1/48 F-104 aftermarket sets

I've used the Cutting Edge and Aires cockpits and both are quite good.

I suppose that you picked either Hasegawa or Revell:

- Cutting Edge for the thingies on the inside of the canopy (demisters, or the like) although they won't spare you some scratchbuilding;

- Cutting Edge for the C1 seat if you need one; the Aires set comes with decent C2 and MB GQ7 seats;

- Aires for wheel bays, exhaust nozzle and cockpit (be prepared for a LOT of sanding). Check your references, for some versions, the exhaust nozzle and afterburner ring aren't the right ones;

- CMK for electronics/engine/gun bay/radar. The set comes with a cockpit and wheel bay, maybe the fit is better than Aires - don't know, I still have to try that.

- Eduard for the instruments panel and all the fiddly bits (antennas, incidence sensor, front gear scissors, canopy locking mechanism etc);

- Edouard again for masks;

- Fine Molds for a pitot tube;

I have the Verlinden set (electronics bay, ladder, radar and some additional stuff); but it's pretty crude, compared to the CMK set, and IMHO not worth the price.

Excellent! Thanks for the advice.