An extremely popular aftermarket item has been canopy masks. These have been produced by a number of manufacturers over the years, but the ones that seem to be the most popular are those by Eduard.

Masks have been made from a variety of products including thick and thin vinyl as well as from kabuki paper (basically the same stuff as Tamiya tape, but not quite a thick). Some masks only cover the outlines of the clear part. This is very much the case when it comes to bits with large compound curves such as you see on F-86s and MiG-29s as no material will properly stick to convoluted surfaces like that. In those cases, you fill in the rest with your favorite tape or with liquid masking solutions.

This set is for the Hasegawa Ki-43 in 1/48 scale. This is actually not a kit you would think needs aftermarket masks as the panes are pretty large and there are not all that many of them. However, this is a case that, unless you are using clear tape, you won't be able to see the frame lines all that well. I'm usually fairly good as tossing on a section of Tamiya tape, holding the canopy to the light and using a sharp scalpel blade, scribing the outline. Well, Hasegawa canopy frames tend to be nearly impossible to see through Tamiya tape. The frames are not well defined so the use of masks like this just makes things easier. The set also includes wheel masks, which allow you to either mask the hub or the wheel portion next to the hub; the rest of the tire should be masked with liquid mask.

April 2019

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