1:32 Spitfire Mk.I/Ia/Va Wheel bays - FOAM flexibel express fit mask for Kotare

Art Scale 1:32 Spitfire Mk.I/Ia/Va, foam landing gear bay mask (FOAM) for the Kotare kit

A flexible foam mask for the landing gear bays, so not a kit but an accessory for the model. The material is right there in the name of the product: FOAM. The insert is pushed into the bay, compresses and seals it by its own springiness. It needs no glue and no tape, and once the paint has dried you simply take it out. The express fit designation means that the mask is shaped exactly for the given kit and goes straight in, with no cutting and no adjusting.

The landing gear bay is a deep cavity that the modeler paints and details first. When spraying the outside of the model it has to be covered, otherwise overspray will wreck what is already finished. Masking a cavity like that with tape and cotton is a nuisance and it still does not seal. In 1:32 scale this matters all the more: the bays are large, deep and clearly visible on the finished model. A clean, sharply defined bay edge is one of the details everyone notices here.

Use

• First paint and detail the landing gear bays and let them dry.
• Put the foam mask into the bay and press it lightly so that it fills the whole volume and lines up with the outline of the opening.
• Spray the model: primer, camouflage, varnishes. The foam will not let paint inside or under the edge.
• Once dry, pull the mask out with tweezers. No glue and no imprint is left behind.
• Intended exclusively for the Spitfire Mk.I / Mk.Ia / Mk.Va kits in 1:32 from Kotare: the shape matches the bays of these kits and does not fit a model from another maker.

Who it is for

For modelers building the large Spitfire from Kotare, the New Zealand maker whose 1:32 Spitfires are among the modern and very accurately engineered kits. With a kit like that it is worth not taking a risk: a foam plug saves an hour of masking and, above all, prevents overspray in the bay, which is very unpleasant to put right on a finished model.

This is not a kit: the package contains no plastic parts of the model. The model, paints and glue are not included. Ventilate and use respiratory protection while painting; do not expose the foam to aggressive solvents.