Now that the wood plug is ready, lets vacuform it.
I had lots of PETG plastic sheets of 0.030 inches thick, so I decided to give it a try. It took me 3 tries to get it right.
The main difference to success is to limit the oven time at 350 degrees F to 45 seconds.
Also, I modified the plug slightly to allow for its easy removal from the plastic. I added a screw to the back so I can rock the plug a bit from side to side and then pull it out. Also, I added a little material using tape so the plastic still has a positive extraction shape.
Here is the finished nose
and initial fit to the test paper section going aft. Looks OK.
Now, I decided to paint the nose dark grey ( note : The exact match to the paper is not critical since the real aircraft had this nose separate from the fuselage and some operational aircraft may have even had different shades of grey as well ).
fit again
I then sprayed the plastic dome with Pledge floor polish which seals in the paint and gives it a bit of a shine. Came out good.
Now it is installed ( will need small touch up due to the very tight fit where the paint got scuffed up ).
I like it.
Isaac