Aircraft Canopies

[fishplanebeer]

Just a small gripe but I wish when a manufacturer produces a kit that has the canopy in its constituent parts so that it can be modelled open that they would also always provide a fully closed example as well.

 

I know moulded canopies are now getting ever finer but I've never come across one yet where the assembled 'open' canopy, when modelled in the closed position, looks realistic and to scale.

 

For example the new-ish tool Airfix Me 262 which is a fine kit but just looks wrong when the 2 part canopy is modelled as closed.

 

Regards

Colin.

[exdraken]

In 48th scale it usually works quite well I think

[spruecutter96]

I think we have to consider the practicalities of injection-moulding here. If canopies were produced to anything like their true scale, they would be EMTREMELY thin and would be broken with the slightest pressure. Personally, I would much rather have them too thick than very fragile. Until they can find a clear material which is both thin and resilient, I'm afraid we're pretty much stuck with what we've got. Obviously, there are professional, vac-formed canopies, but I've never used one (and probably never will). 

 

Other people may have a different take on this matter.

 

Chris.  

Edited October 1, 2020 by spruecutter96
Correcting a typo.

[Nachtwulf]

I think that it would make it more difficult to produce certain canopies that have a blown cross section. Wouldn't it be harder to use slide molding techniques to get the rounded cross sections without gross distortion?

[alt-92]

It's a bit of a shame MisterCraft (shriek!) often don't quite get the shape or fit right, as they do manage to make some real thin canopies

(The Heller-rebox P-40 for example - thinnest canopy I've seen in an IM kit).

[Giorgio N]

There are a few kits out there that have separate parts for open and closed canopy. First that come to my mind is the Fujimi 1/72 Spey Phantom series, followed by the Hobbyboss 1/72 Easy-kit Bf.109G and others in the series. Different parts are also used by Eduard in their 1/72 Spitfires, although the windscreen is only one. I'm sure there are more examples that I forgot or have not come across yet.

Said that, with quality kits it is not a problem to have canopies that fit well when assembled closed... the problem is that not all kits are up to the moulding quality required and yes, several need quite some work to get the closed canopy looking right.

 

[wellsprop]

The thickest canopies are generally on pressurised aircraft, they can be as thick as 1inch. 1 inch in 1/48 scale is a thickness of 0.5mm, it's not possible to injection mold that as a canopy. Vacuforms are a more accurate thickness.