capdragon Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 OK, lesson learned - some masking tapes work well, some not, and some "off brands" can wreck your week. Grabbed the wrong roll of tape to mask the canopies for this build- sprayed great - looked good. Till I removed the tape, or rahter tried to remove it. Ended up with plastic that could pass for being stepped on and ground into the floor. Crazed and jagged. I've tried to get a contact for ESCI, Scale Craft Models but have had no success. So I need to find a replacement set of clear. Any one have suggestions, other than "Next time, idiot,...." lol Thanks JR I'm also posting in the Market Place Quote Link to post Share on other sites
j-basset Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 capdragon, As a last resort, Squadron has a vacform A-4M canopy, which may save the day. Click HERE Jason Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trojansamurai Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Wow, you've got a really old issue of the kit! Unfortunately, neither Esci nor ScaleCraft (the US importer back in the 80s) exist anymore. By the way, the canopy in that kit is not the right shape for an A-4M/N -- it's for an A-4E/F. If you plan to build it as an accurate M/N, you're better off trying to get a Hasegawa 1/48 M canopy. But, you'll need to do some modification to the cockpit sill for it to be accurate. Otherwise, you can try to get a Hasegawa or Monogram A-4E/F canopy, which should be more readily available. Either one will fit the Esci **reasonably well** with a little bit of adjustment, as the Esci cockpit area is a little narrow. But what exactly is wrong with the kit part? Is it physically damaged, or is it just the paint finish? If it's the latter, you should just polish the blemishes out with rubbing compound and repaint it. Is the crazing due to chemical etching of the plastic (happens if you use lacquer thinner), or is it just the glue from the tape? Even the crazing can often be sanded and polished out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trojansamurai Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Oh, yeah...forgot about the Squadron vacform canopies. They're your best bet as they are flexible enough to match the dimensions of the Esci. But as stated before, if you get the M/N canopy, you'll need to modify the cockpit area. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
capdragon Posted December 19, 2006 Author Share Posted December 19, 2006 yeahhhh, this will do it. I had overlooked squadron. Thanks much, it's apprecaited. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
capdragon Posted December 19, 2006 Author Share Posted December 19, 2006 You're right - but I was using the kit name to find the glass. It's built as an E - bout the only thing left is the decals, so its a bit late to go to a new kit. As for the crazing, tried rubbing out, etc, nada almost seems to go all the way thru. Thaks for the suggestions JR Quote Link to post Share on other sites
j-basset Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 OK. Falcon Industries has a modern USN aircraft canopy set, which has a A-4B/E canopy but it's pricey if youre only needing one canopy. Check HERE Jason Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 BTW, for the record Falcon makes the Squadron canopies. Falcon does them in the sets while Squadron breaks them up for individual sale. If Falcon makes a B/C canopy, then that should work fine for an A-4E. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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