1:72 F4D-1 Skyray - Canopy Mask (for Tamiya kits)

The ray that tore up climb records

The Douglas F4D-1 Skyray got its name from the ray, and its wing really matches it: a broad rounded delta with a large lifting area. The designer Ed Heinemann laid it out as a navy interceptor meant to be at altitude as fast as possible. In 1953 a pilot broke the absolute world speed record with it at over twelve hundred kilometers per hour, and a few years later the machine collected five records for climbing to altitude.

In service it was the only production naval fighter ever to hold the world speed record. After unified designations were introduced in 1962 the type received the new name F-6, but by that time it was already finishing its service with reserve units. It is precisely that combination of a bizarre shape and a short career that makes it a rewarding subject for the shelf.

Before you reach for the airbrush

In the package there are cut shapes for the glazing. The cockpit of this aircraft is fairly small and its frames measure only a few tenths of a millimeter in the small scale, so spraying through a mask is the only route to a straight line.

Before you start, polish the transparent part with a fine polishing compound and have it perfectly degreased. Grease from the fingers is the most frequent cause of a mask not seating somewhere once applied. Put the lifted film back onto its original backing, so that you know which shape is already done. Once dry, the frames can be underlined further with a very thin wash, which draws into the corners and gives the cockpit depth. On such a small model a single pass is enough, otherwise the effect tips over into dirt.