Beechcraft G17S Staggerwing NC80305

Approximate interior I’m trying to replicate. 

Interior ready for painting. I’m not bothering to deal with the ejector marks because they’ll barely be visible. Also, note the right-of-center square hole, which shows the offset position of the central panel. 

Problem: the Eduard interior photo etch set for the Roden Staggerwing kit doesn’t fit the AMT kit…time for some major surgery… 

You have to cut more than 1/4 inch off to fit the lower instrument panel into the cockpit. There also should be 3 boxes on the right side, but they won’t all fit. On the kit part, the center stack (which I removed) is offset, while the Eduard set places it dead center behind the control stick. 

The main instrument panels aren’t even the same shape or height. The yellow shows the top of the kit instrument panel. Note how much was added to match the shape of the aftermarket panel. Also, the metal at the bottom is from the Eduard set.  

I tried offsetting the center panel so the control stick wouldn’t block it. (The white tab was for reinforcement.). Also, the pilot looks like the love child of Ted Lasso, William Shakespeare, and a 1970s [****]star. 

It looks decent once installed, but the center panel isn’t even visible. I would’ve been better off just painting the kit part and calling it a day. 

On the upside, at least there isn’t much warpage on the upper wing. Lower wing and fuselage halves are another story