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Pre-Cut Canopy Masks for Various Kits & Scales 1:72 & 1:48 Special Mask by Special Hobby Some modellers are a little bit phobic about masking the canopies of our models to keep them crystal clear during the building and painting process, as they can be tricky if you’re inexperienced or a bit ham fisted. Special Hobby have created their own Special Mask line to help with that, and we’ve got a bundle of them in the review queue in various scales. Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks give you a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. In addition, you usually get a set of hub/tyre masks for the wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. They each arrive in a resealable clear foil bag with a card header behind and a sheet of instructions sandwiched between them. F-84F Thunderstreak Canopy & Wheel Mask (M72049 for Special Hobby) A-20G/K Havoc/Boston Canopy & Wheel Mask (M72021 for Special Hobby) Super Mystère B2 Canopy & Wheel Mask (M48021 for Azur Frrom/Special Hobby) Seafire Mk.XV Canopy & Wheels Mask (M48019 for Special Hobby) T-2 Buckeye Inside/Outside Canopy & Wheel Mask (M48018 for Special Hobby) Conclusion Pre-cut mask sets save a lot of precious modelling time and don’t cost a ton of money, so they’re always worth picking up, even if you’re not averse to masking. Add in the new Inside/Outside masks to the mix, and they’re a great boost to realism in my estimation. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Tface Masks for Do.335A, Mosquito B.Mk.IV/PR.Mk.IV & IL-2 (EX946, 938 & 703 for Tamiya) 1:48 Eduard Supplied on a large sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with everything you would expect for the exterior glazing, plus wheel masks for good measure, but it also gives you another set of canopy masks tailored to fit the inside of the glazing so that you can paint the model’s interior and give your kit that extra bit of realism. Having used these sets on my own models now, I can confirm that they are extremely accurate, and it's good practice to place the outer masks first to act as a guide for alignment of the inner masks. If you have one of these older kits from Tamiya, which still stand up to scrutiny by modern standards, it’s worth considering an upgrade to the level of detail that the two layers of masking material bring to the cockpit area, which is a focal point of any crewed aircraft, and deserves the additional boost that more realistic masking brings. Dornier Do.335A (EX946 for Tamiya) In addition to the canopy and wheel masks, there is also a single mask for the landing light in the port wing leading edge. de Havilland Mosquito B Mk.IV/PR Mk.IV (EX938 for Tamiya) As well as the canopy and wheel masks, two sets of kabuki tape masks are included for the nose glazing and external masks for the wingtip lights. IL-2 Sturmovik (EX703 for Tamiya) This set is a little older, and suffered from one of the rare instances of things getting lost down the back of beyond. This time, the flat pack got sandwiched inside a book. It’s still available from Eduard however, so if you haven’t already done so, pick one up. Conclusion Given the chance, I will wax lyrical about Tface masks to anyone who will listen, and even though I am quite happy to create my own exterior masks where none are available, I much prefer to use one of these sets when I can. They’re extremely accurate, time saving, and adhere very well to canopies with a little light pressure to burnish them down. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Pre-Cut Canopy Masks for Various Kits & Scales 1:72, 1:48 & 1:32 Special Mask by Special Hobby Some modellers are a little bit phobic about masking the canopies of our models to keep them crystal clear during the building and painting process, as they can be tricky if you’re inexperienced or a bit ham fisted. Special Hobby have created their own Special Mask line to help with that, and we’ve got a bundle of them in the review queue in various scales. Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks give you a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. In addition, you usually get a set of hub/tyre masks for the wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. They each arrive in a flat polythene packet with a card header behind and a sheet of instructions sandwiched between them, all held together by a single staple. 1:72 CH-37 Mojave Canopy & Wheel Masks (M72046 for Special Hobby) Kit review here 1:72 Spitfire Mk.22/24 & Seafire Mk.46/47 Canopy & Wheel Masks (M72048 for Special Hobby) Kit review here 1:48 AF-2 Guardian Canopy & Wheel Masks (M48014 for Special Hobby) Kit review here 1:48 AH-1Q/S Cobra Inside/Outside Canopy Masks (M48016 for Special Hobby) Kit review coming soon 1:48 Grunau Baby IIb Canopy & Fabric/Flying Control Surfaces (M48017 for Special Hobby) Kit review coming soon 1:32 T-2 Buckeye Canopy & Wheel Masks (M32008 for Special Hobby) Kit review coming soon Conclusion Pre-cut mask sets save a lot of precious modelling time and don’t cost a ton of money, so they’re always worth picking up, even if you’re not averse to masking. Add in the new Inside/Outside masks to the mix, and they’re a great boost to realism in my estimation. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

