Gator's Paint Masks

1/72 W.W.II German and U.S. Masks

1/35 LCVP/LCM Masks

Reviewed By Howie Belkin, #16

Kenny Loup is an IPMS member from Louisiana who decided to apply his sign making skills to enhance his and our modeling.  The result is a line of affordable, easy to use masks enabling you to have models with markings that look painted on, rather than decaled.  Each sheet has a very thin yellow vinyl that is thin enough to minimize, or if you do it right, eliminate an edge to the painted marking.  It is flexible to follow the model’s curves, crooks and crannies and can be burnished down to seal the deal. The adhesive is strong enough to stick where stuck, yet can be lifted and moved for perfect positioning.  These are all advantages over some other brands of masks, especially ones cut out of metal.

The samples I received are U.S. stars (with and without broken circle surround in numerous sizes), German crosses also in numerous styles and sizes, both sheets suitable for 1/72 and larger armor though there are less useable masks for small models.  The German sheet has more aircraft applications than armor.  There was also the 1/35 LCVP/LCM stencil, the smaller of the samples, with four sets of 3/8” tall numbers 1 thru 0, and four each PA and KA letters with dashes.  Since most resin kits have no decals, Gator fills that gap making it easy for you to choose whatever LCVP or LCM you want, so long as the PA or KA prefix is the same size as the numbers.  By the way, the American Amphibious Forces were known as the “Gator Navy,” a fitting name for this company!  You can do some research at Gatorforce.com.

A “plus” with Gator’s stencils is that they can be used as a stencil or a mask.  For example, I painted an old 1/72 Heller FW-190 black, and applied the under-wing crosses as a mask.  I sprayed the light blue undersides, removed the mask and voila, painted on national markings.  I can lightly sand the model to bring out black raised panel lines to finish it off.  There’s no decal film to try to hide, no gloss then flat coats saving time, in fact, Future may be a thing of the past!

I recommend it for its good value.  Trouble is, I’m reviewing this soon after hurricane Katrina and Gator’s Paint Mask website was down.  Kenny Loup should be up and running by the time you read this, so contact him gatorsmask@yahoo.com or Gator's Paint Mask, 512 Audrey St. Sulphur, LA 70663; phone 337-527-5908.  Talk to Kenny about a custom order, and if your wife asks, you can always claim this was for hurricane relief!  Thanks to Gator’s Paint Masks for the review samples.

Information, images, and all other items placed electronically on this site are the intellectual property of IPMS/USA ®.