1:48 Paint mask Westland Sea King HC.4 d.sided

The Commando for the Royal Marines

The HC.4 version came about from an entirely different requirement than the anti-submarine Sea Kings. The equipment for hunting submarines and the side sponsons with floats disappeared from the airframe, the landing gear stayed fixed, and inside, room was freed up for about twenty-eight troops with their kit. The British called it the Commando and from the end of the 1970s it served as the workhorse of the Royal Marines.

It had its baptism of fire in 1982 during an operation in the South Atlantic, where it carried units and cargo between the ships and the shore. The Persian Gulf, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan followed. It stayed in service until 2016, which made it one of the last British helicopter veterans of its generation. The nickname Junglie, which its crews carried, holds to this day. The machines went through several waves of modernization, so the last examples had mainly the outline in common with the original form from the end of the 1970s.

The masks and how they are used

The set contains shapes for both surfaces of the glazing. The outer pieces define the edge of the color that the fuselage carries; the inner counterparts let you do the frames from the inside so that they match the cabin interior. On the assault version this makes doubly good sense, because the model is often built with the side doors open.

The shapes fit the kit in 1:48 scale from the same maker whose kit covers this form of the aircraft. It helps to keep the leftover film from the sheet at hand while working, to blank off the larger glazed areas so that the overspray does not settle on them. Neither shades nor plastic parts are included in the delivery.