1:48 A5M1/2a Claude Family Optical Illusion, Control Surfaces Fine Molds

The Mitsubishi A5M, the first of its kind

This machine was the first monoplane carrier fighter in the world to enter frontline service. It arose from a 1934 specification of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Jiro Horikoshi, the later creator of its more famous successor, took part in the design. The aircraft had fixed landing gear in aerodynamic fairings, an open cockpit and exceptional agility, which it put to use in the fighting over China from 1937. The Allied code name Claude was assigned to it only at a time when it was already obsolete and served mainly for training and for the defense of rear bases. The early versions differed from the later batches in the shape of the cowling and in the details of the exhausts.

An optical illusion instead of engraving

On a model only a shallow groove separates the ailerons and flaps, and after spraying and varnishing it almost disappears. The set solves this problem by painting: the masks delimit a narrow strip along every movable surface, which is oversprayed in a shade of darker paint. The eye then reads a shadow in the gap and the surface is optically set off, without anything being cut or engraved into the plastic. The effect works best on a single-color finish, where the eye has no other point of reference than precisely this transition.

Who the set is for

The cuts match the shapes of the parts from the Fine Molds firm. Work one surface at a time, let the strip dry and only then move the mask on. Choose a subtle shade; an exaggerated contrast looks like a dirty line, not like a gap between parts. Varnish the finished model once it is complete; that evens out the sheen of the whole area and the line settles in among the other details.