Looking for scratbuilt canopy frames...

When it comes to 1/144 scale canopies, I prefer to make my own. The canopies in that scale are very distorted and far too thick (several inches by scale) to be usable anyway. Usually, the shape is acceptable, so the kit part isn't a total loss.

To make my canopies, I fill the kit canopy with Silly Putty and put it on a piece of sprue clamped vertically into a bench vise. I heat up a piece of clear plastic using a candle and stretch it down over the kit canopy. I crank out several of these at a time, pick the best one and scrap the rest.

If you do it right, the resulting canopies even retain some of the frame detail (at least enough to work with). If not, then I make the frame using Bare Metal Foil or cellophane box tape. The thickness of both the foil and tape work nicely in 1/144 scale, are easy to work with and hold up nicely.

The best part is that the plastic I use comes from common blister packs. Since almost everything is packaged in blisters these days, I always have a source of free material to work with. Call it a poor man's vacu-form substitute.

I'd just mask it and paint. Or you could go free hand which, given the small size of the model, should be a breeze.

No vac canopies exist for 144th that I know of, and using strips of masking tape would work, but they may lift after a while (unless you seal them with say, a coat of Future). Besides, the physical relief of canopy frames in 144th would be barely discernable, similar to what you mentioned about panel lines. So the tape may be a bit thick for the scale.

But that's a matter of personal preference. Whenever I build a tiny scale kit, I choose to highlight the panel lines as a matter of aesthetics. Overscale panel lines can look really good on a small scale model, overscale canopy frames may not.

Why don't you try the masking tape thing. Cut some strips to size, paint them and them put 'em on. See how they look. If you don't like it, take 'em off and then paint 'em. (Masked or free-hand).


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