1:48 Bücker Bü-181 Bestmann canopy airbrush mask

A trainer that outlived its time

The Bestmann was created at the end of the 1930s as a simple low-wing monoplane with side-by-side seats, an unusual solution for German training practice. The structure of steel tubes and wood covered with fabric could be built cheaply and quickly, so the type served for basic training throughout the war and, at its end, for improvised combat duties as well. License production then continued in Sweden and in postwar Czechoslovakia, where the machine flew under other designations long after the original factories had gone.

Set contents

The canopy of the Bestmann is unusually large against its small fuselage and has more frames than one would expect on a school machine. The set offers them pre-cut from adhesive film, so the framing can be sprayed all at once and in one plane. That removes the most unpleasant part of the build, the patient outlining of edges with a brush and the corrections wherever the hand slipped.

Procedure and tips

Transfer the film to the part with the tip of a knife and press it down with a wooden toothpick, which does not scratch the glazing. On a canopy as broken up as this one, a first coat of the interior shade is recommended so that the frames are not bare from the inside. Once the camouflage is dry, peel the mask off at an angle, not straight up.

Who the set suits

It will be appreciated by builders of German training aircraft and by those who follow postwar operations in Central Europe, where the type stayed airworthy for decades. It is worth it for beginners too: large glazing forgives little, and hand-painted lines on it are the first thing one picks apart on a model. The kit and paints are not included in the package.