1:48 Kawanishi N1K1-j Shiden undercarriage Bays

The real subject

The Kawanishi N1K1-J Shiden was among the best Japanese fighters of the closing stage of the war. It grew out of the Kyofu floatplane, so it kept the wing in the middle of the fuselage and with it a tall main landing gear with a complicated retraction. It carried its gun armament in the wing and partly in pods beneath it; the Allies called it George.

What the set contains

Ready-made masks for the landing gear bay spaces of a model in 1:48 scale. They replace the lengthy covering of the openings with hand-cut tape and paper: the bay stays clean while the surroundings are sprayed and the edge of the paint at its rim stays crisp. Compare the masks with the openings on the model you are building.

Building and painting tips

• The order is set: first paint the inside of the bay, let it dry, and only then cover it.
• Seat the mask with tweezers and press the edges down all the way around, so that the paint cannot creep under.
• Spray the camouflage and the lower shade in thin coats and rather in several goes.
• Take the mask off once the last coat has set, otherwise the edge of the finish comes away with it.
• Cover the bays again before the final varnish, so that they keep their original degree of sheen.

Who it is for

The set suits anyone who builds the Shiden with open bays and wants the color transition clean, with no subsequent repairs with a brush. It is a stand-alone masking set; the model, the paints and the glue are not supplied with it, unless stated otherwise.