I’ve been making models since I was 7. Took about a 10 year break around my college years, and got back into it with both feet a few years ago.
And decided I’d finally start painting canopy frames.
Oh the frustration. The anger. The hate.
I’ve been working on the old Revell P-40 kit. It came with two sets of canopies.
Canopy #1 I used liquid mask on the canopy, than airbrushed over it. This worked not so well. Probably had a lot to do with it being my first attempt at liquid mask solution. In frustration, I set the kit aside.
A few weeks later, I took a shot at the second canopy.
Canopy #2 I used scotch tape on. I cut away the sections over the frames, and hand painted them using a micro-brush. I put two coats on. Assuming the worst, I again set the kit aside for a few weeks. Too frustrated to even look at it.
Last night I took the scotch tape off of canopy #2. Holy cow! It worked!
Is it museum quality? Would I put it in a show? Nope. (I have some other skills to hone before things start going in shows [:D]) But am I happy with it? YEP!
Canopies have been the MOST frustrating part of my modeling experience. I’m no expert at them, but at least now I know it’s not impossible.
I’d like to personally thank every person who’s ever posted a thread on canopy painting right now. Not only have you given me ideas on how to do it, but you’ve also helped me by making me realize I wasn’t the only one out there having the problem.
[#ditto] I know exactly how you feel, and i’m glad one of us got it right! I tried to mask a canopy of mine last night, but the windows were just too darn small, so i hand painted them - again. I’m going to try and do the waist gun blisters with maskingtape and so forth… wish me luck! [:)]
I just recently tried this for the first time a few weeks ago. In the past all my canopies were clear and stayed that way! I never attempted it. But now we can all share in our victory. I have liquid mask but figured it might not be the best thing to use…so I skipped an attempt with that. I used Tamiya Masking tape on mine…
Cockpit was on a 1/72 P40
First attempt was great…looks good and Im satisfied with the results! Took me almost an hour and 45 minutes to mask the thing(I was working very very slowly and taking my time!) for 10 seconds of brush painting…I had a lil bleed through in one area just a spot that was easily scraped off with a toothpick.
I think I’ll continue doing this in the future…it really does make the model look better. Who knows maybe after a few canopies under my belt it wont take so long with the masking!
I do my canopies the same way each time and have had no probs or leaks.
Clean the canopy with alcohol and let dry.
Get tamiya masking tape. (narrow 1/4 inch strips are easier to work with)
Put the canopy on a light table or on a GE portable flourescent lamp.
Put that tape on and mask those frames with confidence! The light shining thru really helps to see those frames, especially on 1/72 scale birds.
Be sure to use a new x-acto blade and pull the knife, don’t push it.
After cutting, burnish the tape down with a piece of plastic (I use an old testors brush handle sharpened in a pencil sharpener).
Glue the canopy on the plane if you want, or apply masking tape underneath the canopy and a blob of blu tak. The stick a toothpick in there to hold it while you are painting.
Spray future or some other clear coat and let dry before painting. It prevents leaks under the tape.
Don’t forget to decal and dullcoat afterwards if you need to.
after paint and dullcoat (you remembered that right?) dries, use a pointed toothpick to push one corner of the tape off. Then use tweezers and pull the tape off at a 45 degree angle.
Tip: Don’t look at the light too long, it’s not the sun, but can still strain your eyes if you look at it long. I do one side of the canopy and walk away for a few.
Light tables can be expensive, the GE task light is much cheaper, I got mine at BJs
Chris
If you think doing that to a model takes a long time, try it on a 1 to 1 aircraft! By the time you get it stripped, prepped, and masked, you’ve spent a minimum of a week (@ 8 hrs per day). Now, you get to spend 2 hrs max to paint it. Then you have probably have 3 days work getting it ready for the trim colors (and good luck if there are more than one). Then, after everything has dried, you will spend two to three days removing masking, touching up and reinstalling those items removed (wheel pants, control surfaces etc)
Let’s face it, whether a model or full scale you (and I) are going to spend a lot of time prepping just to do a few minutes applying paint.
Oh well, its supposed to be relaxing (thats what I’ve been told)
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For those of you who are working with a brush on your canopy, I’d recommend getting one with long bristles like the one shown in the image below. This canopy is 1/72 and painted with the brush shown. It’s not quite done yet, as you can see there’s a few touch-ups to do because I’ve been handling it too much. I find that most of the little mistakes can be cleaned up with a sharp exacto point under a magnifying glass with lots of light.
Spraying/masking is the best way, but it takes a good amount of patience and time (as already mentioned.) Good luck!
HA-HAH! I got it! I did what digimage sugegsted and cleaned, masked and cut the masking tape on the canopy (with much skepticism, i might add) lastnight. I just slobbered paint all over it with a brush, and removed the tape today… The angels are singing in heaven because the lines are nice and neat!!! Woo-hooo!! [:D] Man, that tamiya tape is good stuff!
Are you sure a long brush is the way to go? i use the smallest and shortest brush out there… (i have no idea what size/brush #, etc…)
Give it a try and see. I was reluctant too, but these types of brushes are built for this. I find that I have way less control over the ‘straightness’ of the line when I use a tiny/short brush. And, they don’t hold nearly as much paint so you have to keep going back to the jar for more paint. It’s the right thing for me…
