1:48 F.M.A. IA-58A Pucara Pucara TFace

The Argentine Pucará

The FMA IA-58 Pucará is a twin-engine ground-attack aircraft of Argentine manufacture, intended to support ground troops and to operate from short, unpaved strips. It has a tall vertical tail, slim engine nacelles on the wing and a long glazed cockpit with two seats in tandem. The IA-58A designation belongs to the main production version. It is precisely that long cockpit that makes masking the frames a lengthy part of the build.

What TFace means

The TFace qualifier says that the set is prepared for both sides of the glazing. Masking the inside has a practical reason: the frames are usually painted in the interior shade from within, and without a mask that side cannot be sprayed without dirtying the clear area. At the same time it stops the shade applied from the other side from showing through a thin clear part. What else the set covers besides the glazing is given in the manufacturer's instructions.

How to use the masks

• wash the clear part before masking and let it dry completely
• lift the mask out with tweezers or the tip of a scalpel and lay it along the frame
• press the edges down with a toothpick so that paint cannot creep underneath
• spray the inner side with the interior shade before the outside
• the masks belong on the model before spraying, not on dried paint
• peel them off slowly and at an angle over the edge as soon as the paint is dry to the touch

Who it is for

For the builder who wants frames of the same width with a crisp edge along the whole length of the cockpit. Cutting tape by hand can barely manage that on intricate glazing and costs several times as much time.

Terms of supply

A masking set is supplied. The aircraft model, paints and clear coats are not part of the delivery, unless stated otherwise.