I finished the cockpit today. Parts of the PE set are prepainted (instrument panel, placards, belts, and some dials and controls). I like the fact that the instrument panel has stencils added, but the black looks grainy. Not an orange peel, but it's covered with spots of a lighter black. I couldn't repaint it without destroying the stenciling, so I left it alone. It looks good in the cockpit, but the spots show under magnification and in large pics. I hope I just got a "bad" set.
I added some wiring and linkages that were missing from the kit and PE set. I used Model Mastrer enamels, and my usual washes and drybrushes. I shaved off the gunsight's poor representation of the sighting glass, and I'll add pieces of clear sheet just before I glue the windscreen in place. They will only get lost if I add them any sooner.
I gotta say that I really like those placards !
For larger pics of the instrument panel and seat/floor, you can click on my site:
http://www.pix.prettyneatinc.com/p40build.htm
Now to put together this puppy and start spraying some paint !