1:72 De Havilland Mosquito wheel bay plugs (for Tamiya)

Omask — landing gear bay plugs de Havilland Mosquito 1:72 (for Tamiya)

The Mosquito has its landing gear bays in the engine nacelles — deep spaces that are clearly visible once the model is finished and that are a different shade inside from the outside of the aircraft. If paint gets into them during spraying, repair is essentially impossible: a brush cannot reach inside and sanding is out of the question. That is why the Omask plugs came about — foam inserts shaped to the form of a particular bay. You push them into the bay before spraying, they hold there by their own springiness, and once the paint has dried you pull them out again. The set is prepared for the de Havilland Mosquito kit from Tamiya in 1:72 scale.

Use

• Push the plugs into the bays before spraying — ideally even before the primer goes on.
• The foam seats even where masking tape forms creases and gaps.
• Leave them in the model throughout painting, clear coating and any matting.
• Once the paint has dried, take them out carefully and finish the bay separately — with its own color, a wash and the landing gear fitted.
• They do not stick, leave no residue and do not damage the plastic.

Who it is for

For modelers building the Tamiya Mosquito in 1:72. In a small scale masking a bay is especially thankless — the space is tiny, tape will not stay in it and cotton tears. A ready-made plug reduces the whole step to a few seconds. Those who paint with an airbrush will appreciate it most.

The real subject

The de Havilland Mosquito was a British twin-engine combat aircraft with a largely wooden structure — hence the nickname Wooden Wonder. Wood was not a makeshift solution but a clever move: a light monocoque structure gave the machine exceptional performance. The Mosquito was so fast that the early bomber versions carried no defensive armament at all — they relied on enemy fighters simply not keeping up. In its day it was among the fastest aircraft of all and it served as a bomber, a reconnaissance aircraft and a night fighter.

Note: this is not a model of an aircraft. The package contains only the landing gear bay plugs; the kit, paints and glue are not part of it. Pull the plugs out only once the paint has dried completely.