Heliborne's 1/48 Ka-50 Cockpit Set
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 As
the company name suggests, this one is for the "rotor-heads".
The old Italieri/Revell Ka-50 kit still holds its ground in the quarter-scale,
and now gets enhanced with the resin cockpit from Heliborne. The one and
only single-seater among combat helicopters is getting a big update to
its "office space".
The set is cradled in a compact, hard-plastic box, offering armor-like
protection to its contents. Inside are 19 resin pieces, instruction sheet
and painting masks for kit's canopy.
 Cast
in darkish-grey resin, all parts have great level of detail and finesse,
with complete absence of any surface imperfections. Some pieces are straightforward
replacements for inferior kit parts, while the rest offers additional
detail missing from the kit. Where possible I photographed the resin pieces
next to their injection-plastic counterparts, to show the level of improvement
achieved by Heliborne set. Pilot's seat and associated ejection system
in particular leave the kit parts far behind. In fact, the kit seat looks
more like an oversized La-Z-boy recliner in comparison.
The main cockpit tub is cast as one big piece including the instrument
panel, which will make for a challenging paint job. I was a bit disappointed
to see that the instrument faces were left blank with no provision to
detail them further. Still, this part too is  leaps
and bounds ahead of the original kit assembly. I particularly like the
central analogue screen on the instrument panel. The color and glossiness
of resin make for genuine appearance of a cathode-tube display (when turned
off). Instead of painting this detail, I would suggest simply covering
it with some liquid masking material, and then painting the rest.
Sidewalls and the cockpit ceiling are practically featureless in the
Ka-50 kit, while the Heliborne parts abound with details. This will make
for authentic and busy-looking wraparound interior. Additional small controls
and levers, control stick and ejection handles for the seat are provided
as separate pieces, as is the instrument panel shroud.
Please study the instructions carefully to determine how to best merge
the resin pieces with the kit plastic. Other then that, this should be
a straightforward build.
 Considering
the size of Ka-50 in 1/48 scale, the Heliborne set is a must for anyone
planning to leave the cockpit door open. Your "Black Shark",
"Werewolf ", or whatever you'd like to call it, will look far
better with it. Kudos to Heilborne, and if I can make one wish: PLEASE,
make us the replacement for Ka-50 exhaust diffusers - these parts are
quite under-detailed in the kit!
 Or
you can visit the manufacturer's web-site directly for more details: https://www.heliborne.com/
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