Cobra Company 1/72 U-2 Dragon Lady Cockpit Set
By Tim Bradley
Overview
The Airfix 1/72 Lockheed U-2A/D kit was first marketed in 1983 and after thirty years along comes a resin cockpit interior set, finally! What took so long, you ask? Well, Scott "Mr. Cockpit" Battistoni, decided to build the U-2 kit himself. His masters were then sent to Chris Miller at Cobra Company. This is the first of two sets coming from Cobra. Next will be various external parts.
The Set
The parts are cast bubble and flash free in light gray resin. They include the ejection seat with belts and foot supports. The cockpit tub has full rear and side details, rudder pedals, lower instrument panel and viewfinder hand controls. The main instrument panel has the front simulated nylon cover molded on. Other parts include a viewfinder rubber hood, fuel dump and miscellaneous panels. Also included is a defogger fan for the inside of the canopy.
The instruction sheet is well thought out. It states that two areas will need to be trimmed for the tub and upper instrument panel to fit. Unfortunately, the black and white photos are too dark see the cuts and placements of the small side parts. I would suggest that a dry fit of the cockpit tub will show where these are located. I wanted to check the fit myself, so I removed the red areas shown in the photos. The parts fit like a glove. You almost don't need to glue it in, because the fit's so good.
Conclusion
This resin set gets a 10 out of 10 and is a most welcome addition for one of the world's best known spy plane model kits. Thank you Scott and Cobra Company!
This set is available from Cobra Company direct from their web site. They are in stock and ready to ship.