Canopies

[nev]

Sorry lancer, I'm naff at canopies too!

[Captain Canada]

I do most of my canopies by hand as well.....I use the 50 cent Testors flat brush, and I cut off about three quarters of the bristles. This leaves me with a nice, square brush that can be easily mainipulated, and do most canopiy frames in one pass...as opposed to a 10 dollar 'pointy' brush.

When I do spray a canopy, I use the Parafilm M as a mask. Just place it over the canopy, rub it down, and use a sharp knife to cut around the frames....easy as pie !

Cheers,
     Toad

[lancer]

When I do spray a canopy, I use the Parafilm M as a mask. Just place it over the canopy, rub it down, and use a sharp knife to cut around the frames....easy as pie !

I wish I could get parafilm m over here.

I use a pointy brush when I paint my canopies, even when I mask them first. I just airbrushed my first canopy and it looks pretty good.
I tried out an idea last night that seems to work well for me.

1). Mask off the entire canopy
2). with a fine point pen or sharp HB pencil draw the outline of the frame on the tape. Can be a bit trickey sometimes
3) With a SHARP knife, cut out the frame pattern and carefully remove the mask, making sure that the masking for the windows is secure and doesn't come off.
4) paint the base coat, a necessary with clear plastic, wait for it to dry, put th etop coat on and when dry, peel the mask off and you are left with a weel defined canopy and no smudges

[Captain Canada]

Hey Lancer,
    I talked to the guys at Great Models, where I got the stuff previously, and it seems that Testors/Model Master no longer distribute it ! Not enough sales....
    The manufacturer of Parafilm M is called 'American National Can'. I've been doing a web search, but so far haven't come up with a distributor !

Cheers,
     Toad :s

[lancer]

Jo,
I will be trying some E-Z masks when I do my HE177, but I find that most masks are in /48th scale or mostly for the plethora of modern day stuff - F16 block 33 no34 // F16 block 33 no 35 ect...
Very little for the subjects I model

Lancer.

[Skorpio]

Lancer, I'd use maskol for the Heinkel - thse Revell frames are heavy (as were the real ones on that beast) so should take Maskol quite easily.  Not sure about the smaller domes - the astrodome or mid upper turret.  I don't like the fit of those canopies and I wish I could stir up the enthusiasm to do some more work on my own Heinkel 177 - it's easier to start another Shackleton!

[John Howling Mouse]

One thing about airbrushing canopies that I found really helped was to use Future (Johnson's Kleer?) for the initial 2 or 3 light coats.  This way, should any spray make its way under your masking medium (whichever type you might prefer), the unwanted spray is clear/invisible, anyhow.  The clearcoat helps form a better seal b/w the masking and the bare frame for the later coats of color.

[Ollie]

Lancer, just shoot it straight from the bottle, with the lowest possible pressure.

That's what I do-di-do-da

:G

[lancer]

Canopies seem to be my biggest problem when builiding a kit.
Especially when it comes to masking them off. Liquid mask (Maskol) seems to be totally useless. Currently I use good old Tamyia masking tape, but don't getthe results I want, good but could be better.
Does anybody have any suggestions how I can improve my canopies please?

Thanks

[Nick]

My preferred method is to leave the canopy loose and wrap masking tape all around at least twice. Then spray the aircraft, leave to dry for a day or two (time to work on other kits!) and then return to remove the tape from the canopy.

Drink a pint or two of favourite alcoholic beverage to steady the nerves, play some calming music and banish all cats, dogs and family from the house to ensure no interruptions.
Prepare the paint, pick a suitable brush and breathe steadily. Dip brush into paint and delicately apply to canopy.....

That's how I paint canopies by hand, but airbrushing might be a bit different  :TT

Nick  :G

[Radish]

:G I paint by hand too.
I don't mask at all......it probably shows.
1. Undercoat in either grey or black as this helps the final coat to be opaque as well as providing an interior colour.
2. Use a pointed cocktail stick to tidy-up any bits of paint that have strayed where you don't want.
3.Paint the top coat....repeat cocktail stick tidying up.
4. Use white glue to fix canopies.
When firmly dry (as my models are usually weathered/look as if they're sitting on crap, and have flown through a sewage farm!) I scrub the transparancy with a short-stubby brush loaded with grahite powder/pencil dust. This gives the transparent bit a nice glow and weathers the frame. It also gets rid of any little bits of paint left over from the scraping with the cocktail stick.
It sounds involved, but really takes little time and certainly less time than masking.
Good luck!
Terry
PS.....use Klear Floor Polish to make sure your transparances are shiny/clear first. I also use a pointy brush. I've also used a thin layer of Tamiya smoke to outline the canopy frame.

[Radish]

Sounds as if you're getting there, Lancer.
When can we see the He-111, B-25, A-20??
I've a plan (had it for years, of course!) to build the Pope's He-111 with the nose in individual stained glass panels.
:Ss

[lancer]

Thanks for the info Toad, I'll do some searching as well, see what I can come up with.

Funnily enough Radish, I've got an HE111 sitting at home waiting to be built. I don't think I'll be doing stained glass windows though.. :G

[JoeP]

Have you tried E-Z Masks? I received a set with my Belcher Bits HO3S-1, and they made the job a great deal easier. They're not perfect - I had trouble with a couple extremely curved windows - but since they're pre-cut to the right size it's a lot faster than having to cut each piece yourself.

[Skorpio]

I use a mixture of hand painting and Maskol, depending on thge canopy.

Some aircraft, I'll attach the canopy, mask it up using Maskol, spray it, then remove the Maskol, only to find the paint has seeped under (the number of dodgy Mosquito canopies is becoming annoying...).

For others with an easier colour, I'll hand paint as it's easier, such as the Shackleton and the SEAC Lanc I displayed at the Nats.  Loads of people commented on how shiny the canopy was  - hoiw had I done it?  Answer - I don't know, as I just painted the framing by hand and stuck it on.  Next Lanc is an all silver RAAF one.

One tip for canopies that's quite useful is to dip them in Johnson's Kleer (Future for our US cousins).  This ensures that there's no fogging when using superglue, which is essential on some vacform canopies, such as Magna's obscenities.  It also makes them shiny and clearer!