How to remove canopy from EPP foam block
12-15-2003, 02:52 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
How to remove canopy from EPP foam block
I'm working on an EPP F-86 combat foamie. The raw fuselage includes an unshaped canopy bulge on the top that I'm planning to replace with a 7" clear plastic formed canopy. The plastic canopy will include a 1/12th painted plastic pilot, but if it proves to be too fragile for everyday use I may want to replace it with the original EPP foam.
What technique(s) and or tools can I use to remove the EPP canopy from the top of the fuselage but keep it as a single piece of foam in case I want to use it later on?
The fuselage is 2.5" wide and the unshaped part of the canopy is 1.5" high.
What technique(s) and or tools can I use to remove the EPP canopy from the top of the fuselage but keep it as a single piece of foam in case I want to use it later on?
The fuselage is 2.5" wide and the unshaped part of the canopy is 1.5" high.
12-15-2003, 07:19 AM
#2
RE: How to remove canopy from EPP foam block
The ideal way to do it is with a "Hot Bow". This is a device that looks like the bow from a Bow and Arrow, but the "String" is a piece of NiChrome wire that heats up and melts throught the foam. You would also need to create templates to guide the wire on for a smooth cut. All in all, it's a somwhat complicated system, but anything else is really going to mess up the foam.
If I were you, I'd just leave it as is.
If I were you, I'd just leave it as is.
12-15-2003, 11:47 AM
#3
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: How to remove canopy from EPP foam block
Hummm...that sounds like a lot of work just to salvage a piece of EPP foam that I may (or may not) need to re-use someday.
Since I really want this glider to look scale with a 1/12th pilot inside a clear canopy [I probably won't be doing any real combat] I need to remove the unshaped EPP bulge. I guess I'll just score the seams with a #11 Xacto blade, and then swap in progressively longer blades until the bulge comes lose.
Since I really want this glider to look scale with a 1/12th pilot inside a clear canopy [I probably won't be doing any real combat] I need to remove the unshaped EPP bulge. I guess I'll just score the seams with a #11 Xacto blade, and then swap in progressively longer blades until the bulge comes lose.
