Small Scale Military Headquarters

Hi I just got a loose F-18, the canopy seems loose and cannot stay shut .(when I flip the plane it will open)

As I don't have a new one to compare with, can anyone tell me if it is 'normal'
or is there a way to tighten the hinges?

And is there anyway to fix the problem besides using double sided tape?

Cheers

ya it is normal i tape it

Hi Black_Dragon_One,

thanks for the reply.

The loose canopy is normal for the BBI F-18. I solved my problem by carefully spreading a very thin amount of super glue gel along the framing of the front windscreen. I then let it dry. The dried glue created friction points that held the canopy in place. It also was not visible.

No offense to themanthegreat but if you get superglue any where near clear plexi its going to fog up on you. Th only way to avoid it is to use a "Zip Kicker" on the glue immediatly after and then there are no promises it still won't fog. What I tried was to get some of the Blue Poster Putty take a small amount and roll it between you fingers or a hard surface. and roll it till it is about 1/16" thick string. Then line the putty along the front part of the Canopy Then close the Canopy and any putty that smashes out rub off with a little of the putty or your finger.

The putty sounds like a good idea. I had no problem with the fogging on the canopy as a result of the superglue. I also used a tiny amount

Will try the putty tonight, maybe also a bit of putty at the hinges so that it can stay in the open position.

If only I have the skills to do what MiG29K has done.
viewtopic.php?t=4296&start=0&postdays=0 ... f18+canopy

I did the same Canopy lift units on all of my Hornets. After four You get Pretty good at it. Now I am going to turn my 4th Hornet into a D model.
I know what I am going to do to the fuselage. Its just Vacuum forming the Canopy and making the template might get interesting.

wolf8564, the f18D will be an awesome model!!! I hope you will share the pictures on this forum when you finish!
I wanted to make sure I wasn't confusing the "D" model with another variant, and found these pictures.
Good luck!
http://www.airplane-pictures.net/type.php?p=1249

Yep that would be the one. Just need to figure out what Marine Squadron
to make it. Got a little time before I get to that point. Any Ideas?

Vince....if it helps any...in the MiG-29k posting cited above (a few posts down) we talked about removing the canopy. Its easier than you think, but don't try and force it too much or you risk breaking it. The way I cured the "floppy canopy" was simply too...I just added two thin "shims" of flat styrene cemented to the outside of the "hinges" (really nothing more than knobs on the inside face of the two hinge points). It tightens the fit up and lets you pretty much open the canopy as far as you want and it stays there. If you want to go the extra mile, you can fabricate the actuater like he and I did and it adds that extra umph. Not sure if MiG-29K did, but I also added the acnopy framing, canopy jettison rockets, video cameras and mirrors to the frame as well. Unfortunately, I hit a snag with that radar try and nose cone....got frustrated, and boxed everything up for now. Other projects were waiting (some still are) but there is some progress. Lately its been the F-14 from JSI demanding all my attention (and I think MiG-29K too) but that Hornet keeps calling me back. Good luck...let me know if you need additional info....anytime.

Wolf....I was always partial to this paint scheme for a "D" project...
http://www.militaryaircraft.de/pictures ... A-18D.html
Third one from the top....
Boeing F/A-18D Hornet (165532), Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 225 [VMFA(AW)-225] "Vikings", United States Marine Corps (USMC), MCAS Miramar, CA.

Vince Chua-... Folkewulfe by the way was the point-man behind the Canopy removal. That dude had some serious Cojones to do that esp since it was hard to tell how delicate the plastic was. It seemed brittle enough to snap but I was wrong. Folkewulfe and I go wayyy back. He definitely has excellent pointers and experiments a lot. Right now between work and other things, I've slowly toyed around with the F-14.

Folkwulfe wrote:Vince....if it helps any...in the MiG-29k posting cited above (a few posts down) we talked about removing the canopy. Its easier than you think, but don't try and force it too much or you risk breaking it. The way I cured the "floppy canopy" was simply too...I just added two thin "shims" of flat styrene cemented to the outside of the "hinges" (really nothing more than knobs on the inside face of the two hinge points). It tightens the fit up and lets you pretty much open the canopy as far as you want and it stays there. If you want to go the extra mile, you can fabricate the actuater like he and I did and it adds that extra umph. Not sure if MiG-29K did, but I also added the acnopy framing, canopy jettison rockets, video cameras and mirrors to the frame as well. Unfortunately, I hit a snag with that radar try and nose cone....got frustrated, and boxed everything up for now. Other projects were waiting (some still are) but there is some progress. Lately its been the F-14 from JSI demanding all my attention (and I think MiG-29K too) but that Hornet keeps calling me back. Good luck...let me know if you need additional info....anytime.

Wow!!! Great to see replies from the 3 masters Folkwulfe, wolf8564 and MiG29K.
And of course other replies from tmanthegreat and 456THBG
whom may be masters too but I haven't been on this forum long enough to find out. But I'll be!!!

I'll probably try the 'easier' method suggested by Folkwulfe. I don't have the skills to try what MiG29K has done. Amazing

Thank you so much!!!

Dude....I think I speak for everyone when I say "That's what we are here for." You're welcome.

Folkwulfe wrote:Dude....I think I speak for everyone when I say "That's what we are here for." You're welcome.

What he said.

This is what forums are all about,and I have gained an awful lot in my year plus here.

vince_chua, thanks for the mention, but I'm no master when it comes to modeling (or anything else now that I think about it), but I definitely admire those who are!