I was working on these model tugboats last night, looking for a way to do the bridge windows without having to add interior detail.
Aside: I'm always on the lookout for stuff in toy stores, junk shops and yard sales. In this case I found two great little wind-up tug boats that you'd use in the tub. Although toys, they are well proportioned and scale out to 75 ft. in N. Just right for pushing rail floats, or that laker I (eventually) plan to build. File off the chunky details, add a winch, bollards, tires, ladders, and presto! Two convincing model tugs. But I digress.
I'm always tearing stuff apart to see what's inside. I did that to my first train set and boy did I catch hell. My dad actually hid them away (they were more his than mine anyway) and I didn't find them till years later. Hornby-Triang no less. A Princess and several coaches . But once again, I digress.
So... I was pulling apart this old floppy disk, actually going after the metal guard which is aluminum (you can never have enough metal parts) when I noticed how shiny the disk material is. I think it's called mylar, but I'm too lazy to check.
Well, boy howdy, this stuff works great for windows. It's black, so you don't see inside, but it's got such high reflectivity that it acts like a mirror. You look at the bridge on these boats and you'd swear it was real glass, the way it catches the light.
So next I try it on an F-7 shell, and again, it looks great. Now, you might not want it in the windscreen or cab sides - that's a matter of preference - but you definitely want some in the portholes, and it's thin enough that you can do that. Shiny glass portholes - no need to paint the motor frame! Huzzah! Another place you can use it is on those solid pewter vehicles. Instead of painting the windows black, just glue in some of this stuff. I might use it on all my vehicles actually. Never did like the look of clear styrene.
I can see this stuff working all over the place. Haven't tried it on a building yet to see if wide expanses look good, and I can't vouch for it in the larger scales, but give it a try. You might like it. Best of all, it contains no PCBs !
Mac B. Vancouver BC
PS: Ship modelers take note. A lot of us use stick-on windows and portholes. Try this stuff instead. It's thin enough, and it has a better shine.