1:48 Republic P-47D-25RE Thunderbolt BASIC kabuki masks

New Ware 1:48 Republic P-47D-25RE Thunderbolt BASIC kabuki masks

A masking set from the Czech maker New Ware meant for a model of the Republic P-47D-25RE Thunderbolt fighter in 1:48 scale. The masks are cut from kabuki tape, that is a fine self-adhesive paper tape that follows the curve of a canopy well and leaves no adhesive residue on the surface when lifted off. That gives a sharp boundary between the frame and the clear area even where a hand-cut strip would behave unpredictably.

Levels of coverage: New Ware releases masks for one type of aircraft in several levels marked BASIC, ADVANCED and EXPERT. The coverage differs from type to type; which surfaces the BASIC level covers on this aircraft is stated by the manufacturer on the packaging of the set.

The real subject

The Republic P-47D Thunderbolt was among the heaviest single-engine fighters of the Second World War. It was powered by an air-cooled Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine together with a turbocharger placed in the rear fuselage, which gave the aircraft excellent performance at high altitude. The D-25-RE production block matters from a modeler's point of view: it brought the bubble canopy with a lowered fuselage spine, which replaced the earlier framed hood with a high spine and changed the silhouette of the aircraft at a stroke. Thunderbolts served as escort fighters and as fighter-bombers over Western Europe and in the Pacific.

How the masks are applied

• Degrease the glazing first and clear it of dust; the masks then hold more reliably.
• Lift the individual pieces from the backing with pointed tweezers or a toothpick and seat them dry.
• Press the edges down with a wooden toothpick, so that no paint runs under them.
• Spray in thin coats, and rather twice over than in one heavy coat.
• Lift the masks off while the paint is freshly dry, not after several days.

Who the set is for

For modelers who build the Thunderbolt in 1:48 scale and want glazing without ragged edges. It will also be appreciated by those just starting out with masking, because it cuts the work to a fraction of the time against cutting from tape.