I enjoy taking older kits and finding ways to spruce them up – sand off the raised lines and engrave them, add rivets, make corrections or add missing parts, etc. When I saw these Yahu Models instrument panels, I had to give them a try!

I secured instrument panels for three different subjects – an F4F-4, a P-51 B/C, and a P-40 (N-20/N-40 Late). The F4F and P-51 panels were designed for Arma Hobby kits, and the P-40 for the Special Hobby kit. My experience with Arma Hobby kits led me to believe they probably wouldn’t be needed, especially if you are going to build with a closed canopy, and Special Hobby kits often include upgrades for items like this. My habit is to find items like these to spruce up older, less detailed kits. So, I pulled two Hasegawa kits (P-51 B and P-40 N) out of my stash, along with an Academy F4F. Both of the Hasegawa kits had a basic blank clump of styrene to lay a decal on, and the Academy kit had nothing.

The Yahu panels are really nice. They consist of a piece of colored photo etch with nice, crisp dials and markings, attached to a thicker base. This gives the panel a nice rigidity for handling and for solid attachment to the model. The F4U panel was just the panel, while the P-51 had some additional side-wall placards, and the F4F had a sort of side-wall placard (more on that).

The P-51 panel fit nicely. It consisted of two main parts for the IP: the main panel, and then a smaller section that attaches to the pedestal just beneath the main panel. With just a little test fitting and filing, it all fit nicely to the kit part and snugged up with the fuselage. The side-wall additions added some nice detail.

The F4F panel took more work to mount with the very basic Academy kit. I also had an Airfix F4F kit in my stash, and that kit had a decent instrument panel in it (it’s a newer mold kit). I took that panel and test fitted it to the academy kit, and it fit nicely. I then traced that panel on sheet styrene and cut it out to create a mount for the Yahu panel. I glued the styrene backer to one side of the fuselage, reinforced that with some CA glue, and then attached the panel to the backer.

This F4F panel also came with a separate piece that I supposed is supposed to be another side wall panel, but the “instructions” from Yahu aren’t very clear what is supposed to be done with it. It appears to show mounting the panel to the main panel right at the edge, then adding a styrene block behind the panel – perhaps to appear to be mounted to the side wall? After looking at how it would be viewed, I just glued it to the edge of the main panel. Once I throw a pilot in the cockpit and close up the canopy, it will barely be seen.

The P-40 panel was a very simple affair, and an unusual fit. It was much narrower than the fuselage area surrounding it, so I glued in the kit panel (after sanding it smooth), painted that interior green, and then mounted the Yahu panel to that. It is the least satisfying of the three panels, and it could have been that the P-40N version is quite a bit different from the proposed Special Hobby kit. Nonetheless, it provides a much more detailed and lifelike panel to what the kit decal would have done.

All-in-all, I am pleased with the outcomes. If you build larger scale than 1/72, or build 1/72 subjects with the canopies open, these are a nice (and not very expensive) addition. I don’t know that I would put more of these in small 1/72 fighters, since I build all mine in-flight (and thus they are harder to see), but I will definitely use some of these on aircraft with a larger “greenhouse” type canopy where they will more likely add to the realism of the view. Yahu has a pretty extensive line of panels.

My thanks to Yahu and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review these.