A-17/DB-8 Masks (M72045) 1:72 Special Mask We reviewed the kit that this is intended for last week at time of writing, and you can see that here, as well as a little about the brave Dutch pilots that went to war in them, despite them being unsuitable to the task they were given. This set of masks will help cover the greenhouse canopy sections, plus the lower window in the scabbed-on hump below the gunner’s position, and also for the wheels, both main and tail, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. The instructions are straight forward, showing numbers for each section corresponding with the individual panes, and the three wheels, for which you get masks for both sides that just need the outer edges curving over and any remaining spaces filling with some spare tape to prevent any over-spray. Masks are a great time-saver when they fit, which is pretty much guaranteed from providers such as Special Hobby, due to careful testing. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Saab SK.60/Saab 105 Canopy & Wheel double-sided Mask (48CM001) 1:48 Pilot Replicas We’ve just reviewed the new injection moulded 1:48 Saab SK.60 kit from Pilot Replicas, and have cleared away all the drool, but round two is underway, leading to a crescendo later this week. As is the modern fashion, several aftermarket sets have been produced to be available on launch to augment the detail of the base kit, for those amongst us that are detail obsessed. Most of the sets are 3D printed resin, but this one is a little different and arrives in a sturdy Ziploc bag with header paper and instruction sheet inside and the masks themselves behind. The set includes a sheet of pre-cut kabuki tape style masking material, plus a smaller vinyl sheet that contains masks for the smaller nose wheel that is moulded with an integral mudguard and supports, making it a multi-part mask. There are also kabuki tape masks for the nose wheel with the exception of the small wedge-shaped area that is best done using vinyl due to its size. The main wheels have hub masks for both sides, and the canopy masks are double-sided, using different colours to tell them apart, as they look identical at first glance. From experience it’s best to apply the exterior masks first and align the interior masks with them to get everything lined up properly. The composite curved canopy sections have narrow frame-hugging masks to avoid wrinkling, the gaps for which are infilled with either additional tape or liquid mask at your choice. The last masks are for the narrow quarter-lights behind the main canopy. Conclusion I’m a huge fan of double-sided canopy masks, so can’t recommend these enough. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Avro Anson Mk.I Tface Masks (EX918 for Airfix) 1:48 Eduard Airfix’s new and long-awaited Anson in quarter-scale is a great kit, but it’s got a lot of glazing that might make some of our fellow modellers wince at the prospect of having to mask off the many clear parts, especially as is common with a lot of early WWII aircraft, it was quite a greenhouse, with frames everywhere across its extensive set of windows. Well, worry not because Eduard are riding to the rescue with this comprehensive set of masks. Unlike the usual Tface sets, this is supplied in an A5 flat-pack, on three large sheets of yellow kabuki tape with extensive diagrams guiding you. These pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, side windows, turret and all the other glazing both inside and out. In addition, you get landing light masks, alternate masks for the simplified windscreen framing, and a set of hub/tyre masks for all three wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. Having used a Tface set of masks for my recent Wildcat build, I’m a huge fan of the concept, as I believe it gives your model’s glazing extra realism and depth, so will be using these sets at every opportunity. They’re highly accurate too, and once you have installed masks on the exterior panes, locating the inner sections is much easier, as you don’t have any doubt as to where they should fit. