Canopy Alternative

[vinairart]

I posted some pictures of a canopy alternative. Instead of vacuum forming, a canopy can be carved and polished from a solid piece of clear Plexiglas or Perspex. I happen to have a sheet (block?) of material that I had purchsed as a "cutoff" years ago from a company that machines plastic. It is actually Mil-Spec canopy armour made by Rohm & Haas of Philadelphia. 

The process is easy and parallels carving/shaping/finishing a wood model. Figure a couple of hours for your first one. Basically you cut the general outline and "carve" using a dremel and various degrees of wheel abrasion to get the shape. I use a sharpie marker to create a centerline. If you have a curved fuselage like the one on this steel (oops!) Marx toy jet, just lay down some heavy grit sandpaper on top of the fuse and sand in that camber. Finish the camber like the rest of the polished surfaces.

Shhh!, now here's the real secret...  Go to the cosmetic section and get some of those fingernail emery boards. Pick up the black ones for medium degree shaping and then various finer grits. Then also pick a couple of the multi-colored ones- they are very important!

Once you have the shape, buff out those final scratches with those "multi-boards". Shockingly, it becomes crystal clear!! Keep your canopy clean as well as your hands because the canopy can get very slick and slippery during the finalbuffing. For framing use "Bare-Metal" Foil, silver trim tape, etc. You can give it a final finish with Clear Krylon or liquid wax. I use thinned "Goop" to attach these to the fuselage and that  allows removal down the road.

For me it is sentimental to use real full-scale canopy material to top off a nice model.

Cheers, Tom   

[lastvautour]

Tom, please give us the lowdown ob the Sabre.

Lou

[vinairart]

Lou,

The Sabre was an overhaul that I did last summer. It was originally a Louis Marx pressed steel toy airplane that had tons of potential but was limited by original manufacturing restraints. In a nutshell, I went beyond just a restoration. It made new landing gear wheels, a new fin, grafted on a "beak", added fuel tanks, paint, decals and the canopy. I will post its original condition later tonite in my gallery for reference.

Specifically, the process for making the canopy may be used in any non-flying model and, therefore, lends itself to solid wood models as well.

Best Regards, Tom

[Balsabasher]

Solid perspex canopiers were popular in wartime,modellers used the plentiful smashed perspex from damaged aircraft,I also have a big chunk of perspex window from a Lockheed Constellation,the canopies look good.
Barry.