clear domec for 22" Enterprise

[dibber27]

Has anyone used the squadron thermaform sheets. I need to make the clear domes for my 22" TOS Enterprise and was wondering if this would work.

[en'til Zog]

AS far as I know, the thermoform stuff they sell should work nicely for vacuforming a dome. If you try the "cram and jam" technique, heating a sheet, holding it firmly, and jamming it down over a dome shaped form it might not. Hot plastic sheet will drape over the top of the dome and at some point become a cone shape with a round 'point'. You will probably need a real vacuform machine/gadget to get a true hemispherical dome, which you can build but that's a bit of work for a single project. You could try and jam a round form down over the hot plastic, sort of punching the dome form up through the heated plastic to get more of a dome, but that might drive you nuts before you get two good domes.

Plastruct and/or Engineering Model Associates have domes in all sizes, if you can find 'em in their web site. Also, they're thick walled.

[TER-OR]

Yeah, it works pretty well. Be prepared to waste a couple sheets, though. Also wear some heat-resistant gloves. You'll want to try to pinch the plastic around the base of the part to get the whole thing. I've done plastic canopies this way many times.

You might want to get a couple packs of the thermoform...

Or ask around whether anyone here has a vacuform machine and would be willing to do a replacement with it.

[dibber27]

Thanks I found the plastruct web site and it looks like they make the exact size i need so Im going to try that.