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Replacement canopy


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Hi! First post.

I have an Aurora F4H Phantom kit (1961), 1:48 scale that I was in the middle of building but I have lost the canopy for it.

Anyone know how I could get a replacement, one piece canopy that will fit? I *think* it was a 'flat' canopy, one of the early F4Hs.

 

Thanks!

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First of all, welcome to the Forums! I'm glad to see you here. I don't know what you can do given the manufacturer is long closed down. I wish you luck on your search; I'm sure someone here has one or knows where to get one.

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To be honest, I thought that in this day & age of 3D printing, there would be a CAD file somewhere....

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  • 3 weeks later...

No-one? The model is all but done and I need to replace this canopy.

Related - the decals with it are obviously old, a little brown but still usable. I'm going to use the decal for the aircraft stand but just save the others (I've ordered some 1/48 decals online).

Are there any tips / tricks for using old decals? Preventing them breaking, etc?

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On old decals--you might want to get some Microscale Liquid Decal Film and apply a few coats to the decal sheet--this should give you insurance over splintering into a gazillion bits.  You will have to trim each marking, as you have, in effect, created a single decal.  If they are merely yellow, taping them in a window and allowing the sunlight to bleach them might work.  if they're brown, that is probably the adhesive itself, and no amount of bleaching will help.

On a replacement canopy, you might just have to go Old School and carve a master from balsa or basswood, then vacuum-form a replacement.  If you haven't totally assembled the model, try using an epoxy putty or air-drying clay to make the master--tape the fuselage halves together, block off the cockpit opening with clear packing tape, then place a blob of the putty/clay over the opening and shape it.  You can shape epoxy putty with a wet finger to get it close to the shape, let it cure, then sand to the final shape.  AIr-drying clay is easily shaped, but it is grainier and more porous than the putty.  Whatever you do, after the basic mold is made, apply several layers of lacquer primer and sand until it is as shiny as glass before you try to form a new canopy.

Cheers!
R

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Microscale Decal Film has one drawback. It tends to make the decals thick and inflexible. They will not conform or suck down over surface detail. On a perfectly flat surface with little or no surface detail, they are fine- but, Cartograph they ain’t! 

Regards, Nick

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That depends on how thick you apply the Microscale Decal Film. I've had no problem getting decals thinly coated with this film to lay down nicely. Micro Sol and Micro Set are perfect for any decals coated with the film. The Decal Film is made to work with those two decal setting solutions. Amazingly enough, I have had occasional difficulty using Solvaset over Liquid Decal Film, but the Microscale products work well with it.

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Since the decal is to go the the model stand, that shouldn't be an issue. I've got Mr Mark Setter but no softener. Oh well - off to the online store!

 

Edited to add: Woo-hoo! I have a bottle of Mr Mark Softener!

Edited by Obviousman
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  • 8 months later...
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