1:144 A-321neo (Zvezda)

Masking set Airbus A321neo, 1:144

A set of templates for spraying a model of the Airbus A321neo airliner in 1:144. The masks are stuck onto the glazed surfaces before the paint goes on; once they are taken off, the glass stays clean and the frame sharply bounded. It is not a model or a decal but an aid for painting.

Repetition is the problem here

An airliner has its glazing laid out differently from a fighter. It is not one large covered seat but a set of small cockpit windows that run side by side and are supposed to repeat absolutely regularly. The human eye is extraordinarily sensitive to regularity: one window half a millimeter out of line or a touch wider is noticed by everyone, even though they would not register the same deviation on the camouflage of a combat aircraft at all. Masking by hand holds such regularity only with difficulty, because you cut every strip of tape separately.

The size of the item and the scale

In 1:144 a cockpit window is literally a few tenths of a millimeter. A template made for that size therefore works on a different principle from a mask for a model in 1:32, where you can cut in place and correct a mistake. Here nothing can be fine-tuned; the precision has to be given in advance by the shape of the mask. That also means the mask cannot be used on a model in another scale, even for the same type of aircraft.

Procedure when spraying

• Clean and degrease the glazing, as dust under a mask will make a shadow.
• Press the edges of the mask down carefully, or paint will run underneath.
• Apply the paint in several thin coats.
• Take the mask off soon after it has dried, best of all with the tip of a knife or with tweezers.

Who the set is for

For the builder of civil airliners in 1:144, where the cleanness of the lines is the main measure of quality, and for the modeler with no appetite for cutting a series of identical little windows by hand.

This is an add-on to a plastic model. The kit, paints and glue are not included in the package.