GB-59 1/72 Mitsubishi Ki-15 'Babs' - WW2 PTO V

Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules

Haven't we met somewhere before..? :)
(Cleanup in progress...)
20231107_002613.jpg
 
While waiting on the book to continue detailing, decided to sand the canopy scratching, and bugger me if it's not just scratched, but cracked right through on the first four port side panes. Am nowconsidering options... go the civilian 'Kamikaze' version (that canopy is mostly ok), or try to scratchbuild an open canopy from clear plastc sheet and replace the affected sections altogether.
 
Cheers guys, here's what we're looking at...

20231109_222643.jpg

20231109_222742.jpg


Nice idea Dave, but as you can see gluing won't help, and as it's right through, can't polish it out either.
My son very kindly offered me his Arii C5M2 canopy (bless his heart), but I don't want to take from his kit, and unfortunately it has it's own unfixable blemishes anyway. (None of the 4 Arii canopies we have are scratch or blemish free...)
He gave me a great idea to cut out the bad bits from mine and replace them with good parts from one of the spare flat ones, but unfortunately it's right on the raised section that the crack is... so looks like scratchbuilding open canopies it will be!

BTW, cheers for the heads up Dave on the Headlight polish. Using Tamiya Compound at moment ('Fine' now, 'Finish' later), but will keep that in mind.
 
Yep .. you have to make the two sections ... I would cut them off and use as a mould /cast for the new vacuformed one.

babs_1.jpg
 
Never vacformed before my friend, but I do have a vacform Judy canopy, middle section of which should do for the open cockpit canopy. The fixed middle section I will try to improvise from clear plastic sheet or formed packaging, with plastic strip or Tamiya tape frames... we'll see!
 
Not sure if it is worth to do. But I have thought about replacing of the damaged panels as well. From my experience the easier way is to use the damaged conopy and press it into a box of plasticine in order to get the mould. Then ( after removing the glass from the plasticine mould ) fill the mould with an epoxy to get the former ( a female mould ). Having this you may sand down the cockpit frames and make the former smooth. And then take a sheet (piece) of clear plastic and warm up it to get it very soft. The next step is to wrap the clear sheet on the former.

A similar way you may see here Kopytko + technika wykonywania tłoczonej kabinki The post #4

The way I used for making the pilot's chair in my thread. Se the link below. The difference is that I made the female mould ( the former ) of the wood ( balsa) and used the white plastic instead of the clear one.

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back