I have a 1/72 Hasegawa Hellcat and after several attempts to mask the canopy I do not have the patience to try again.
I looked up Eduards line of express canopy masks and noticed that there is one in 1/72, but it is listed as being for the Academy kit.
Can I use this on my kit ?
Thanks guys.
Bill.
I do not know this as a fact but as long as it is listed for the same variant and scale I would be willing to bet it would work. Even if you had to tweak it a bit it would still be easier than masking off all of those little panels yourself. Plus they are not that expensive anyway so if it was me I would have a go at it.
Soulcrusher
Cutting Edge Black Magic Canopy Masks are good too and can be use on most any model regardless of manufacturer. Meteor Productions sells them on thier website.
Due to variance in detail from manufacturers, it’s highly unlikely that canopy masks for a specific kit will fit any other kit.
Regards, Rick
I tried an Eduard canopy mask for a Tamiya Dinah, and was dissapointed with the results, mainly because some of the masks didn’t line up. And this was specifically for the Tamiya Dinah!
THe Hellcat’s canopy should be relatively easy.Compare it to the canopies of an He-111 and you’ll see what I mean.I use 3M blue painter’s tape.I cover the canopy.burnish it with the handle of my 000 brush,cut out the outlines of the canopy and then paint the interiorcolor followed by the exterior cammo.My method includes using a double-action airbrush(Paashe VL)and lightly mist on the interior color after this dries it seals the masking tape preventing bleed-through.After painting is complete,put a new #11 blade in your Exacto knife and lightly score around the canopy lines which will prevent damage when you lift the masking tape off.Works well but takes a little time and patientence.
Looks like a good thread to pose the question about micro mask or other liquid masks. I have a bottle but to be honest I can’t remember if I ever tried it or not. Is this type of product good for birdcage type canopies?
Just how many hours are in a “little time” philo? I build the Italeri 1/72 He 111 and use BMF to mask the windows. I think that was the last model I build that I did not buy a set of canopy masks. I am not that patience! Never agian. Though it is true some precut masks are’nt all that perfect either. I personal utter some explatives about Black Majic masks when after I sprayed my canopy I noticed on all of the sharp cures they lifted slightly and ruined the canopy on my A6M2 Zero. I figured I must not have had a clean surface so the did not tack down good. My next build Monograms 1/48 Devastator. They are the only choice for precut mask. So I have another go at it. I washed the canopy carefully on soapy water to make sure there is no mold residue or oil from my hands. This time I am watching more carefully. The same results. On sharp bends the want to lift on the edges! So I pressed them down and quickly sprayed the canopy before they popped back up. It sems to me the material is just to thick. I prefer the Eduard sets. The conform and stay put much better. I also used a set of fast frames for my Revell 1/48 Me 110 and was very happy with there product also.
Soulcrusher
Hey Bill,
I tried using an eduard mask for a Tamiya 1/32 type 52 zero on a Hasegawa type 52 zero and it was a no go. The mask for the Tammy was too big for the Hase. I don’t blame eduard, because when I did purchase the correct mask (for other kits), they were a perfect fit.
I don’t know how or why the same scale kit and variant were different sizes by two manufacturers. You would think they were both working with the same info and to scale that to 1/32 would produce the same results. I guess I was wrong.
-Fred
I had problems with the “old” Eduard masks (the ones with the shiny greenish material), but most of the newer sets are pretty good. The set I used for my 1/48 Tamiya Corsair did not fit very well, but the set for my 1/48 Hasegawa P-40E fit perfectly! Guess some are just better than others.