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Monday, May 15, 2017

Goony X-15, Part 5, Canopy Fitting

Originally I thought this Goony X-15 might be a fun addition to the Odd'l Rockets line. It all hinged around the price of the X-15 decal from Quest. They wanted too much for the individual decal sheets and that in turn made the price of the kit too high.
I had carved a X-15 style canopy to make vacu-form canopies. This prototype build will get the only molded canopy I made.


Fitting the canopy to a nose cone took quite a while. It was more complicated than simply sanding around a body tube curve.
Why clear plastic? It's what I had on hand.






Medium CA glue was used to glue the canopy to the filled nose cone.
I kept a Q-tip handy to pick up any excess glue.
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7 comments:

  1. The MoleMay 15, 2017 at 5:31 PM

    Chris, why don't you do all of us a big favor an do a canopy
    pack with maybe two F-16 and two x-15 canopy in a pack or one each in a pack. I'm sure these would be welcome accessories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris MichielssenMay 17, 2017 at 12:04 AM

      Hi Frank,
      That could be a possibility, I was already playing around with that idea. Stay tuned!

      Delete
    2. The MoleMay 17, 2017 at 9:30 AM

      Hi Chris, I'm always staying tuned in on what you have in the pipe line.
      I was thinking about the decal problem you were talking about from Quest ( the Cost). Couldn't you make up your own decals by printing them out on white decal paper and do a black outline around the white letters and other drawn. Just a Thought.
      This and the G-16 would be great kits. Keep thinking about them.

      Delete
    3. Chris MichielssenMay 17, 2017 at 11:34 AM

      Hi Frank,
      The white (already on a white decal sheet) isn't fully opaque. On a black model like the X-15 you'd see a light grey where the white areas are.
      When a white decals is printed and transferred onto the model you also see a thin white outline around the sides of the decal.
      I've experimented with white decals and they aren't perfect. Any pluses are outweighed by the minuses.

      Delete
    4. Naoto KimuraMay 17, 2017 at 9:52 PM

      Okidata apparently makes a laser printer that can use white toner. OK, the price isn't what one would call cheap (only $3,400, but I've no idea on the price for the toner)
      http://mountaincow.com/shop.printers.C711WT.html

      Delete
    5. Naoto KimuraMay 17, 2017 at 9:57 PM

      I've heard from some folks that HP also makes a similar printer. But like the Okidata printer I previously mentioned, they're not something you'll find at the typical office supply store (similar to how it was like trying to find a vendor for ALPS printers and accessories).

      Delete
    6. Chris MichielssenMay 19, 2017 at 9:21 AM

      Hi Naoto,
      Good to know but way too expensive for me! You'd have to sell a LOT of white decals to re-coup the investment.

      Delete