Cutting the tissue strips using a straight edge and a new blade.
John Ernst
Over the past few years, I’ve become fascinated with modeling WWII Pacific dive bombers, both American and Japanese. One of the characteristics of these planes, especially the early types is the large ’greenhouse’ canopy covering the cockpit area. The project I’ll be using for this example is a Mitsubishi Ki-30 "Ann" built from the Dave Diels kit.
At first, this presented a particular challenge, but after trying a couple of different methods, I've begun using one that continues to provide results I’m satisfied with. I certainly can’t claim to be the author of this method, but it does work for me, and maybe documenting it with some photos, others will find it useful as well.
Since the opacity of the tissue is so weak, I always use two layers or tissue for the framing. The two pieces of tissue are adhered together with either spray adhesive, or glue stick - builder’s choice. If you have covered the plane with the shiny side of the tissue facing out, just make sure that one of the ’out’ sides of the tissue you’ve bonded together will match. At this time I smear glue stick all over the side of the tissue that will attach to the clear plastic canopy, and set this aside to dry overnight.
Once dry, I use a metal edge and brand new blade to slice strips of tissue from the 2-ply you've created. Slice several strips at the same time. I align the metal edge by ’eye’ for making sure they are parallel, but you can tick off measurements if you feel less confident.
I have always attached the framing tissue to a canopy that is securely in place on the plane. Not only does it free up your second hand to help align tissue, but when the canopy is not on the plane, it becomes too flexible to provide a rigid surface to work with. Of course, your results may vary if you should like to experiment.
Once the strips are cut, I tend to apply the long horizontal framing members first. Typically, I wet one of the ends with saliva on my finger to make sure I've got the correct side of the tissue facing the canopy. Sometimes thin strips of tissue get twisted and bent after you slice them, and trying to attach them when the glue is on the 'wrong' side is frustrating. I tack the tissue in place with the wet end holding it to the canopy, and ’float’ rubbing alcohol with a paint brush across the rest of the strip. Make sure to leave extra length on the tissue for trimming off later, and do both sides of the canopy at the same time so the vertical strips can be applied in one piece from one side to the other. You can see in the photo below, the excess tissue on both front and back of the canopy.
After the horizontal strips are applied, the verticals along with any unique or curved shapes can be added. In this particular example, the canopy is broken into four moveable sections on the real plane. At the separation of these panels, the framing is twice as wide as the typical framing members. These strips are cut at the same time as the others, just making sure they are the appropriate thickness. Like the horizontal strips, the vertical strips are left long, and pass from below the canopy on one side to the same on the opposite. These tissue ’tangs’ will be sliced off later, after the closing strips around the base of the canopy are in place.
In the above photo, the intermediate vertical strips have begun to be added, and the extra length of tissue can be seen.
The unique shape or curved framing members can be added at this time. These are typically around the front of the canopy at the pilot’s position, or in the rear by the gunner. The thin strips are pliable enough for them to be persuaded to curve in the direction and shape needed. It might take some time to massage them into position, or you may have to adjust the shape you're trying to replicate to one that is more forgiving with the characteristics of wet tissue.
Next, I attach the closing strip(s) of tissue around the complete base of the canopy. This is done so part of the tissue is on the plastic canopy, and the remainder is on the base tissue of the plane. This helps to secure all the vertical strip ends so they eventually don’t work themselves loose, and it also helps to attach the canopy and close the gaps around the plastic. You can see in the attached photo, the closer strips have been added, but the vertical strips have not been trimmed.
Once the closer strips are dry, you’ll notice these strips overlap the ends also. They can be trimmed back for a clean look. I use a single edge blade resting on the strip at the line to be cut, then using a pair of tweezers, pull the excess along the blade for a clean cut. You can see this in the photo below.
Finally, the last photo shows the complete plane with canopy finished.
I hope this provide an easy and quick way for others to replicate canopy framing.
If anyone has any comments or suggestions for improvement, I’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to contact me at:
jjernst@verizon.net