A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: SIMPLE TASKS, CANOPIES AND COCK-UPS…

3rd October 2025

Today’s job should have been a straightforward task that turned out to be anything but: tinting a canopy. Superficially easy, this is something that I’ve carried out a few times in the past, mostly with a degree of success, little fuss, or need for too much time at the bench. If only that had been the case this afternoon…

The model I am now completing needs a tinted canopy. The kit includes only clear parts, whereas the real jet had a darkened dome of plexiglass that was I am sure something of a novelty back in the day. Add into the mix a lovely seam that needed to be scraped, sanded and then polished away, and you’ll no doubt have some idea of how long this simple task took me to complete.

Of course as usual I didn’t help myself. I’d actually cleaned up a canopy, but broke off one of the mounts. The canopy was repaired, painted to an acceptable standard and then that fragile mount, broken once more. So I had a choice: repair the mount, or accept that the finish wasn’t that great, was a compromise and I should start again. That cock-up, unwelcome as it was might actually result in a better model so I started over. A spare canopy was cleaned up and then the insides sprayed with a layer of Tamiya Smoke, tinted with a drop of Clear Orange, thinned with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner. Job done.

I then check the canopy…

Though I liked the colour, I noticed some fluff in the finish, which though tiny, completely ruined the look of the canopy. The part was therefore stripped and resprayed. More fluff. Another respray. Third time’s a charm. Finish was smooth, colour where I needed it to be and thankfully, this time, fluff-free! And then I caught the insides with my finger. More stripping and another repaint. Thankfully, I now had something that looked acceptable, if not entirely perfect.

As it stands, the canopy is drying out on my desk ready to be masked in the morning and the canopy frames sprayed in place. By then, the finish should be tough enough to work around without my big fat fingers damaging its surface. That will then complete the model, the final detail from an involved and wonderfully engaging project.

See you tomorrow.