It looks as though a replacement top will need to be moulded in clear plastic, after carving a master from a block of wood. Something I have only done a few times, and never for anything as large as the canopy on the FAB 1. Good luck.
Paul and Kevin have hit it on the head! Carved balsa is definitely the way to go, with a hard coat of polyester or epoxy resin polished up nicely (groan!). Cut two footprints out of 3mm MDF and sandwich your clear plastic sheet between them, heat it and push down over your balsa plug. I made a nice 1/3 scale TV cathode ray tube this way, but it IS a lot of work for a very nice result!
The only things I ever made using this technique were a few model aircraft canopies. There is a British company called Steve Flowers that makes various parts for die-cast models, in metal or plastic. Might be something in this range that might help. This range is often mentioned in the die-cast magazines.
It looks as though a replacement top will need to be moulded in clear plastic, after carving a master from a block of wood. Something I have only done a few times, and never for anything as large as the canopy on the FAB 1. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteYep, I did that to make a canopy for mine. Carve the shape in wood (balsa would do), heat a clear plastic sheet and press it firmly over it.
ReplyDeleteI'd suggest M'lady keeps the sherry under lock and key in future :)
ReplyDeleteNo-one seems to professionally repro the dome online.
ReplyDeleteYou might find a donor toy for a not unreasonable price at a toy fair if you're lucky. I saw one not that long ago for an ok price.
ReplyDeleteThese are the only repro parts I could find, the tail lights and the grille.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bigredtoybox.com/cgi-bin/s-mart.cgi?command=listitems&type=search&pos=0&search=Thunderbirds
ReplyDeletePaul and Kevin have hit it on the head! Carved balsa is definitely the way to go, with a hard coat of polyester or epoxy resin polished up nicely (groan!). Cut two footprints out of 3mm MDF and sandwich your clear plastic sheet between them, heat it and push down over your balsa plug. I made a nice 1/3 scale TV cathode ray tube this way, but it IS a lot of work for a very nice result!
ReplyDeleteThe only things I ever made using this technique were a few model aircraft canopies. There is a British company called Steve Flowers that makes various parts for die-cast models, in metal or plastic. Might be something in this range that might help. This range is often mentioned in the die-cast magazines.
ReplyDelete