Calling all pilots!
I think a pilot and clear canopy really dresses up an RC model. Carving out of pink EPS foam is actually very easy. There is only two things to remember, have a sharp knife and have a sharp knife. If you are interested in learning to carve there is no better or easier to work with medium, at lest in my opinion. It's pretty forgiving and doesn't dull the blade too quickly. Also if you really mess up, all you have to do is hot glue on a new piece. In fact after I installed this pilot, his head was a bit too tall, so I gave it a chop, cut a little excess off, then glued it right back on. If I wouldn't have told you, you'd never guessed it.
A sharp blade is more important then patience
A sharp blade is more important then patience. If you find yourself getting frustrated in cutting details, or the foam starts bunching up and compressing, stop! Grab your stone and sharpen up your blade. The foam should cut smooth and quickly, making this pilot only took about 15 minutes, and much of that time was pausing to take pictures.
The way this whole process works is pretty simple, just draw a shape, trace it with the knife (don't worry about cutting too deep, then cut away the area around the shape leaving the high shape.
The canopy plug is made the very same way, except I mainly use the hot wire and an electric sander to take off most of the foam. The plug is then greased with petroleum jelly and set on the vacuum table. The plastic is heated then sucked down onto the plug. I do it exactly as show on this web page.
Duct tape added just for show.
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