I’ve been doing some serious digging trying to find the most accurate and realistic look for my 1:48 Tamiya F-117 and it’s ensuing build. One of the things that has troubled me is the coloration of the canopy. I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to get that “metallic mirror yet still clear” look as seen on the real planes. The coating they use is Indium Tin Oxide - the same is also now used on F-16s and F/A 22s.
Well, I found a company in England who says they can coat my canopy piece…for a price! [:0] Check this out! LOL
"Dear Brian
Thank you for your contact.
Depending on size we should be able to coat your item.
Our chamber is 1000mm x 1000mm and will accept material up to appx 30mm
thick. We coat various types of glass and plastic and we have had
unusual requests in the past. Our coating technique offers an ITO layer to your specified resistances at very low temperatures.
Costs are as follows for the 1000mm x 1000mm chamber. So if you part
fill it it will be appx the same if you fill it. The only difference being a small handling charge if we are talking about 100’s of parts.
10 Ohms/sq £423.00 per run
20 Ohms/sq £374.75 per run
300 Ohms/sq £262.12 per run
Obviously resistance values are available between the ones detailed
above I have picked on these for price examples.
I look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Regards
Jason Eite
Diamond Coatings Limited
http://www.diamondcoatings.co.uk/
Tel 01384 566222
Fax 01384 562826"
Now I know the Tamiya kit is expensive but WOW! at today’s conversion, we’re looking at a possible cost of $517.00!!! Just for one piece? I think I may still try and work on either gold sprayed on very thin through an airbrush or perhaps if I can find that gold window tint from an auto or home shop.
Perhaps I can find a domestic coating facility that can do this type of thing for much cheaper??? Again…can I just say WOW!!! [:D]
Bri~
I’ve had luck using yellow stained window stain for the gold coloring and black for smoked windows. the trick is getting it on smooth and even. Use an airbrush and experiment with scraps.
The trouble I’m having though is that this kit will be super-detailed, and I’m really trying to get each element as close to the real deal as possible. The asctial canopy screens on the F-117A are coated with this Indium Tin Oxide stuff so they appear as solid panels on radar screens and shields the pilots helmet and the interior of the cockpit from giving away the nature of the plane to enemy observers.
This ITO coating is something like a mirror coating on sunglasses without the dark sunglass substrate. So there’s the mirrored effect I’m really trying to capture here as well - not just the slight brownish-amber hue of the base glass. Therein lies the promlem… 
uilleann,
I’ve used a “Natural Copper” vehicle window tint material from Advance Auto when I done the two window panels on the old Aurora CH-47A I done a couple years ago. It appears as gold chrome when looking at it from the front, but looking from the ramp forward (inside out), it displays only a slight tint.
$517!!! Wooooah…
Take care,
Frank
LOL It would be like the Defense Department was building my model for me! I bet we could convince them to pay several thousand for some bare metal foil for the landing oleos and maybe even more for the Testors flat black paint!
Frank, do you happen to have a source for the tint you used? I have plenty of tint shops out here, but they all seem to just carry the silvered and platinum hues. Maybe you have some small scraps left over you’re just dying to send to another desparate modeler?!
Bri~
I’m in the wrong business!!!
No Kidding!
Well, being the weekend I’ll have to wait till Monday or Tuesday most likely before I hear back from the coating company again. Here’s to hope the take pitty on this poor Yank modeler and offer to do it for next to nothing!
LOL good luck!!! and here I thought I spent a lot of money on AM parts!!!
Well it HAS to be accurate right?! [%-)] I mean if I can’t have indium tin oxide windows what’s the point right?? RIGHT??? [banghead]
Seriously, I’ve just been trying to find any and all way to achieve as acurate a look as possible. I still don’t even know if this company can produce the look I’m going for or not. Anyway, it’s always fun for me to look into it just for the sake of curiosity. 
Brian~
After attending an air show and seeing a Night Hawk up close (as close as the armed MP would allow) I noticed that the effect is subtle. I simulated this tinting by mixing yellow artist ink and Future polish and airbrushed it on the canopy. I set the psi at 15 and the mix was one eye-dropper to 5 drops acrylic ink blended thouroughly and strained. The photo quality isn’t great but on the model the canopy is still crystal clear.
I’ve seen a nighthawk fairly close a few years back as well, and have scads of reference material showing the plane in flight and on the ground with various angles and different lighting on the canopy glass. I realize it is a subtle effect, but the mirroring is there and that is what I dearly hope to be able to figure out how to achieve. I will of course post any epiphanies that strike me while working out this little issue!
Bri~
P.S. Greg, your photo came out only as a red X. Can you post a URL direct to the photo instead?
You could also try apply the tinting to the inside of the canopy, then when looked at from the outside the reflectiveness of the Futured surface would give this mirror effect. Hey what a second…I’ll have to try it myself…of to the hobby bench. I’ll post any results.
Isn’t this where the tinted color would normally be sprayed anyway? (the inner surface I mean) I was under the impression that it was. I’ve given thought to the window tinting film but I’m worried about the extra darkenss the film will add to an already slightly tinted canopy.