Choose... Rollover Pylon The Canopy - Part 1 Instrument Panel & 50Cals Pilot Cockpit Floor Pilot's Starboard Wall Pilot's Port Wall Pilot's Seat Center Radio/Radar Section The Canopy - Part 2 Gunners' Floor Gunner Section Walls Gunner Turret Ring Twin 30 Cal Guns Ammo Belts & Gun Install Bringing the Crew to Life Building the Cockpit/Gunner Interior In this section I am documenting the construction of a complete interior, including the crew. "Jig Dog's Office" is where two brave young men turned a flying hunk of metal into a lethal weapon that helped win the war in the Pacific. Without these two heroes to man the sticks, the guns and the bombs, this plane would have just been another aicraft. It takes a lot of courage and focus to dive a bomber into a rain of steel bullets & flak. The cockpit of the SBD is where all these acts of bravery took place and I wanted to recreate it as closely as possible.

There are a lot of techniques and materials to cover in this section, especially since I think it's one of the most elusive parts of the project to find tips for on the web. You'll fiind my old standby "Plastistruct Styrene" emerging once again in this section to solve a lot of fabrication issues. Other important materials will include aircraft ply, balsa, brass, FliteMetal, Liquid Mask and much more.

One of the most critical steps of course will be to research as much as possible to get the best photos and information available to make the cockpit as scale accurate and as realistic in appearance as possible. You may find me "jumping around in the cockpit" from time to time, based on what I have figured out and what I have my materials for... so, let's get started!