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Masking Tape 20, 10, 6 & 2mm AMMO of Mig Jiménez Masking tape for modelling was revolutionised by the introduction of Kabuki tape from a well-known Japanese model manufacturer, and since then it has gone on to become one of the modeller’s staples. It is traditional low-tack paper tape that was allegedly used in Kabuki theatre in the construction of the intricate shadow-puppets and scenery, which is where the name comes from. Whether that’s true or not I have no clue! This new tape from AMMO is available in a range of widths, and each one is supplied on a standard sized roll with 25m/82ft of tape on each one, although I’m not about to unroll one to check that assertion. The tape is bright yellow and each roll arrives in its own resealable clear foil bag with the AMMO logo and colour scheme printed upon it. The 20mm, 10mm and 6mm rolls are wide enough to be quite sturdy, while the two 2mm rolls we were given are flexible and if you are rough with them the tape could fall off the reel and make a mess, so treat the narrow ones with care, possibly reusing the bag to keep dust and fluff out of the reels. The tack of the tape is very familiar, as is the texture and stretch of it, so no surprises there either. One thing or note is that as it has been wound around a larger reel (just over 8cm diameter), the tape comes off the roll with less curl and is fractionally easier to handle as a result. It burnishes down well, and even those areas I tested on acrylic paint came up easily without any lift at all. Conclusion It’s a large roll kabuki tape that has all the same properties as the rivals, so if it’s available near you or you need some tape and your favourite online retailer sells it, you can grab a roll or two as part of your order with confidence. Highly recommended. 2mm Tape 6mm Tape 10mm Tape 20mm Tape Review sample courtesy of

Masking Sheets 1mm Grid (A.MIG-8045) AMMO of Mig Jiménez If you’ve ever wished that you could get larger sizes and bigger areas of kabuki-style masking material, wider than 40mm that’s available on rolls, you’ve had your wish granted with the release of their masking sheet that we reviewed here. AMMO have now released this new set of five sheets with a 1mm grid printed on it in a clear foil bag with branding over-printed and a green label in the middle, with a stated size of 290 x 145mm per sheet written in yellow on the front. The bag is resealable, which will allow you to keep the dust out, and other than that there’s not an awful lot to say, other than to extoll the virtues of Kabuki tape, which is a paper-based washi tape that gets its name from Kabuki theatre, where it is presumably used on the paper puppets, characters and backdrops. It is a low tack tape that can last years in position on your model without leaving any residue (I’ve done this in the past), is flexible so that it can conform to curved surfaces well, and you can burnish it down to reduce the likelihood of paint creeping under the edge, although not squirting too much paint on a masked model is still the best way to avoid creep. The grid is very handy to check the size of shapes you’re planning on masking, and it also looks a bit cool in situ before you spray paint all over it. The grid is printed in ink of course, and may have a coat of clear varnish over it to protect the printing as it seems shinier thank the bare tape, but I felt it would be a wise decision to test whether the ink could be removed by solvents that are present in most of our paints. I first tried Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA or Isopropanol), and it slowly brought a little of the printing off, although it was more visible on the bud than the tape. The Liquid Reamer brought it off much quicker as expected, because it is a much “hotter” chemical. The take-away is not to blast too much paint on at once, and resist handling until the paint is actually dry to the touch. If you’re at the stage where there is a lot of IPA or cellulose thinners taking off the inked grid, you probably have much bigger problems than a bit of grey mixing with your paint! Having played around with it for a while, it might be wise to peel larger sheets of masking material off the backing paper before drawing out or transferring your design, applying it to a flat surface such as a mirror or a spare tile to finish preparation. Peeling the paper off a very complex design may cause a few more grey hairs as well as risking puckering the edges with the resultant stretching and potential lack of adhesion. