After spending far too long masking my A6M canopy with Tamiya tape, I'd come to the point of attaching it to the airframe for painting. I'd seen some modellers had used superglue, so tested this on a spare canopy; good job it was spare - you guessed it - it misted up and was ruined. Then I tried some Evo-Stick white glue, which supposedly dries clear, but it didn't seem to hold; this was lucky as I'd forgotten to paint the area behind the pilot's seat.........

Now I'm ready to glue it again. Should the white glue work? What's best to fill any gaps around the canopy with? I'm sure I read somewhere you can use filler thinned with nail polish remover.........?

Anyone?

Hi Alex

I've heard of modelers using watch crystal cement to attach canopies, but can't comment on it, as I've never tried it. With white glue, the bond is never going to be very strong. It helps a bit to carefully sand the edges of the canopy where it mates with the fuselage to give it some "tooth". Personally, I use cyano, but it is a bit risky. You have to glue in tiny little "tacks", letting each miniscule dot dry before doing the next. Also, dipping the canopy in Future protects from fogging somewhat and has the added benefit of making the "glass" crystal clear. You just dip the unpainted canopy into the Future, place it onto a piece of paper towel to wick off the excess (or even better, a paper coffee filter, as they're less "fuzzy"). Then cover it with something to keep off the dust until it dries. If you mess up, it can be stripped with ispropyl alcohol and redone. After the future dries, the canopy is ready to paint as normal.

IMHO, gaps caused by poor canopy fit are best addressed by adding material to the "low places" on the fuselage before the canopy is fitted, repeatedly test fitting the canopy, and gradually adding more material to the fuselage until the fit is good. If you fill gaps after the canopy is fitted, though, the best way I know of is to use Milliput (a two-part epoxy paste).

HTH

Automaton

Thanks, mate. I'll see what I can do.

There is a special brand of white glue which is speically designed to put transparent pieces in place. It dries perfectly clear and can even be used to fill gaps.

There are two types: one giving a permanent bond and one which holds the transparetn piece in place but you can remove afterwards. I use this type a lot for weaponry.

unfortunately the brandname escapes me at the moment. I'll have a look this evening and give you an update

Formula 560 canopy glue by Pacer is the best and can be used to fill gaps around canopy.