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Here's the cockpit of the AMT (now Italeri) F7F-3 Tigercat. All straight out of the box except for the belt, shoulder straps, buckles and hardware I added. The belts are lead foil from a wine bottle, the hardware is styrene plastic. If I'd smoothed the edge of the seat bucket before I took the picture it would look REALLY nice. This photo is about 1.5 life-size.

I used an Eduard US Navy WWII belts detail set and photos in the Squadron F7F Tigercat In Action book as references. The seatbelt is broader than the shoulder belt, and the tug-straps on the shoulder adjusters are the narrowest.

I built the belts up from their mounting points- I cut them too long and anchored the seat belts to the sides of the seat, the shoulder belts to the bulkhead behind the seat, all glued with thick super-glue. The shiny metal bar the shoulder belts go over was added, using styrene rod and little scraps for the brackets. I painted it "bright silver" using Polly Scale water-based acrylic paint.

Once the paint and glue were dry, I 'draped' the belts as reference photos showed them, and marked where the buckles should be. I trimmed the lead foil to length using the same scissors I'd cut the strips with. The buckles, tabs, adjusters, were all made from rectangular styrene & rod, glued with superglue to the lead, or with non-toxic Testor's liquid glue of plastic to plastic. The real belts had a leather pad that protected the wearer from the buckle mechanism, spreading out stresses, and I added this with a square of lead foil- the redish brown bit at the end.

A neat thing about lead foil is that you can bend the belts, etc, up and away from the seat while constructing and painting them. Once they're completed, you push them back into 'drape' positions using the rounded back ends of paint brushes, and tweezers. No glue is needed to hold the belts in place

I took a bunch of pictures as I was working but they were uniformly out of focus, except for the last bit. A lesson learned.

Ben_in_hat_to_Nick_and_Anna 124

Garnet and Cream - a sophisticated and authentically styled mid-1800s gown with silk belt and slippers, for Addy, or the upcoming Cecile and Marie-Grace. I've chosen a red and cream color combination, commonly seen in the period. The dress is made from premium cream colored cotton sateen, this is a lovely feeling fabric, very drape-able, and the diagonal weave of the fabric gives it a soft sheen.This gown features four teardrop shaped tabs, sometimes called flaps. There are four of these tabs, each lined, surrounded by deep red cluny lace, and 4 buttons sewn onto each. Garnet colored pure silk was used for the detachable Swiss belt and cuffs. The fully lined bodice has cluny lace encircling the lowered neckline. The skirt is very full for the proper silhouette, and the hem is calf length, a good girl's dress length. Interior seams are serged for tidiness and strength. The dress and belt close in the back with small buttons and handworked button loops. The hem is hand stitched so as to be almost invisible. Interior seams are serged for strength and durability.

To complete the gown, I made slippers from the garnet silk. Girls did not always wear boots in this time period, they also wore flat shoes, called slippers. These custom made slippers are decorated with cream colored bows and a bead.