GWH) kit having such a high level of detail, not much is needed to improve it. This set takes care of the areas that would require a high level of effort to improve them and simplifies those steps. I highly recommend this set for anyone building this kit and suggest that you consider Yahu Models for other cockpit updates as well.

Thank you to Yahu models for providing this sample to the IPMS/USA for review.