1:48 F-35B Lightning II RAM Panels Paint Masks Set /Italeri kits/

Panels that are to fool radar

The F-35B is the variant with a short take-off and a vertical landing. Behind the cockpit it carries a lift fan driven by a shaft from the engine and the nozzle at the rear swivels downwards, which opened the decks of smaller aircraft carriers and improvised sites to the type. On the surface of the airframe areas with a different treatment are apparent, which damp the reflection of a radar signal, and it is exactly their slightly different shade that gives a model its characteristic texture.

Why varnish alone cannot manage it

The transitions between the panels are so fine and there are so many of them that tape outlined by hand would take a whole evening and would still wander off. The set deals with the whole grid at once and the difference in shade thus stays regular over the whole surface.

The sequence of the work

• Apply the base gray tone evenly and give it a longer drying time, as the films are stuck on only onto hard varnish.
• Stick the panels on according to the instructions and watch the symmetry of the left and the right side.
• Choose the second shade only a shade darker or lighter, as a strong contrast looks unconvincing.
• After removal unify the surface with a clear matte varnish.

The benefit of such a grid shows most in the larger scales, where a uniformly gray area looks dead and flat. A fine alternation of fields gives the surface depth even without the use of washes or the emphasizing of panel lines. Anyone building several machines of the Lightning II family side by side will appreciate in addition that the layout of the fields differs between the individual versions and the models are not confused.

The set contains films exclusively, and a model and varnishes are not added to them.