Harrier Vacu Canopy (Revell)

Published on
October 1, 2014
Review Author(s)
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$4.99
Product / Stock #
BRL144090
Base Kit
Revell
Company: Brengun - Website: Visit Site
Provided by: Brengun - Website: Visit Site
Canopy package

Many of us have had the distinct displeasure of ruining a canopy. I once dropped one on the floor and stepped on it. There is also the great possibility of getting CA fumes on the inside or some other adhesive which will either melt, craze or deform the canopy into uselessness. And then there’s the one where you open a kit you bought at a swap meet to find no clear parts inside.

You can find replacement canopies for “large scale” kits, including 1/32, 1/48 or 1/72, but there have been almost no canopies in 1/144. Brengun seems to be taking a position in this market.

The canopy comes as a vac-formed item raised above the back plastic. I used decal scissors to remove the canopy from the backing. There is a pretty good indication of where to cut, so I didn’t worry much about getting it wrong. The canopy is also designed to be displayed open, and there’s a band of scrap plastic between the windscreen and the canopy. When the time came, this was also easy to cut with decal scissors.

A WORD OF WARNING

When I started this project, I had a Dragon AV-8 already built. OK, I would just put the new canopy on the finished model. Uhhh, no. The Brengun canopy is larger than the Dragon item. So I compared it to the Algernon Harrier. Also Brengun is bigger. So I went into the stash and found a Revell Harrier. But this one was a GR.1, originally the Crown kit. And Brengun was still bigger.

So I finally ordered the Revell Germany kit from the local hobby shop. After a couple of “out of stock” replies, they got one for me. And the canopies are the same size. So when Brengun says “Revell”, they mean Revell, not Revell/Crown, Dragon, or Algernon.

Painting

I masked the canopy and painted it as I painted the dark gray on the Harrier. The divider between the front and back was easy to paint because it was a LOT wider than normal. After painting, I cut the two parts out with decal scissors. Again, it was just ….easy.

Finishing

I put the painted parts on the fuselage top, and they fit just fine. I used Micro Krystal Kleer to attach the parts. Worked fine, and the Krystal Kleer also filled any spots where the parts didn’t exactly match.

And it looks great. It even shows off the Revell interior.

Overall Evaluation

Recommended. If you need a canopy for your “tiny” Harrier, this product is easy to use, fits great and would work fine for a diorama. I just would think real hard before using the open canopy and landing gear up.

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

Comments

Add new comment

All comments are moderated to prevent spam


This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.