[firefighterpilot1]

Originally Posted by jjgilz

They're coming to the US finally! We should have them by Tuesday and will ship out on the same day! WooHoo...I can't wait to see them in person finally!

Jeff
Aim Higher Jets

Is this the moonlighters A-6? Any news on the VA-115 bird?

[jjgilz]

Originally Posted by firefighterpilot1

Is this the moonlighters A-6? Any news on the VA-115 bird?

We've been told to expect the VA-115 bird to arrive late next week. However, we are now not expecting the F-14 Black Aces model until after Christmas.

Take Care,
Jeff
AimHigherJets.com

[Black 6]

My "Moonlighters" A-6 arrived this afternoon (thank Heavens I am home on vacation and can intercept the deliveries now), What a nice model it is. If I have one negative thing to say, and this criticism is shared among many of the manufacturers, is that they need to do a better job protecting the clear canopies from scratches during shipping. This bird's canopy has a multitude of scratches from the hard clamshell plastic shipping "case." Come-on vendors, put a small piece of "Glad Wrap" or something over the friggin' canopies PLEASE!

Other than that, this is a beautiful example of an A-6 with nice tail-art and weapons load. It looks great next to my CW F-14 #210. Buy it, you won't regret it.

[smartd]

Originally Posted by Black 6

If I have one negative thing to say, and this criticism is shared among many of the manufacturers, is that they need to do a better job protecting the clear canopies from scratches during shipping. This bird's canopy has a multitude of scratches from the hard clamshell plastic shipping "case." Come-on vendors, put a small piece of "Glad Wrap" or something over the friggin' canopies PLEASE!

That's something for the manufacturer to remedy. CW are you listening? This is not the first complaint about these scratches.

[aki]

Originally Posted by firefighterpilot1

Any news on the VA-115 bird?

It has already been released last weekend.

[tripoli]

To get the scratches out, you can get an acrylic polish called Novus polish. They make three grades, you will need the medium # 2 formula and the Cleaner # 1 formula. Using a Q-tip, you can buff the scratches right out. You have to be careful not to touch the painted area or you can buff the paint out as well. Just using light circular motions with the polish, you can get the scratches out and have it looking almost optically clear. If you search with google, you can find many stores that have it available over the web. Its a super polish for such clean ups and repairs to model cockpit canopies.

[Black 6]

Originally Posted by tripoli

To get the scratches out, you can get an acrylic polish called Novus polish. They make three grades, you will need the medium # 2 formula and the Cleaner # 1 formula. Using a Q-tip, you can buff the scratches right out.

Thanks for the info Tripoli. Novus sounds like an auto polish product for some reason. I'm going to a hobby store today and will see if they have it.

BTW, I have tried toothpaste on another canopy and that didn't work for me. I don't know if the scratches were too deep, but it did leave my airplane smelling minty fresh.

[tripoli]

This is what you are going to want to use:
Novus Plastic Cleaners

The number 3 is for heavy deep scratches, you will not need it for a model like this. The number two should work quite well and you won't need to use much downward force when polishing. The number one is more of a cleaner and anti-static wash.

[Black 6]

Perfect! I went to HobbyCity today and found all three "blends." I bought the #2 version as that sounded the most appropriate in this case. I asked one of the clerks and he didn't know personally about it, but said he has had several customers say it works great. I'll let you know how I fare.

[Black 6]

I am now a believer in the Novus products for taking care of canopy scratches. I used the #2 solution on my scratched A-6 canopy and it now looks fantastic. I then took on my CW F-14's canopy and it polished-out all but the deepest scratches (must need the #3 solution).

Thanks Tripoli for the great tip.