discussion Joe's Academy 1/72 F-16C Thunderbirds

[flyjoe180]

I have been continuing basic construction of the fuselage, and while that's setting, I decided to tackle the canopy.

Like many modern kits, the canopy parts have a seam line running down the middle.


I scraped the seam with a fresh blade, then sanded the areas with 1,000 and 3,000 grade sponges. the finish is achieved using progressive grades of Tamiya Polishing Compound.


Looks much better now, and it only took half an hour or so.

 

[Steven000]

Nice work on the canopy Joe, that kind of work still keeps me up at night well done cheers

 

[boatman]

Cheers Chris. Jen should give it a try. 50p is a bargain! Why not build it and then diamond it instead of paint Jen's Bling Machine.

1/32 is big, I look forward to seeing your build when you get around to it. The grey schemes are a bit bland, but with your lights it will really stand out.

HI Joe yes very good idea on jens bling machine i'll mention it to her an see what she says proberly a no though but to do this she would need to paint the plane with something what stay sticky to hold on the tiny criststals so any one know what subtance what stay sticky yes Joe i know you said this as a joke but i think its worth a try as it would be something different so i see what she says thanks for the idea even if the idea dont get off the ground lol
chrisb an jen

 

[flyjoe180]

Nice work on the canopy Joe, that kind of work still keeps me up at night well done cheers

Cheers Steven. Me too, I get to the point where I just have to take the plunge or I'll worry too much about screwing it up.

 

[flyjoe180]

HI Joe yes very good idea on jens bling machine i'll mention it to her an see what she says proberly a no though but to do this she would need to paint the plane with something what stay sticky to hold on the tiny criststals so any one know what subtance what stay sticky yes Joe i know you said this as a joke but i think its worth a try as it would be something different so i see what she says thanks for the idea even if the idea dont get off the ground lol
chrisb an jen

I was thinking of ways Jen could combine her hobby with the model kit. No idea what adhesive to use. You could build the model up for her, and Jen could apply the crystals using PVA white glue?

 

[boatman]

I was thinking of ways Jen could combine her hobby with the model kit. No idea what adhesive to use. You could build the model up for her, and Jen could apply the crystals using PVA white glue?

HI Joe jen said should would think about it if she has any diamon art crstals left over
cheers sir
chris an jen

 

[HAWKERHUNTER]

I have never had to tackle a canopy yet Joe thank goodness. Great work not for the faint of heart.

 

[Jim R]

Good choice Joe. That's a lot of plastic for a 1/72 kit. I like the tinted canopy. - never come across that before. Well done cleaning up the seam.

 

[flyjoe180]

I have never had to tackle a canopy yet Joe thank goodness. Great work not for the faint of heart.

It's not idea to have a seam at all, but most modern one-piece canopies appear to have one. Must be the way they are moulded.

 

[flyjoe180]

Good choice Joe. That's a lot of plastic for a 1/72 kit. I like the tinted canopy. - never come across that before. Well done cleaning up the seam.

Thanks Jim. The tint looks more pronounced in the photos, especially the runners.

The gold tint helps with reducing radar cross section. For a later-Block F-16 the canopies reverted to clear as Night Vision became widespread. The F-22 and F-35 have gold tinted canopies, presumably night vision capability is incorporated into the aircraft rather than the pilot helmet.

 

[yak face]

Top work on the canopy joe , no trace of the seam now . Although the real thing has a seam running down the middle so you’ ll have to scribe another one . Seriously though its a modern problem as most of the modern bubble canopies curve back in towards the bottom so the only way to get this injection moulded is to have the canopy tooling in two halves - accurate but unfortunately it leaves us with a seam to sort out . The only one I can think of where its ok is the chinese Chengdu j10S , that actually DOES have a big black seam running down the middle of the canopy .

 

[papa 695]

Like the rest have said, nice work on the canopy Joe.