1:48 Canopy And Wheels Paint Masks For Fouga Magister CM.170

A butterfly tail over the French flying school

The CM.170 Magister came from the Fouga works and is often described as the very first aircraft drawn from the first drawing straight as a jet trainer rather than as a lightened conversion of a combat type. It took to the air in 1952, and the tail surfaces canted into a V made it one of the most easily recognized machines of postwar Europe. Besides basic pilot training it appeared in the line-up of the Patrouille de France display team and in Israeli service it also struck at ground targets.

What you will find in the bag

Pre-cut self-adhesive masks for 1:48 scale cover the glazing of the cockpit and also carry discs for spraying the tires of the landing gear wheels. The outlines follow the real shape of the frames, so trimming tape by hand with a scalpel directly on the part falls away and the risk of the blade slipping on the clear plastic is reduced.

How to work with the masks

• Clear the glazing of fingerprints and grease beforehand.
• Lift the part with tweezers, seat it by the corners of the frame and only then press it down.
• Run a toothpick over the edges, so that no atomized paint gets under them.
• Once the paint has dried, peel the mask off at a sharp angle rather than straight up.

The Magister was built under license in Finland, in Germany and also in Israel, where it was given the name Tzukit and later received a rebuild with new avionics. In a collection it therefore fits in among the trainers just as well as among the machines of the 1960s. The span of the cabin for two pilots in tandem also means that the masked glazing makes up a conspicuously large area on the model and that unmasking it cleanly really shows.

Neither the kit nor bottles of paint are included in the package; what you buy is the films with the cut-outs themselves.