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Just curious about this. I've always kept it transparent because I want to see the pilot, but lots of people paint over it, and some do a very good job of it. However I suspect that sometimes you have no choice, e.g. when you bought the model second-hand from someone who already glued the canopy over the unpainted cockpit.

I generally don't like unpainted cockpits simply because the clear plastic doesn't have the same depth or "luster" of real glass. I generally prefer a balance between the two, where the cockpit is tinted with color or completely painted with a removable top to reveal the pilot.

I like to keep the canopy windows clear, I always paint the canopy frames however, otherwise it looks like a toy part on the model.

I did paint a Eldar Crimson Hunter screen, as it had a choice of pilot for the type of plane. I magnetised the wings and tail, and couldn't be bothered to do the pilot too.

I just got very annoyed with my razorwing where, after painting all the interior and exterior and coming to fit the canopy, I discovered that the pilots head was slightly too tall and the canopy wouldn't sit right...

I left my Vendetta clear to see the pilots inside (painted frame). I painted the *inside* of my Storm Raven canopy to achieve a lustrous reflection of sky... in my eyes anyhow.

I wanted the Techmarine pilot bits for a TM conversion I made.

Always clear. It may not look perfectly like real glass, but painted inevitably looks like and wastes the interior detail.

Always clear. How else would you be able to see my work on the pilots?

Cheers,

CB

I'm thinking more about Arifix kits etc than gaming models, but I don't think I've ever even seen a painted canopy and I can't picture one that would look as good as painting the cockpit etc.

Crispy78 wrote:
I just got very annoyed with my razorwing where, after painting all the interior and exterior and coming to fit the canopy, I discovered that the pilots head was slightly too tall and the canopy wouldn't sit right...

UGH tell me about it, I'm having the same problem with my Voidraven.

-Guardsman- wrote:

Crispy78 wrote:
I just got very annoyed with my razorwing where, after painting all the interior and exterior and coming to fit the canopy, I discovered that the pilots head was slightly too tall and the canopy wouldn't sit right...

UGH tell me about it, I'm having the same problem with my Voidraven.

Argh, don't tell me that does the same! Have a voidraven waiting to be built, all I've done so far is build the cockpit and paint it...

I tend to fall on the side of painted - or at least tinted - canopies. I've got a large enough pile of stuff to paint that doing the cockpits and pilots would drag things out even longer, and the clear plastic just looks like exactly what it is - clear plastic. Starting to tint the canopies was largely influenced by doing Eldar Grav Tanks where the pilots are done in a very old Eldar style that I'm not too fond of, so I decided I'd rather hide them.

 Darth Bob wrote:
I generally don't like unpainted cockpits simply because the clear plastic doesn't have the same depth or "luster" of real glass. I generally prefer a balance between the two, where the cockpit is tinted with color or completely painted with a removable top to reveal the pilot.

Dip it into a bit of Johnson pledge clear (Klear across the pond).

LIke this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaimffwaR48

Never done it but I have always been tempted to do a gold tint on the eldar fliers i have on the to do pile. dont know if it would suit imperials though.

I do not currently have any Flyers but my plan for them when I do is to copy someone else when they did zenithal highlighting on the interior and then used Tamiya Green to tint the canopy.

I'll try to find a pic, it looked really good and is very little work.

Kale wrote:
Never done it but I have always been tempted to do a gold tint on the eldar fliers i have on the to do pile. dont know if it would suit imperials though.

Do itttttt....

What kind of paint is best to merely tint the canopy without making it opaque?

Transparent paint for that?
When I looked there are a few paint makers that make that.
Like these:
https://elementgames.co.uk/paints-washes-etc/vallejo-paints/model-color/model-color-transparent-paints

Always leave 'em clear wherever possible. My main disappointment with the Deathwatch plane is the lack of a clear canopy.

-Guardsman- wrote:
What kind of paint is best to merely tint the canopy without making it opaque?

Id use a Vallejo transparent paint, or you could thin a desire color with some medium or airbrush flow improver, to make it like a glaze. Guilliman glaze in the GW line might work, never tried it myself though.