1:72 Aichi B7A1/B7A2 Ryusei Kai (Grace) wheel bay paint masks

Wheel bay masks for the Aichi B7A1 and B7A2 Ryusei Kai in 1:72 scale

The set from the manufacturer QMT is neither a kit nor a part that would be glued onto a model permanently. They are self-adhesive masks cut to shape, which you stick onto the edges of the wheel bays, spray the outer color over, and then lift off again. The result is a clean, sharp transition between the shade of the inside of the bay and the camouflage of the underside of the fuselage and the wing. The set is drawn to the shape of the bays of two versions, the B7A1 and the B7A2, so it covers both configurations that are commonly built in this scale.

The painting order that has proved itself

First spray the interior of the bay and the inner sides of the doors, let it dry properly and only then apply the mask. The primer and the outer camouflage come after that. The reverse order, the outside first, leads to having to reach into the bay with a brush, and the transition is always irregular. Lift the mask off as soon as the last coat is dry to the touch, not days later.

Which subject the set belongs to

The Aichi B7A Ryusei, given the Allied designation Grace, was a single-engine carrier-based attack aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service of the end of the Second World War. B7A1 denotes machines of the first batch and B7A2 the later production configuration. The design had a cranked wing and fairly broken-up wheel bays, which is exactly the case where a pre-cut mask pays off more than cutting by hand.

Who the set is for

• Modelers who build Japanese carrier aircraft in 1:72 scale
• Builders who dislike an irregular edge of the bay left by a brush
• Those who paint with an airbrush and want a repeatable result
• Beginners, for whom a mask is a quicker route than masking fluid

The package contains masks only. Paints, thinners and the kit are not part of it.