1:48 Kyushu J7W2 Shinden Masking for Hasegawa kits (outside, inside)

Masking set 1:48 Kyushu J7W2 Shinden

This set serves for painting the cockpit glazing of the Japanese Shinden fighter in 1:48 scale. It is not a kit or a replacement part but an accessory that takes over the most unpleasant part of finishing a model: the sharp dividing line between the canopy frame and the clear surface. The name of the set gives the version for the outer and the inner side, so the framing can be touched in from inside the cockpit as well. The set is intended for Hasegawa kits.

The real subject

The Shinden was among the most untypical aircraft of the Second World War. It had its main wing at the back, small horizontal surfaces at the front and the propeller behind the fuselage, so the cockpit sat far forward in the nose and offered an unusually open view ahead. The J7W1 version flew only at the very end of the war and remained at the prototype stage; the designation J7W2 belongs to the intended jet development of the same airframe. A canard layout puts the cockpit at the front of the whole silhouette, which is why any smudged frame on it is noticed at once.

A procedure that has proved itself

First degrease the clear part and then touch it only through a soft cloth. Lay the masks on a dry surface and press their edges down carefully so that the paint does not creep under them. Spray several very thin coats rather than one heavy one, because a thick film likes to tear away along with the edge when removed. Let the paint set, but do not leave the masks on the model needlessly long and take them off with pointed tweezers at a sharp angle.

Who the set is worth it for

• Builders of Japanese equipment from 1945 and of prototype machines
• Modelers whose tape breaks and wrinkles on a curved canopy
• Those who want to finish a cockpit faster and with sharp edges
• Painting with an airbrush as well as with an ordinary brush