One of the most annoying problems I have run into in building aircraft models, almost any type, almost any scale, is losing or ruining the canopy. Windows can be fixed, small parts like wheels or gear legs can be faked in, but the canopy just can’t be fixed after it’s lost, broken or damaged.

And here’s the fix for that problem. A replacement canopy. There are a number of available canopies in 1/72, 1/48 or 1/32, but 1/144??? Uh, no.

The Brengun canopy starts with a classy feature. The aircraft kit it’s meant for is molded into the vac-formed base of the canopy. So this one says “Dragon”.

I used an A-6 which I built a number of years ago. I removed the Dragon canopy for this project. I started out comparing the Brengun canopy with Dragon’s. The Brengun part looked a lot longer than the Dragon part. Then I realized that there’s a section between the windscreen and the canopy top which needs to be removed. I marked this with a marker when I took the photo. This makes it really easy, almost mandatory to build the canopy open.

The toughest part of this project was cutting the canopy from the surrounding material. Brengun gives you a very good demarcation line. But you’re going to need a GOOD magnifier to see it. This is 1/144, and you need a good magnifier for just about any project anyway.

I cut the canopy out using the same fine scissors I use for cutting small decals. I cut the extra stuff off, but not too close, then followed with a careful and slow cutting right to the canopy frame. It worked fine. I also had to cut the windscreen and canopy top from the divider portion. This also went well.

I then painted the new canopy to match the aircraft it was going on, and when it was dry I mounted it using Gator Glue.

Overall Evaluation – Highly Recommended.

If you’ve destroyed or lost the canopy for your Intruder, this is a life saver.

This canopy is thinner than the Dragon part, clearer, and just about requires the open canopy option. While the open canopy isn’t always the best idea for some 1/144 aircraft, in this case Dragon did provide a crew and seats. And if you’re doing this as part of the initial build, you probably need to think about a better interior for many 1/144 kits.

Many thanks to Brengun for this canopy, and to IPMS USA for the chance to review it.