Outstanding detail, great support of the plastic modeling community, etc… all apply to Squadron Mail order and MMD distributors. We at IPMS/USA appreciate and thank you for providing us items to review!

When I purchased the Revell Ventura kit, I thought, “wow, a decent, out of box build even I can sink the ol’ teeth into…” I did not know that True Details was working to upgrade the kit…and, with this cockpit, the detail level went up.

The major items replaced are the instrument panel, throttle/fuel mixture quadrant panel, the basic floorboard, back bulkhead, seats, and middle “island” instrument and switch panel. There are also two side fuselage panels that replace the truly understated sidewall detail in the cockpit. Several kit parts are required: the seat legs for the right-hand seat, control wheel arms to attach the control yokes, and the lower steps to the forward fuselage.

I started by cleaning the parts with 409 to “degrease” them of their mold release agent; automotive primer was next, followed by a coat of Acrylic Zinc chromate primer from Model Master, to which a bit of burnt sienna brown had been added to bring the paint into the 1940’s, not the 1960’s green. (Yep, chromate green is yet another back and forth item among model historians…I used to work on some older aircraft such as a B-29, T-6’s, and such, and the original colors had a more olive green color than that provided from most bottles. The original Polly-S had it about as close as it gets out of the bottle.)

After all had dried, I commenced the construction by installing the side panels, doing a bit of detail painting, then tackling the rest of the kit upgrade. This was more of a painting and wash exercise than anything else. In the end, I am VERY happy. It made the model look a lot better!

Detail is deep and well defined; switches, knobs, levers are all there. The fire extinguisher on the back bulkhead even has the nozzle bell hollowed out; that’s attention to detail. The instruments are deep; I had difficulty painting them but they still looked good with a wash and drybrushing. Seats have cushions, and harnesses have well-defined buckles.

I expended no more than two hours on this upgrade; might have been longer if I were into putting numbers on 1/48 dials, but hey, I’m just crazy, not insane. End of the project analysis: Another winner from the Squadron True Details resin shop! 10 of 10.

Thanks again Squadron Products for the review item and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to do the review!