Pavla 1/72 CAC Boomerang & MiG-23UB Vacuformed Canopies
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Overview
Injection plastic has to be a certain thickness, and while for the main kit parts this is not an issue, it tends to make the canopy parts appear too thick and out of scale. To answer this problem, we have vacuformed canopies. These are created by taking thin plastic, heating it up, and using a vacuum to pull it around a mold. The result are canopies that are much thinner than injection parts, thus giving a more realistic appearance.
V72-99: MiG-23UB for ART Model
The ART Model 1/72 MiG-23UB is a very nice kit, and is easily the most accurate 1/72 Mig-23UB out there (yes, it is also the only two-seat MiG-23 available, but still). While the overall level of detail in the kit is good, the canopy definitely could stand replacing. This set provides a very thin and very clear replacement for the ART Model kit canopy, which will help show off the detailed cockpit quite nicely.
V72-100: CAC CA-12/13 Boomerang
Special Hobby used to provide vacuformed canopies in their kits, but most new releases now include injection-molded canopies. While these are some of the better clear parts in the industry, they're still a bit out of scale, thickness-wise. This canopy takes care of that with a nice vacuformed replacement.
Conclusion
These vacuformed canopies offer some very useful updates to the models, and if you are spending some extra effort on the cockpit, a vacuformed canopy definitely is worth the investment. My thanks to Pavla for the review samples.