1:48 Fairey Fulmar Mk.I TFace canopy frame paint mask

TFace masks for the Fairey Fulmar Mk.I canopy 1:48 (Eduard)

This is a masking set, not a model of the aircraft. The pre-cut self-adhesive masks follow the individual panes of the glazing, and the frames then come out sharp and straight. On the Fulmar that pays off especially: it is a two-seat machine with a long, heavily framed canopy over the pilot and the observer alike, so cutting out all the panes by hand would mean long hours of fine work. The TFace designation means that the set masks both sides of the glazing, that is the inner side of the frames too.

The real subject

The Fairey Fulmar Mk.I was a two-seat carrier fighter of the Fleet Air Arm, in service from 1940. It was powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, and the armament consisted of a battery of .303 caliber machine guns in the wing. The second man in the cockpit served as navigator, an unusual requirement for a fighter that followed from the thinking of the time about navigation over the open sea, where there was nothing to fix on. The Fulmar lost agility by it, but it could stay over convoys for a long time and did better in the ratio of victories than its performance would suggest. It made its name above all over the Mediterranean escorting convoys to Malta.

How to use the masks

Degrease the base and press the mask down all round with a soft tool, so that no paint runs under the edge. First spray the inner side of the frames in the interior shade, then the outer camouflage. Spray in thin coats from a perpendicular direction and lift the mask off with tweezers as soon as the paint has flashed off.

Who the set is for

• Builders of the Fulmar in 1:48 scale who do not want to spend hours over tape
• Modelers who care about the inner side of the frames of a long canopy too
• Collectors of British carrier aircraft of the Second World War
• Those who build a model with the cockpit open