Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 Found in my stash from YEARS ago a brand new 1/48 Black Box cockpit set for the F-16D. I don't forsee that I'll use it. I remember when people fell over themselves trying to get these, but when I checked Ebay to see what they were going for, I was surprised. Did the demand really fall so much on these? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Roof Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 Like other products over the years, the BB cockpits have been superseded by Aires. They're no longer the best (or only) pits available and not worth a whole lot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted May 7, 2020 Author Share Posted May 7, 2020 Wow, I guess I'm surprised to hear that considering all the complaints I hear regarding what an awful pain in the neck it is trying to get an Aires set to fit anything.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spruemeister Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 Black Box isn’t the best fitting either. I’ve done an F-105D, A-7D, and F-86D. They look good, but they are no drop fit. They do have ave subjects not done by other companies though, so that keeps them in my inventory. Rick L. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted May 7, 2020 Author Share Posted May 7, 2020 Ah, well, I guess I hung on to this 'way too long....gotta find this thing a new home somehow then.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
B-ONE27 Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 2 hours ago, Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy said: Ah, well, I guess I hung on to this 'way too long....gotta find this thing a new home somehow then.... Agreed, I have a 1/48 BB F-4D set for Hasegawa I will never use. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted May 7, 2020 Author Share Posted May 7, 2020 That's not encouraging.... 😁 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dehowie Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 Probably best value is to dress up some of the very nice oob cockpits we have now. Use the seats and detail parts on the base plastic. No fit issues, some great looking detail and far faster build. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mstor Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 (edited) I remember using the Black Box set for the 1/32 Tamiya F-4J. It actually fit halfway decently. Plus, it was the only set with the correct version of the ejector seats. The Aires seat had the Air Force version in their Navy cockpit sets. Of course, this was all long ago and my memory ain't what it used to be. Edited May 8, 2020 by Mstor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skyhawk174 Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 I think I have almost all of the Black Box sets. Multiple copies too, yeah I know silly. I have used a couple and the last one was the F-15E set. It fit the Revell kit very nicely. Also from what I have read, the masters for the Black Box sets were bought by Squadron and added to their True Details line. Or maybe i am wrong. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 9 hours ago, skyhawk174 said: Also from what I have read, the masters for the Black Box sets were bought by Squadron and added to their True Details line. Or maybe i am wrong. I thought Black Box became Avionix? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
longmc Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 16 hours ago, dehowie said: Probably best value is to dress up some of the very nice oob cockpits we have now. Use the seats and detail parts on the base plastic. No fit issues, some great looking detail and far faster build. That's exactly what I started doing! Ruined too many kits trying to get those things shoved in there. Particularly the F-16D. Used the pieces to upgrade the kit parts and it looks very nice, and fits. Black Box rebranded under Avionix for a while. Squadron ultimately bought the black box range. they've released a few under their name. I bought a couple of their F-4E sets, and they are indeed old black box pits for about $12. Again, I used the parts to dress up the kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skyhawk174 Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 3 hours ago, habu2 said: I thought Black Box became Avionix? Oops yeah you are right. I think I am thinking about KMC sets. My bad. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 I must have about a dozen 1/48 BB sets and a couple of 1/32 too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 Ive been working on a quarter scale Monogram Pro Modeler F-15E, got some seamless intakes and a BB pit. Fitting the intakes was nothing, but the cockpit tub isnt a good fit at all considering it was designed to be used with that kit. The casting itself is clean enough on the detail of the parts but the keys on the large side, which i guess aids in handling them, but the amount of excess is high, its a lot of work to bring it down to the right size to get it to fit. Now Im not saying its really really bad, its quite nice and only really needs a bit of modelling nouse to get it in, but it was designed for the kit, designed to replace the kits own parts so why it is not the same dimensions as the kit parts... They were thee cockpits to have 10 years ago but things have moved on and in some cases the kits own cockpits have made BB pits redundant because they are just as detailed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skyhawk174 Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 On 5/8/2020 at 2:35 PM, ElectroSoldier said: Ive been working on a quarter scale Monogram Pro Modeler F-15E, got some seamless intakes and a BB pit. Fitting the intakes was nothing, but the cockpit tub isnt a good fit at all considering it was designed to be used with that kit. The casting itself is clean enough on the detail of the parts but the keys on the large side, which i guess aids in handling them, but the amount of excess is high, its a lot of work to bring it down to the right size to get it to fit. Now Im not saying its really really bad, its quite nice and only really needs a bit of modelling nouse to get it in, but it was designed for the kit, designed to replace the kits own parts so why it is not the same dimensions as the kit parts... They were thee cockpits to have 10 years ago but things have moved on and in some cases the kits own cockpits have made BB pits redundant because they are just as detailed Interesting. I don't seem to remember having any sort of trouble fitting my BB cockpit into the kit. It has been a long time. I should check my pictures and jog my memory. If the fit was bad like Aires, I would remember 😀 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 It wasnt once the key was removed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IshyIsh Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 On 5/8/2020 at 10:59 PM, habu2 said: I must have about a dozen 1/48 BB sets and a couple of 1/32 too. My BB/Avionics stash from 2009, and I have had some of them years before that. I know I had the F-4G pit before the 2000 Nats in Dallas. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Roof Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 On 5/8/2020 at 10:57 AM, habu2 said: I thought Black Box became Avionix? On 5/8/2020 at 2:42 PM, skyhawk174 said: Oops yeah you are right. I think I am thinking about KMC sets. My bad. When KMC folded, one member (Jef) moved and created Black Box. Black Box became Avionix. Jef sold everything to Squadron and then went to work for them. He recently left Squadron, but I believe everything he created is still owned by them. KMC, Black Box/Avionix, Aeromaster/Eagle Strike.......all of it once the cornerstone of the hobby in the late 90's, early 2000's is now owned by Squadron where it has slowly withered away into obscurity. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 2 hours ago, Dave Roof said: Jef sold everything to Squadron and then went to work for them. He recently left Squadron, but I believe everything he created is still owned by them. Did you see Jef's announcement in Sprue Brother's latest email flyer? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Roof Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 31 minutes ago, habu2 said: Did you see Jef's announcement in Sprue Brother's latest email flyer? No, watched his video announcement on Facebook. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skyhawk174 Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 Thanks for the info Dave. Did not know he had left Squadron. Those sets were the cat's meow and I am thankful I have most of them when the came out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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