1:35 Panther D - Dragon

A masking set for the road wheels of the Panther Ausf. D in 1:35 scale

It is neither a kit nor a spare part, but a masking aid for painting wheels that you already have built. The set is cut for the kit of the Panther Ausf. D from the Dragon company: the shape and the diameter of the masks follow from the wheels in this particular mold, so verify before purchase that you are building exactly this kit. Wheels from another mold of the same vehicle may have a different diameter of hub and tire and a mask need not seat on them.

How it differs from a brush by hand

Blocking out the tire with a brush means leading the tip around the whole perimeter of the wheel and keeping a constant width of the band while doing so. The transition is visible close up even on a finished model: the paint builds up at the margin, the boundary waves and every wheel comes out slightly different. On a vehicle with running gear of this type a small deviation adds up into visible irregularity. A pre-cut mask, by contrast, sets the boundary once and for all and all the wheels come out the same, because it is not a hand that makes them but a cut-out.

The painting procedure

• First clean the wheels of grease and let them dry after the base color.
• Apply the mask dry, slide it into a concentric position and press it down around the whole perimeter.
• Apply the paint in thin coats at a right angle to the surface, not at an angle under the margin of the mask.
• Remove the mask while the layer is fresh, with a pull at an angle across the edge.

Who the set is for

For modelers who are building the kit mentioned and want their road wheels dealt with quickly and uniformly, and for those for whom blocking out tires by hand has long not worked out. Experience with an airbrush is not a condition, but with one the set gives the best result.

Paints, thinners and the kit are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.