Cracked 1/32 Kittyhawk OV-10/A windscreen repair suggestions

[rock1947a]

Hi. I received the above kit yesterday in a very crushed shipping box. All of the sprues were warped but most of the parts are undamaged except for one tail boom broken in half that I can repair pretty easily. The other damaged part is the clear windscreen cracked down the middle. Since Kittyhawk is going out of business I'm stuck trying to repair the windscreen. I intend to try dipping it in Future floor polish. What do you think my chances are of ending up with a passable windscreen? Has anyone had any success repairing cracked clear canopy parts? I don't have any vacuforming skills or experience. Any suggestions or observations are welcome. Thanks for your interest. 

Happy modeling!!!

Pete 

[Woody V]

That's a tough one. It might be possible to fix it if it's a clean break, but the chances of getting a perfect glue joint and then polishing it is not good. If I were you I'd post in the Trader's Forum to see if anyone has a partially built one that they lost interest in and willing to get rid of it for a good price. Other than that, I'd do a Saved Search on Ebay. 

 

Was the parcel insured? If that's the case you might be able to get your money back and buy another one.

[dennismcc]

I once repaired a cracked windscreen by cutting out the front panel and replacing it with some scrap clear plastic, it depends on how the part is cracked though, I was lucky that with patience and a new #11 blade I managed to cut out the damaged section.

Not perfect but looks OK once painted.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[rock1947a]

Thanks very much for both of your replies. The vendor promised to search for a replacement part, but I don't hold out too much hope. 2 new Ov-10A kits on ebay are listed for over $200.00 with shipping so that's not affordable for me.  However I can buy an OV-10D kit for about $50.00 so if I can't repair my windscreen satisfactorily I might go that route. Cutting out the cracked panel sounds like a good idea but the plastic is very brittle. It's worth a try. I'll post on the Trader's Board for any unwanted kits or parts too.  Both of your ideas are very helpful. I'll post the results here so you'll know how it turns out. Thanks again for your help. 

Pete