Su-27 Flanker B 1/32 Canopy: mould line removal vs vacuum formed.

[npomeroy]

I have received the Trumpeter 1.32 Flanker B, and as others have complained, the mould lines are notable on the clear canopies. I followed various references to remove the line and abrade - buff to remove the blemish thus created by the initial blade scrape that levelled the line. But I'm not happy with my result so far. I could continue with more 2000-grit w/d plus toothpaste and car polish, but am wondering about alternatives. There was a supplier -  Zactomodels but the website says he has closed. I am considering taking a female mould off the canopy with plaster of Paris, and using that to make a male mould, perhaps from metal-filled epoxy, from which I could form a clear canopy from thin PETG. I had a vacuum forming machine until recently but would consider moulding with positive air pressure. I'm not sure about the "straps" that represent the section joints. I have a resin 3D printer that they could be formed with (probably flat and heat-curved after to wrap over the canopy). Or perhaps I could use some sort of printable adhesive film and pre-print the colour and rivet lines on it.

 

But, does anyone know of another vac-formed canopy supplier?

 

Do you recommend the three grades of Tamiya polishing compound, and their sponge, over my 2000 w/d - toothpaste - car polish?

 

The stock styrene canopies are usually optically imperfect, so the view through them hardly justifies hours of internal cockpit detail.

 

Cheers

Nelson

[CRAZY IVAN5]

Well, truthfully I think you're on the right track. What I've done is mask off the mold line closely, scrape the line off [VERY gently] then move the tape out about a 1/8 inch. I then start off with 600, 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, 6,000, 8,000, 10,000 finishing up with 12,000 using LOTS of water. Any "haze " that's left ,I'll apply some Future. Sounds like it would take a long time to do but in fact all told you'd be probably looking at just over an hour. I've had very good luck with the above. Keep in mind that real canopies have a bit of a haziness to them on the very top due to the sun , not a lot but there's still some.  I mean if ya wanna try the vac route , you can though i believe the polishing will be better and quicker, YMMV.

[thierry laurent]

Note Zacto never released a two-seater canopy! He only released the single seater one as it had obvious shape issues. Personally I would go on cleaning the kit part. Recently I did it with a 3d printed clear dome part. This asks for ages to get a smooth surface but if you are patient you can restore clarity.

[Tony T]

5 hours ago, thierry laurent said:

Note Zacto never released a two-seater canopy! He only released the single seater one as it had obvious shape issues. Personally I would go on cleaning the kit part. Recently I did it with a 3d printed clear dome part. This asks for ages to get a smooth surface but if you are patient you can restore clarity.

 

The Flanker B is a single-seater and, yes, we desperately need replacement clear parts @Ali62 if you get the mojo.

I'm content to sacrifice my originals. Modifying the shape slightly would be a bonus, but smooth clear copies would be a boon. 

 

Tony