1:48 Douglas A-4C Skyhawk - TFace Mask Set for HobbyBoss

A mask for both sides of the glazing

The suffix TFace means that the set contains die-cut pieces not only for the outside of the canopy but for its inner surface as well. The frames thus get the right shade from both sides and when you look through the clear parts no bare plastic shines out from inside. On this machine that matters more than elsewhere: the canopy is tall, domed and the interior is visible through it.

Douglas A-4C

The Skyhawk came out of Ed Heinemann's studio as a deliberately small carrier attack aircraft. It turned out light enough to do without folding wings, and with a delta wing spanning just under eight meters it fitted whole onto a ship's elevator. The A-4C version brought a limited ability to operate in poor visibility: it received a terrain-following radar, an autopilot and equipment for blind release. Outwardly it is given away by a lengthened and more rounded nose. It reached the naval squadrons at the beginning of the nineteen sixties and some of the airframes later went through modification for reserve units.

What the mask can do and where it ends

Kabuki paper holds its shape, can be pressed down into a curve and leaves no adhesive on a clear part when it is removed. The edge of a sprayed frame comes out as crisp as a brush by hand could never make it, and that even in places where the frame narrows in a bend. The set, however, deals with the glazing and any small areas that belong to it. Wheels, national insignia and technical lettering do not fall within it. And because the pieces are die-cut to a particular kit, the shape will diverge on a canopy from another manufacturer.