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Masking Sheets (A.MIG-8043) AMMO of Mig Jiménez If you’ve ever wished that you could get larger sizes and bigger areas of kabuki-style masking material, wider than 40mm that’s available on rolls, you’re about to have your wish granted. AMMO have released this new set of five sheets in a clear foil bag with branding over-printed, and a stated size of 280x195mm written in yellow on the front. The bag is resealable, which will allow you to keep the dust out, and other than that there’s not an awful lot to say, other than to extoll the virtues of Kabuki tape, which is a paper-based washi tape that gets its name from Kabuki theatre, where it is presumably used on the paper figures and backdrops. It is a low tack tape that can last years in position on your model without leaving any residue (I’ve done this in the past), is flexible so that it can conform to curved surfaces well, and you can burnish it down to reduce the likelihood of paint creeping under the edge, although not hoofing too much paint on a masked model is still the best way to avoid creep. Having played around with it for a while, it might be wise to peel larger sheets of masking material off the backing paper before drawing out or transferring your design, applying it to a flat surface such as a mirror or a spare tile to finish preparation. Peeling the paper off a very complex design may cause a few more grey hairs as well as risking puckering the edges with the resultant stretching and potential lack of adhesion. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Pre-Cut Kabuki Tape Masks 1:48 New Ware Masks Some of you may already know the name New Ware if you're into Real Space modelling, as they have an impressive line of original resin kits, conversions, decals and masks for many of the well-known rockets, and they're a great source of upgrades for the older styrene Real Space kits from the likes of Revell, Airfix and Dragon. From their mask making experience they have been building a line of masking sets for aircraft too, which we have recently discovered while drooling over the resin kits and talking to Tom, the owner. He has kindly sent us a batch of these masks in various scales, which are appropriate for many mainstream kits, and it's surprising quite how busy he has been expanding his range. If you look at Hannants under the New Ware name you'll see pages and pages of sets that are well-priced and are very detailed in what they include. This review will deal with the 1:48 masks, and we'll post up another shortly with other scales, and at the bottom you'll see a dedicated link to Tom's Wares at Hannants to give you an idea of the breadth of the range. Each set arrives in a Ziplok bag with the masks visible, and a detailed instruction sheet that is folded within the bag and acts as protection for the masking sheet. Some of the yellow kabuki tape is supplied on a plain blue backing paper, while others has a printed grid behind it (due to a temporary shortage of the plain) which can obscure the location of the masks at certain viewing angles. A drawing of the location of each part is supplied on the instructions, and on the placement guide an asterisk (*) shows where it is best to begin applying the masks for improved accuracy. The instructions also recommend ensuring that the paint is thoroughly dry before beginning masking (common sense), but also informs you that the masks can be applied wet to a wet surface for greater accuracy, with the exception of those marked with a crossed through W, which is a new technique to me. I'm assuming that you would then need to allow the masks to dry off before proceeding with painting, and can't wait to try it. Mig-25PD EXPERT Kabuki Masks (NWAM0447 for ICM) A surprisingly large sheet for this single-seat interceptor, but that's because you get masks for the interior of the canopy, the exterior of the canopy AND the flesh-coloured seals that are so prominent. You can probably paint the seals by hand, as they're usually pretty messy in 1:1. In addition, you get wheel masks, landing light masks, strake and under-nose dielectric panel masks, two for the shoulder lights on the intakes, and a long curiously shaped mask that is to cut the sides of the anti-glare panel in front of the windscreen. There's even a tiny ring for the nosecone behind the pitot probe. Grumman F-14D Tomcat EXPERT Kabuki Masks (NWAM0509 for Tamiya) This large sheet contains masks for the inside AND outside of the canopy to add realism to your open cockpit, plus a flurry of additional masks for sensor panels, clear parts and the tyres. In addition there is another complement of masks to replace some of the designation stripes on the munitions slung under your average Tomcat, most of which should be applied dry, and finally masks for the cut-outs in the JDAM cradle that holds the dumb part of the bomb around its waist. These are often a pain to pick out, so this is a thoughtful addition. Grumman F-14D Tomcat EXHAUST NOZZLES Kabuki Masks (NWAM0510 for Tamiya) I'm really impressed with the concept of this set, and it will make your nozzles the envy of your modelling colleagues. It includes a set of masks for the rear faces of the engines with step-by-step instructions for painting the blades the correct colours, it then goes on to provide a whole host of complex-shaped masks for the interior and exterior petals of the exhausts as well as their join line with the elevator fairings at their sides. The final act of generosity is a set of replacement masks for the walkway panels that are sometimes present on the tops of the intakes. These are correctly proportioned and replace the kit decals numbered 177 & 178. Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I EXPERT Kabuki Masks (NWAM0536 for Tamiya) Two smaller sheets covering the interior AND exterior masks with in-fill parts for the centre of the glazing, plus hub or tyre masks for the main wheel and a pair of Pacman shaped hub masks for the tail wheel, together with a mask for three of the red gun-port decals for each wing to allow you to paint them first, mask them off and paint the rest of the airframe. If you want to show fresh tape over the gun ports however, ensure that you stop up the holes with filler and sand them back before you paint. L-19/O-1 Bird Dog EXPERT Kabuki Masks (NWAM0559 for Roden) A single sheet of masking for this well-glazed observation aircraft, that again includes internal as well as external masks for the main parts, optional reduction in the size of the windscreen and rear window that is accomplished using smaller masks, a wing-mounted landing light mask, and wheel masks for the main wheels to finish off. Conclusion Brilliant! It is clear that these masking sets have been well thought out, and a lot of care has gone into their design to maximise their use to the modeller. They are well-priced, and I'm looking forward to using them soon if I ever get any modelling done! Extremely highly recommended. See the full range available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Canopy Masks 1:48 Eduard Mopping up a few of the more recent mask sets that didn't accompany any PE releases, here are a few of Eduard's signature sets. Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. Mig-21PF with Canopy Seal (EX532 for Eduard) Russian techs are very liberal with the pink Germetika sealant, and this canopy mask set takes that into account, by supplying two masks to let you paint a pinky colour around the glazing neatly. Su-2525UB/UBK (EX553 for Smer) A full set of solid masks for the canopy, plus a set for the wheels for good measure. Ju-88A-14 (EX541 For ICM) Masks for all the segments of the greenhouse canopy, various other clear parts, and the wheel hubs. Review sample courtesy of

Flexible Pre-Cut Masks 1:48 & 1:32 Eduard There can't be many modellers that aren't familiar with Eduard's very helpful pre-cut masks for individual kits in various scales using flexible kabuki tape that manages to combine good tackiness with minimal rip when you remove it days or in some cases within my personal experience, years later. It's a great tape, and a similar one used in the famous Tamiya masking tape range. The sheets arrive in the usual small flat packs, backed by card and containing instructions for application that should be easy to follow. For compound curves, they have adopted a technique of creating shapes that will conform to the edges of the masked area by leaving the centre with the difficult curves left blank to be covered by liquid mask or scrap pieces of tape. A word of warning here if you dip your canopies in a clear acrylic varnish to improve the transparency - a number of the available masking fluids contain ammonia, which is a solvent to most if not all acrylic paints. This time around we have various aircraft subjects in 1:48 and 1:32. 1:48 Masking Sets Nesher/Dagger (Italeri) EX389 Spitfire PR.XIX (Airfix) EX390 Merlin HC.3 (Airfix) EX391 F-4B (Academy) EX393 H-34 (Gallery Models) EX394 Jaguar GR.1/3 (Heller) EX395 Mirage 2000D (Heller) EX396 Jaguar A (Heller) EX397 P-40E/K (Italeri) EX398 1:32 Masking Sets Bf.109E-3 (Cyber Hobby) JX149 He.111H-6 (Revell) JX150 Lynx HAS.3 (Revell) JX152 P-16A/B (Hobby Boss) JX153 Ju.87R (Trumpeter) JX154 P-51K (Tamiya) JX156 Conclusion As I've said before - what's not to like? Especially if you aren't fond of masking. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Latest Pre-Cut Self-Adhesive Masks 1:48, 1:32 Eduard 1:48 S-3 Viking for Italeri (EX332) 1:48 Seafire F.XVII for Airfix (EX342) 1:48 EA-18G for Hasegawa (EX343) 1:48 Fw.189 for GWH (EX350) 1:48 A-6E Intruder for Kinetic (EX351) 1:48 Spiteful F.Mk.14 for Trumpeter (EX357) 1:48 P51-D Mustang for Hobby Boss (EX359) 1:48 F4U-4 Corsair for Hobby Boss (EX361) 1:48 P-47D Thunderbolt for Hobby Boss (EX364) 1:32 A-4M Skyhawk for Trumpeter (JX140) 1:32 Ju 87B-2 Stuka for Trumpeter (JX144) Review sample courtesy of