If you are trying to use the kit canopy and it is too thick, can you just sand the inside to make it thinner and then add future? I know you can buy AM canopies or some special thing to make a mold from your canopy, but I would rather save a little money.

Normally I wouldn't really care all that much about the thickness, but in the open position it won't even set down where it is supposed to - Tamiya Wildcat is the model I am trying it with.

Thanks for any help / suggestions.
Leon

Sanding it down will produce scratches on the glass part. I wouldn't suggest that. Maybe others can help more.

I have heard of people sanding clear parts down with the finest emery paper and toothpaste..the ordinary white...not gel.
You could try it out on a scrap cassette box or similar.
But like shonan red says, better wait for people who know more.
Cheers
Peter

I've only done it once, and followed advice I read in a book. I sanded the canopy with progressively fines wet and dry paper, then followed with toothpaste. I used a piece of denim off an old pair of jeans to apply the toothpaste, the book said it adds to the effect of the toothpaste. Finally I used a spray on furniture polish to buff the canopy up. To be honest the results weren't perfect, I ended up buying a vac formed canopy as a replacement. This was in the days before the use of Future which is supposed to improve canopies, this may make a big diference. It might be a good idea to try it on a spare if you have one.

I have never tried thinning a canopy but I have successfully removed the seam from the canopy of a 1/72 F14, with perfect results. Sanding the outside of a canopy is, relatively, easy though. One of the problems you have is handling the canopy, sanding the inside means putting pressure on the outside. You could very well end up snapping the canopy. I would suggest you find something with the exact curvature of the top of the canopy, dowl, brass tube or the like. For the sides of the canopy you will need something flat, Rap the dowl/flat thing with emery paper and sand, use several grades getting finer each time. To get a perfect result I would suggest a canopy polishing system (there's one shown in my article on using clear) This has grades down to 12000 (yes 12000). Using this you probably wont need toothpaste, but if you do use it the way Martin suggests. One other thing to bare in mind, the thinner you sand the canopy the easier it will be to break it. I think the best course of action is to make a sanding tool, one which matches the inside contours of the canopy. This way you wont break it while sanding and the sanding will be easier.
When you have finished with this tool can I borrow it?
Mal

Hi Leon

Thick canopies are often a problem with injection moulded parts. An old trick is to thin down the edges, so the canopy seems to be thinner than it really is.

The real trouble starts when you want to display the canopy open, and the kit part is just too thick to sit right.

The easy solution is to buy a vacuform replacement; Falcon or Squadron will almost certainly have a replacement in their ranges.

However, it doesn't always require a vacuformer to produce a copy; plug-moulding will often do fine. The Wildcat's canopy should work well for this method. :-)

If you want to try sanding down the kit parts (I wouldn't go that way...), maybe polishing cloths would help remove the scratches. I posted a piece a while back about MicroMesh cloths

Hope this helps

Rowan

Thanks everyone, I'm glad I asked instead of doing the regular try first and then ask questions when it goes wrong. From your answers I think I will not sand it. Maybe I will just try the vacuum formed canopy, but I am sad to find yet another thing that I want to pay extra for. It seems like every model I do gets me a little closer and closer to a person who thinks he has to have all the extras.

Merlin mentioned plug-moulding. What is it and how does it work? Is it the do it yourself vacuum modling I think I remember seeing in the LHS.

Thanks again.
Leon

Okay, you're in the states so you should be able to do this. Find some clear acetat, the kind that has been used to cover an item that was sold on a rack at a store, such as batteries. It should be slightly flexible and you'll want a relatively larger than your part section that is flat and smooth. Take your kit canopy and fill it with putty, not modeling putty, but window sealin or kid's Pla-doh type. Insert a dowel and secure this upright. NOw heat the acetate over a candle. The center section will start to look woozy and become more fluid. Quickly press this over your kit canopy, straight down. Allow it to cool and you've just make a thinner copy of your kit canopy. Trim and attach with white glue.
Total cost, if you have these raw materials around the house...free.

Leon, One thing you might try in you're going to make your own is a product from sqadron called Therma Form pastic. It works great. Just follow the instructions: Mount the part to be coppied on a dowel of stick, heat the Thermaform, stretch over the canopy. I used to use the allthe time to replace canopies I snapped. the pack comes with 2 or 3 sheets in it and costs as much vac formed canopies. so it s a good way to go. HTH STUG

Holdfast mentioned the flexible brittle nature of the clear part . You could pack the inside of the canopy with plastecine or play-do to stabilise it.
But Stugiiif mentioned doing a copy with clear sheet...spot on. I've done this a few times..it's a little hit and miss, but I've usually got a decent copy within a couple of goes.
And in some resin kits, you get a little buck to make your own if the original gets screwed.
Also I've found acetate sheets for photocopiers work just as well as specialised material.

Cheers
Peter
:-)--<

Thanks for this advice. I gave it a quick try last night and see a lot of potential. It took the shape of the outside of the canopy excellently, now I just need to try a few more times to get it to shape to the individual windows. Awesome and free!