Eduard

1/72 F-22A Canopy and Wheel Mask Set

Stock Number: CX249

Reviewed by  Jim Pearsall, IPMS# 2209

MSRP: $5.95 Website: www.eduard.cz     Direct product link This is another of Eduard's great mask sets -- in this case for the HobbyBoss 1/72 F-22. I did the canopy fairly early in the process, and the wheels while I was taking the break between applying the Future coat on the aircraft, before applying decals. I always leave the undercarriage, antennas, underwing stores and other breakable parts off until after I do the decals, as I hate having to repair the fiddly bits. The mask set consists of masks for both sides of both main gear wheels, both sides of the nose wheel, and the edges of the canopy. The Wheels This is a fairly simple job using the masks, but it would have a far higher level of difficulty if you didn't use the mask. HobbyBoss provides no demarcation between the tire and rim on the wheels, so my usual trick of spraying the hub, followed by hand painting the tire, using thin black paint which runs into the edge of the hub just wouldn't work. There's no edge on the hub! I assembled the wheels, cleaned up the seam and painted the hubs white.

Note the tools I used for this project. I was a little concerned with the cutting on two of the main wheels. It wasn't as clean as I've experienced on past Eduard masks, and there was a little bit of "fuzz" on part of those masks, on the edge. I used the curved scalpel blade to get the first part of the edge to lift, the toothpick to further convince the mask to move, and the tweezers to place the mask. The material is just translucent enough to allow you to see the detail of the wheel under the mask, and this allows for fairly accurate placement. This was quite necessary, as I said there's no line between the tire and hub. With the masks in place, it's the work of only a few minutes to spray the tire section black, then allow the paint to dry.

After I finished the first session of decals, I removed the masks from the tires, and was very satisfied with the result. In spite of my fears about the "fuzzy" edges, there was no need for any touch up. The masks had held firmly and cleanly, and the "fuzz" didn't show. The wheels were ready to mount on the landing gear. The Canopy The canopy mask is less necessary than the wheels, as HobbyBoss does give a good demarcation between the clear part and the frame. This canopy could be done with plain masking tape, especially since this particular aircraft has a canopy frame which differs in tone from the surrounding aircraft, and has a one-piece clear section. The color difference tends to make the seam between the fuselage and the canopy much less noticeable. If the canopy rail and the body were the same color, it would be best to apply the mask and attach the canopy, then clean up the seam and paint the whole area. I applied the mask, and then used Tamiya tape to cover the open spot in the center, rather than the recommended liquid mask. I put a piece of masking tape across the bottom, both to prevent overspray inside the canopy and to give me something to hang on to while painting.

After removing the mask, I was pleased with the results. Overall Assessment Highly recommended. The masks for the main wheels save a lot of time and effort, and give a very clean result. The canopy mask is good, and would have been far more crucial on an aircraft where the canopy and fuselage were the same color. I am quite happy with the results.