1:72 F-16CG/CJ

A bubble canopy with no transverse frame

The single-engine Fighting Falcon was given a cockpit of a kind that had not been usual until then: a single piece of formed plastic with no transverse brace, set high above the nose. Thanks to it the pilot can see to the rear over his own shoulder, which in a turning fight was considered a decisive advantage. The designation CG belongs to machines equipped for night attacks on ground targets, while CJ is carried by versions specialized in the suppression of air defenses; both come from the same airframe and differ mainly in equipment and stores.

Where the problem lies in the build

It is precisely because the canopy has no dividing frames that the model tempts you to mask it roughly. Yet this is exactly where the eye notices every uneven edge: the windscreen passes into the canopy along a single narrow line, and that line has to stay straight along its whole length. A pre-cut shape holds the line by itself. The target kit is the product of Academy in 1:72 scale. The covering concerns the outer surface, which on a bubble canopy is amply enough; the inner side will be hidden anyway by the frame of the seat and the headrest frame. Anyone building a model with the canopy slid back will appreciate that the shape can be applied to the separated part and left to dry away from the fuselage.

Advice on the work

First try fitting the clear part dry and note where it seats on the fuselage. Lay the template so that it registers with that line, not with the edge of the plastic. Apply the paint in two thin coats. Once you take the shape off, go over the edge with a magnifier; slight bleeding is easily put right by scraping with the tip of a scalpel. The package holds masking material only; the model is sold separately.