Ken wrote: "Even the best pilot figures can't see through balsa."
Just to clarify, a plastic pilot can't see through a clear plastic canopy either...
I agree with Ken that the early models with actual plastic canopies looked great. But is is a real chore to carve a custom mold, then pour a female mold around that, then pour an aluminum filled epoxy mold into that, and then find a vacuum machine with which to make the canopy. It's also getting difficult to find good CAB with which to make the canopy. So, if someone does all that I'm impressed.
On the other hand, if a builder cannot find a suitable canopy for a given model and chooses to paint on the canopy, that's fine by me as well. I'd rather see these old models reproduced with a painted on canopy rather than not reprised at all.
I had a "jet" (with an actual plastic canopy that I molded...) design just a couple of years before Dave's T-38. It was the F-105 Thunderchief. Photos attached. These photos, by the way, were taken by legendary Flying Models Editor, Don McGovern!
Later - Bob Hunt