The Little World

And that’s not a good thing…

The pretty looking set of canopies with this Special Hobby kit were superb. Clear and precise, with well-defined framing. I was looking forward to painting them – perhaps masking them in place for a change.

As with all anticipated pleasures, it attracted the attention of a malign universe. One day after a visit to the club I found I could not find them in the box. Nor in the club. Nor in the home workshop. Gone.

And the kit was well past the time limit set by the makers to supply replacement canopies.

I tried several ploys – ratting through the spare parts at the club – no luck.

Looking for inexpensive Mustangs in the hobby shop – the Hobby Boss type – to supply canopies. No luck. Who would have thought that Hobby Boss P-51’s would dry up?

I briefly thought of plunge moulding, but rejected it as a desperate last resort. I did not want to have to tarp my Alaska interceptor and advertise my clumsiness.

Fortunately a seller in Florida had sets of Squadron vac-form canopies for this plane. I think they were intended for Monogram models but beggars cannot be choosers. I risked the eBay sale and the postage and settled down to wait. The plane could be run upon to the point where canopies needed to be fitted, and the missing portion of fuselages just forward of the canopies scratch-built.

That was a labour of loathe, but surprisingly successful. Plastic strips to form a roughly cylindrical shape and then the angularities filled with Mr. Putty. If you know that you are going to have to do something, you can do it.

I am going to adopt the practice in the future of bagging all the clear parts and taping the bag to the inside of the kit box until the very last moment.