Cracked canopy

[Guest]

Hi, has anyone out there found a way of repairing a crack in a clear plastic canopy? The crack is on a PM model - their canopies are very fragile - and the crack occurred during fitting on a 1/72 F100A Super Sabre. Because PM model kits are so reasonably priced (cheap!) I bought another kit of the same type and used the canopy from that to complete the model - which had gone well apart from that. I have found PM models to be a great test bed (for sprays, paints, practice, etc) for developing techniques to apply into use on other models (more expensive!). However the PM models decals are not bad to use and are of reasonable quality to be fair. The crack is hairline but noticeable and if repairable I would use it on another model of the same type. I did think of using the cracked canopy as a template to create a former and vacuum mold another canopy to get round the problem.

cheers, Ivor

[stona]

If the crack goes right through the plastic then you'll never get rid of it completely. I've glued a broken canopy together using Klear floor polish and it's not too bad if you don't look too hard....and squint a bit

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

How about smearing a tiny amount of canopy glue (e.g. Humbrol clear-fix) over the crack then sanding it back to clear with very fine sandpaper (or 8000-12000 grit Micro Mesh if you have any?)

[Guest]

That sounds like a good idea, I had in mind using a clear resin flowed into crack but will try the Clear-Fix. I have Revell clear canopy fix would that be the same as Humbrol's? I've also found that Dura-Glit silver polish wadding makes an excellent polisher for clear canopies especially after a layer of Klear. The crach does go right through BTW. Many thanks for the ideas guys, Ivor

[Guest]

I should think that the Revell and Humbrol do pretty much the same thing, I've only used the Humbrol. I'm no expert on this kind of thing as I've never been unlucky enough to have a canopy break so it's just an idea! Good luck!

[Guest]

Thanks John, will certainly give that a try and report on any success!