Squadron 1/48
F-111 Crystal Clear Canopy

When you break or damage a canopy on your beloved project, what can you do? You can plead with the manufacturer or distributor for a replacement (and wait for some time with some of them), you could plead with your friends (local and online) to see if they might have a spare, and you still might end up with the same problems.

Squadron to the rescue. For those of you with a little experience working with vacuform parts, Squadron's Crystal Clear Canopies line just may have your replacement with some advantages. In some instances, such as the Tamiya 1/48 F4D Skyray, the canopy and windscreen are one piece, meaning that you cannot pose the cockpit with the canopy open. The solution is a Squadron canopy which can be posed closed or open, is scale thickness, and looks good to boot. Another example, such as the Tamiya 1/48 F4F Wildcat, the canopy is molded separate from the windscreen, but it is too thick to realistically pose open as it rests too high on the dorsal spine. I solved this problem with the Squadron canopy and the result is perfect.

In this release, the Academy 1/48 F-111 canopy is molded in one piece. This is fine if you don't want to show off the interior, but the surgery required to open the canopy is risky at best and still leaves you with unrealistically thick transparencies. This release is a direct replacement for the kit canopy and will enable you to add some realistic touches and to show off the interior. The set includes a one-piece windscreen and canopy door assembly, just like the kit's, but in scale thickness with better clarity. An additional set of gull wing doors are included just in case your surgery to open the canopy goes south. This release will work with any of the Academy F-111 variants.

You can purchase this canopy or any of the others in Squadron's extensive line-up from your favorite hobby shop or directly from Squadron Mail Order.

My sincere thanks to Squadron Mail Order for this review sample!