Jump to content
Playing in the Sandbox Group Build Sept 1, 2024 - Jn 1, 2025

Colour Instrument Panels (Jan – Feb 2018)


James H

Recommended Posts

  • Administrators

Colour Instrument Panels (Jan – Feb 2018)
Yahu
See article for catalogue numbers
Price: Varies

 

DSC07809.JPG

 

Those good folks at Yahu have sent us a sample of their photo-etch instrument panels in both 1/32 and 1/48 scales, and as usual, they don’t fail to deliver in standard, attention to detail and quality. These are very probably the very best on the market, and price-wise, are very reasonable. Each set is packaged into a small sleeve that has card reinforcement, and instructions printed on the rear of this, if applicable. All of these panels are direct drop replacements, and some of them have small parts included which will need to be fitted. Where appropriate, clear foil parts are also included. Please check the images below for pack contents. Unlike other manufacturer colour PE panels, whereby you layer various plates to create a 3D relief, these are supplied as pre-assembled layers, which are finished appropriately. By this, I mean the actual fascia will be either matt or satin etc. whilst the instruments themselves have a gloss finish and look suitably glass-like in appearance. The depth of detail on these is quite astonishing, with the dials and placards readable. These are NOT digitally printed but employ a rather modern and unique system of screen printing, hence the macro-detail that is achieved. Anyway, a picture is worth a thousand words, so we’ll take a look at each one in turn. I just wish I had a macro lens for my Nikon! This gives a rough example...

DSC07829.JPG

The sets we’ve been sent this month are:

  • YMA3217, 1/32 Fw 190D-9 (for Hasegawa kit)
  • YMA3221, 1/32 Spitfire Mk.IX Late (for Tamiya kit)
  • YMA3223, 1/32 P-47D Late (for Hasegawa kit)
  • YMA3226, 1/32 P-40N Early N-1 – N-5 (for Eduard/Hasegawa kits)
  • YMA3230, 1/32 Ki-44 Tojo (for Hasegawa kit)
  • YMA3231, 1/32 Lublin R XIII (for Lukgraph kit)
  • YMA4819, 1/48 P-51D Early (for Meng kit)
  • YMA4845, 1/48 Heinkel He 51 (for Roden/Eduard kit)
  • YMA4860, 1/48 SH-2G Super Seasprite (for Kitty Hawk kit)

 

YMA3217, 1/32 Fw 190D-9 (for Hasegawa kit)

DSC07810.JPG

Sort of fortuitous that this has arrived as I plan to build a 190D-9 for Military Illustrated Modeller in the next months. This set contains upper and lower panels that are joined by a small fret that needs removing. The fret contains three small parts for the oxygen knob and the red pull switches.

DSC07813.JPG

 


YMA3221, 1/32 Spitfire Mk.IX Late (for Tamiya kit)

DSC07814.JPG

I swear you can actually see the weathering on this panel, it is that realistic. Two options are provided for the central flying instruments panel (squared and curved top) which suit this panel perfectly. Other components are provided on the separate fret, for the various switches. A replacement compass face is also included.

DSC07816.JPG

 


YMA3223, 1/32 P-47D Late (for Hasegawa kit)

DSC07818.JPG

An amazingly busy instrument panel, complete with a small fret that contains a further 6 colour PE pieces which are used alongside the main panel. Note that one piece of this is designed only for the P-47D-30.

DSC07820.JPG

 


YMA3226, 1/32 P-40N Early N-1 – N-5 (for Eduard/Hasegawa kits)

DSC07822.JPG

Yet another instrument panel that contains a second fret of parts. A small piece of clear printed acetate is also supplied as a backing for the switch unit, plus another for the radio unit. I can see no indication as to where some of the smaller parts fit, so it will be a case of checking reference photos.

DSC07824.JPG

 


YMA3230, 1/32 Ki-44 Tojo (for Hasegawa kit)

DSC07826.JPG

To me, Japanese instrument panels tend to look a little quirky, and this is no exception. What we have here is a main upper panel which really is quite narrow, and below this there is a separate, secondary console with more gauges and buttons. What this set also includes is a small fret that contains colour PE parts for sidewall instruments.

DSC07828.JPG

 


YMA3231, 1/32 Lublin R XIII (for Lukgraph kit)

DSC07830.JPG

This is an odd little panel! Unlike the other panels, this one has a metal finish, with several red instrument gauges. Lukgraph are a Polish company that produce resin kits, and the Lublin R-XIII was a Polish army cooperation airplane that was designed in the 30s. Certainly an esoteric machine. This neat little panel is single-piece and designed to simply replace the kit part.

DSC07832.JPG

 


YMA4819, 1/48 P-51D Early (for Meng kit)

DSC07833.JPG

Of course, the smaller scale you go, the more effort is required to make an instrument panel look good…unless you swap the part for a Yahu panel! This little gem is as detailed as the 1/32 counterparts and is again a simple swap for the kit part. I know there are numerous 1/48 P-51D kits available, but this is designed for the rather nice Meng release. I really have tried my best to photograph this, but I should invest in that macro lens.


YMA4845, 1/48 Heinkel He 51 (for Roden/Eduard kit)

DSC07836.JPG

Roden’s neat little He 51 kit (re-boxed by Eduard in the Legion Condor release) is certainly deserving of a nice cockpit upgrade, and this set provides the split instrument panel that defines the office of this biplane. The colour appears to be a grey/RLM02 shade, and the two panels will need to be separated from each other before installation.

 


YMA4860, 1/48 SH-2G Super Seasprite (for Kitty Hawk kit)

DSC07837.JPG

This kit is unfamiliar to me, but the Yahu pack provides a simple panel replacement for this neat-looking heli.

DSC07838.JPG

 

My sincere thanks to Yahu for sending these samples out to us. I have linked Hannants in the UK for our local supplier but check Yahu website for your own local retailer.

As we receive new samples, I’ll simply update this topic and keep everything together for reference.

 

 

logo.jpg

DSC07834.JPG

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 10 months later...
On 2/26/2018 at 2:15 AM, Wingco57 said:

Thanks for the review, I am building a razorback P-47D at the moment, and don't think Yahu made a panel for it.

The detail they cram into these sets is amazing.

Cees

Eduard makes one for the Trumpeter 1/32 kit if you can find one. Check out my "Checkertail" build and you can see the one I used on it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...