Tamiya Rally Cockpit Review

Having seen a variety of cockpit types on YouTube i thought it would look good in the Lancia Delta Integrale. The cockpit kit really does set the model off as a model as it hides the wiring, electronics etc. From a personal perspective a cockpit kit is essential if you are going to have the car as a shelf queen. This is part number 54491 which is an update of 50463. The kit includes:- Cockpit Crew heads Urethane sponges Velcro Screws Stickers for instruments.

The cockpit itself is thin polystyrene plastics while the crew heads are a harder plastic. First criticism it is that the polystyrene is so thin. In a driver car I am in somewhat concerned that the plastic will tear. So I am going to look at reinforcing the holes for the body posts and antenna with aluminium tape.

Second criticism is that you do need a fair bit of sanding after gluing the head parts of the driver and navigator together. Once glued there can be a significant join line that needs to be sanded. Also the head parts are screwed together as well as glued. This means you need to fill the screw holes as well. I'm not sure why the screws are needed as a good quality polystyrene cement is sufficient. With painting, after priming with gray primer, I used Tamiya paints either through my airbrush or by traditional brush. For this you need paints for polystyrene NOT polycarbonate. Like a polycarbonate body tou still need to give it a wash and dry. After priming, I did a spray coat of flat black. Next I did the crew in gray before highlighting in white. Third, was harnesses and other trim on the crew and finally helmets and faces.