Tamiya 1/32nd F-16 canopy question

If I use the smoke colored canopy included in the kit, will sanding the seam down the middle, polishing and dipping in future work or will ruin the smoke color?

Hey JWest,
When I did my 48th 16, I chose the smoked canpoy as well. After sanding the seam and dipping it in future, the colour/canopy was not ruined.
So to answer your question, the smoked canopy should not be ruined.
I would caution though to you take your time in sanding the canopy…!!
Flaps up, Mike

The canopy isn’t clear tented plastic. The canopy is molded in smoke colored plastic. Any sanding or polishing will not effect the color.

Great- that’s what I was hoping but I thought I should check before ruining something that cost me that much!

Interesting they don’t mold it in a clolor closer to the bronze indium-tin oxide that is used on the actual aircraft. Same coatings used on the F-117A glazing too.

I have tried mixing tamiya gold in with the future with some success. The trick is to not shake the paint jar so that all the metal flakes are settled on the bottom. It gives it a slight yellowish/gold tint

Funny, I remember one day I was hanging out at Ellington Field near Houston, and ran into a couple of Guard pilots of my acquaintance. One said, “Come look at this.” There, on the ramp, were two transient F-16’s wearing Edwards AFB tail codes. For some reason, the canopies were covered with tarps, which is an odd thing for a/c flying cross country to be carrying. But the tarps didn’t cover well, and when you got close you could see this gold tinted canopy, at the time (late 80s, just before the F-117 was unveiled to the public) unknown on US military a/c. The two officers told me the pilots had requested a guard be put on the a/c, but when I saw the gold canopies the guards had not arrived yet. After the details of the F-117 became more and more public, I remembered those F-16s back in 1987 or 88.
Tom

Cool story!

According to my kid, who works on F-16 CJs for the 389th FS, the canopy color changes with time, kind of like those car window tints that start out looking great, but are purple or pink after a few years. He tells me he’s seen the transparencies grey, gold and even sometimes with a rose-colored hue. (a fighter jock’s version of looking at life through rose-colored glasses?)

Nice thing about the Tamiya kit… we can experiment with one transparency and still have one in reserve.