Top Flite Q8413 INSTRUCTION BOOK

PARTS LIST

These are the parts included in this kit.

❏ T349CIPL01–Cockpit Floor
❏ T349CIPL02L–Left Sidewall
❏ T349CIPL02R–Right Sidewall
❏ T349CIPL03–Front and Rear Instrument Panel
❏ T349CIPL04–Seat Back and Bottom
❏ T349CIPL05–Center Glare Shield
❏ T349CIPL06–Glare Shield
❏ T349CIPL07–Rear Cockpit Wall
❏ T349CIPL08–Clear Plastic for Instrument Panel
❏ EXTGF25–Control Stick Dowel
❏ TAPE001–Black Elastic
❏ #17 White Head Pin
❏ #28 White Head Pin
❏ T349CPD01–Instrument Panel Decal

SUGGESTED TOOLS & SUPPLIES

❏

Curved-tip scissors suitable for cutting plastic (HCAR0667)

❏ Hobby knife and #11 blade
❏ Sandpaper and sanding tools
❏ Airbrush (if preferred)
❏ Paint brushes
❏ Paint (acrylic or enamel recommended)
❏ Clear RTV silicone or Shoe Goo

™

❏ Thin or medium CA
❏

Sheet of leftover 1/16" [1.6mm] or 3/32" [2.4mm]

balsa

GETTING STARTED

Assembling and installing your scale cockpit interior will probably
require minor adjustments and “tweaking” to fit your particular model.
This is because of variations in building technique, parts alignment and
glue fillets that may interfere with proper positioning of the parts.A little
patience is all that is required to obtain a good looking installation.Trim
parts a little at a time, checking the fit after each adjustment.

Remember,

you can always remove material, but it’s hard to put it back on.

❏ 1. Star t by trimming all parts to the embossed “trim lines.” Use a

hobby knife or scissors to “rough cut” the par ts. Then, sand the parts
with a sanding block to straighten the edges. You can evenly sand the
edges by simply taping a sheet of 220-grit sandpaper to your
workbench. Then, work the part in a circular motion while pressing
down gently.

Note: Save all scraps of smooth plastic in case you need them

later.

❏ 2. Before fitting any parts in the fuselage cavity, you will first need

to modify some of the formers.You will need to cut and remove the top
portion of formers F4, F5 and F6 that extend the width of the fuselage.

Note: We suggest that you first “dry fit” the parts into the cavity of the
fuselage. This will allow you to adjust the parts as needed, and
become familiar with the installation.

Thank you for purchasing a Top Flite®T-34 Mentor scale
cockpit interior. The parts in this kit represent an interior
modeled from drawings and photos of a full-size T-34. Not all
T-34’s have the exact same cockpit layout so, if necessary,
modifications could be made to this kit to make it exactly like
the one in your documentation. If precision authenticity is not
a priority, simply follow these instructions to end up with a
scale-looking cockpit interior that will really put the finishing
touches on your model. The parts in this kit must be painted
with a paint that is compatible with styrene (Top Flite
LustreKote

®

is not suitable for styrene). Since the cockpit is
inside the model, fuelproof paint is not necessary. Acrylic
paints found in craft stores can be purchased in a wide variety
of colors and in small containers. Small details such as
switches, knobs, dials, etc. can be applied with a paint brush,
but, if possible, the base coat should be applied with an
airbrush for the best results.

Replacement parts may be ordered as listed below through
your hobby shop , or online at:

www.top-flite .com.

For

accuracy, be

certain to include the par t numbers when ordering.

SCALE COCKPIT KIT – ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS

❏3. Install the parts in this order :

A. Cockpit floor
B. Front instrument panel
C. Left side wall
D. Right side wall
E. Rear wall
F. Rear wall top
G. Rear instrument panel
H. Rear former of front cockpit
I. Rear glare shield
J. Front glare shield
K. Front and rear seats

❏4.After you have finished dry fitting and trimming the parts, it is

time

to paint and detail your cockpit kit. Before painting,

thoroughly clean

the parts with rubbing alcohol, and then allow them to dry completely.
Paint all the parts with the base color of your choice.The prototype of
ours was painted all gray. The throttle quadrants,

sidewall accessories

and the glare shields were painted black.

Paint the lightest colors first,

and then, detail the cockpit to your liking.

❏5.Now that all your cockpit parts are painted and detailed, let’s start

the installation.Measure from the top edge of the fuselage down 5-5/8"
[142.9mm] at former 6 and former 3. Make marks on the formers on
both sides of the fuselage at that distance.Glue the balsa sticks across
the bottom of former 6 and former 3, even with the two marks. This
provides a gluing surface and allows the floor to be level inside the
fuselage.

Note: The black paint in the previous photos was applied before the
cockpit kit was installed.This was used to dress up the cockpit area for
prototype pictures.

❏ 6. Apply a bead of medium CA along the balsa sticks that were

installed earlier in step 4.Install the cockpit floor, lining up the front with
the front edge of former 3.

❏

7. Before you install the front and rear instrument panels, you

must

decide on how you want to install the gauges from the decal sheet.

A. You can apply the decal sheet to the front of the

instrument

panels without cutting out the individual

gauges.

B. You can cut out the individual gauge locations on the
instrument panel, attach the clear sheet of plastic to the back of the
instrument panel, and then cut out each gauge from the decal sheet.
After the gauges have been cut out of the decal sheet, you apply them
to the backside of the clear plastic with regular Scotch

®

tape. This

process will be time consuming; however, when finished, your

instrument

panel will look more realistic.

❏8.Install the completed front instrument panel against former 3.You

can either glue the instrument panel to the former, or use

pushpins to

hold the lower sides and then glue the top to former

3a.

Note: The pushpins will be hidden after the cockpit walls are installed.

❏9.Apply a bead of medium CA to the topside of the fuselage. Install

the left sidewall against the topside. Do not

glue the bottom of the

2