1:48 F/A-18 Switzerland Panthers special scheme - masks set

A Swiss Hornet with a panther repaint

Switzerland chose the F/A-18 at the beginning of the 1990s and had the machines for its own air force assembled at home. There the Hornet performs the role to which an Alpine country is particularly sensitive: protecting the airspace over terrain where valleys close within a few seconds and where rate of climb is worth more than range. The squadron nicknamed the Panthers is one of the units that operate the type, and for significant anniversaries it prepares a commemorative coloring on one of its airframes.

Two canted surfaces, one symmetry

With repaints like these the big-cat motif is usually spread over the vertical tail surfaces, of which this type has two, canted outward as well. That complicates the work: both sides have to be mirror images, or the model looks twisted and the eye notices that before it can appreciate the rest of the build. Drawing such an outline freehand twice the same way is practically impossible.

Spray it, do not stick it

Paint applied through a mask holds its shape even on edges and in places where a carrier film would have to get over a bend and would silver. The set brings finished outlines die-cut for 1:48 scale.

The work proceeds in an unhurried sequence: first the base shade, after drying the sheet is laid on, then the top color in several weak passes. The film is removed with pointed tweezers by pulling along the edge, not perpendicular to the surface. Only after the last coat has dried is it worth unifying the model with a matte sealing coat, which evens out the differing sheen of the individual fields. The Hornet kit itself is a separate item.