Hi, All,
After I replaced the front cockpit clear window piece with individual mullions, I ran into the problem of how to get realistic-looking window panes. I tried using glaze, but it produced recessed window panes as shown below. This was unsatisfactory because the window panes on the C-130 (and many other aircraft) are flush with the skin of the aircraft. Also the glaze is difficult to apply to large openings, especially ones that are slanted, so it looked really bad on the front three panes.
In desperation, I tried using clear food wrap. I applied a bead of Future around the window openings with a small brush and then stretched the film across it, as shown in the photo below. That worked very well. The food wrap clings to the plastic but the Future doesn't dry right away so you have time to stretch it and get out any wrinkles. Also, the Future can be re-applied and it won't cloud the edges of the food wrap.
I trimmed the film about 0.5 mm away from the panes. Below are the finished windows on my model. This was tricky because I had to apply them over a painted surface.
This technique gives a nice clear and flat window surface that is flush with the outer skin. And it's durable (so far) and easy to clean. So far, however, I haven't figured out how to mask the windows before painting - the mask would have to be a material with a very weak adhesive, or none at all. I'll be experimenting to see what I can find.
If you want to do the portholes, they should be done from the inside. I would grind and sand down the inside surface around each porthole to about 0.5 mm thickness first; otherwise, the windows will look too deep. Since I already had a lot of detail inside, I couldn't do this and had to use glaze instead.
If you should decide to try this food wrap technique, please post your results, opinions, and any suggestions here.
Thanks and Cheers,
Russ