1:72 J2M3 Raiden Control Surfaces

J2M3 Raiden control surface masks 1:72 from Dead Design

This set does not mask the glazing or the bays, but the moving surfaces: the ailerons, the elevator, the rudder and the flaps. The masks are applied along their outline and a darker shade is lightly sprayed over the exposed strip. On a finished model the surfaces then look as if they were separate from the airframe and slightly deflected. It is an optical illusion created with paint; the part does not actually move anywhere and nothing is cut.

The real subject

The Mitsubishi J2M Raiden was an interceptor of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Compared with contemporary carrier machines it had a short fuselage and a powerful radial engine in an aerodynamically shaped cowling, and it was built for fast climb and speed rather than for agility. The J2M3 is one of the production versions. In 1:72 the dividing lines of the control surfaces are only shallowly engraved and after spraying and varnishing they often disappear completely, so it is exactly in this scale that shading has the greatest effect.

How to work with the set

Apply the masks only to dry base paint, ideally after a light sanding so that the surface is smooth. For the shadow use the base color darkened a little toward gray, and spray it thinned, at low pressure and in several weak passes: the aim is a soft transition, not a black stripe. Keep the effect equally strong all over the model, otherwise it looks random. Take the mask off before the paint cures fully; the edge then stays softer and more natural.

Who the set is for

• Builders of the J2M3 in 1:72 whose control surface dividing lines vanish after varnishing.
• Modelers who want to bring out the articulation of an airframe without cutting and building up surfaces.
• Those learning to work with preshading who want a guide cut exactly to the part.
• Collectors who display models in a case and do not want the airframe to look flat.