clear canopy for aircraft

[sh10091]

Hi all,


Being very new to paper modeling and this site, I was wondering if anyone had a tutorial, guide, or some information on how to make clear canopies for military aircraft. From the pictures I have seen in the forums, some of the clear canopies look absolutely incredible. I am blown away from some of the detail I see from the members of this site. You guys have me hooked!!! I would love to learn how to add this kind of detail to my projects. Thank you in advance for your time.

Thank you,

Brian

[Maltedfalcon]

enter vacu form in the search
or check out this thread
Vacu-Form?

[member_3]

I know you are looking for "how to" information but another excellent source of 1:32 scale canopies for select models (P-51D, P-47D, Hellcat, A-10, etc.) is Squadron Shop. The selection is limited to a handful of 1:32 scale models but if they have one you are looking for they are of excellent quality and reasonable price.

[murphyaa]

Fiddlersgreen has an excellant tutorial on making clear canopies from packing tape on their site

[rockpaperscissor]

I just made a clear bubble canopy for my 1/72 Maly Westland Whirlwind. Steps and photos are in the thread: 1/72 Maly Westland Whirlwind

[sh10091]

Thank you for all the great info. I am looking forward to trying some of the different techniques. I am just starting out with paper craft as a new hobby. I am completely blown away with the quality of work I have seen in this community. This is definitely a hobby I would like to pursue. Once again thank you.


Brian

[airdave]

okay I'm trying!!
I have a heap of melted and distorted plastic!
I have piles of strangely deformed canopies!
I have burnt finger tips!
I still have a plane with no canopy.

Now I have globs of epoxy all over the bench!
I have part of my ShopVac sticking out the side of an old box!
I have clamps and wooden frames ready to hold plastic.
...but I have no plastic left.

I still have no canopy on my plane!!!!!

[dwgannon]

AirDave,
Popbottle(Coke, Pepsi, Orange Cursh, 7-Up) my freind. Clear plastic kind.

[Paladin]

I had read a tutorial on one of the airplane model sites, but I cannot recall which one.
I'll try to summarize here:

When you get to the canopy, build one inside out. What I mean is to glue the tabs, (whether they are already on the parts, or you are adding them), on the outside of what you would normally see on the canopy.
Then once it is dry, check to make sure it fits the fuselage of the model.
What I then do is to mix up some JB Weld, (a type of heat resistant epoxy), and separately mix some of that "play-dough"-like stuff for mufflers, (it looks grey and comes in a round cylinder tube a little larger than a roll of quarters.
You will have to knead it to activate the hardening action).

I put some of the JB Weld in the cockpit, and then smoosh in the putty stuff. You'll probably want to wear gloves here, that stuff is hard to get off.

I then make sure the cockpit canopy stays the right shape. Then let the stuff dry. Usually takes a couple of hours or so.

Then I soak the whole thing in warm water to soften the cardstock. After about 30 minutes or so, I peel the cardstock off.

Clean up the canopy thing and sand if you need to, (I always need to sand this thing, just to get it nice and smooth). But don't sand too much or it will affect the shape of the canopy, and then it may not fit right.

I like to drill a small hole in the underside of my epoxy canopy mold, and put a screw or something in it so I can mount the piece in a vice or something.

I take that thick plastic like the stuff that alot of electronics come packaged in. I heat up my oven (about 200 to 250 degrees) and cut a piece of plastic more than large enough and put it in the oven. Watch it carefully. The plastic will start to curve a little, then flatten out again. If you lay it on the wire rack, it will start to hang down, but the plastic should not start to drip or burn, (if so your oven is too hot &/or the plastic is too thin).

The plastic is basically soft enough to pull over hard objects and make a nice canopy. I grab the plastic with some leather gloves, or some other gloves which are heat resistant and I hold on to two opposite sides of the plastic and pull it down over my epoxy mold.
Please Note: this last part must be done quickly, yet carefully. Don't pull too hard or you will punch through the plastic. If the plastic doesn't shape the way you want it, you can just stick it back in the oven the re-soften and the plastic will go back to its original shape. Then you can do it again.

I have had to re-heat a piece of plastic up to 5 times before it came out the way I wanted it.
I will post some pictures when I can of the canopies I have done, and the molds. ( I hold onto the molds in case I want to make another one of the planes.

[airdave]

Originally Posted by dwgannon

AirDave,
Popbottle(Coke, Pepsi, Orange Cursh, 7-Up) my freind. Clear plastic kind.

don't drink pop...can I use Jack Daniels bottles?