1:72 Ki-61 I Hien

The real subject

The Ki-61 Hien was an army fighter of imperial Japan and among the home machines it looked like a foreigner. While most Japanese fighters had a short, bulky fuselage, the Hien was slim and pointed, so at their first encounters Allied pilots mistook it for a European design and assigned it the code name Tony. The Ki-61-I is the first production series of the type, that is, machines with a conventional fuselage spine and a canopy divided into frames.

What the set offers

The set brings pre-cut masks made for 1:72 scale. At this size these are areas that can be masked with tape cut on the table only with a great deal of patience, and yet it is the edge on them that decides the impression of the whole model. With a mask the transition comes out sharp and the same on the left and the right side. The range of the set and the placing of the individual pieces are given in the manufacturer's instructions.

• Masks for a Ki-61-I Hien model in 1:72 scale
• Pre-cut shapes for the first production series of the type
• They are applied before spraying and lifted once the paint has dried
• A sharp, symmetrical transition between shades

Tips for working with masks

Before applying, the surface has to be clean, degreased and dry, otherwise the mask will not hold and paint will creep under it. Press the edges down around the whole perimeter and spray in several thin coats; a heavy coat is drawn under the edge and blurs the transition. Lift the mask shortly after the paint has dried, at a sharp angle and with tweezers, so that the paint does not tear behind it. On the canopy frames the work goes fastest if the glass is masked before it is set into the fuselage.

Who it is for

For modelers of Japanese fighters who build in a small scale and want the boundaries of the finish sprayed rather than applied. This is an accessory to a model; paints are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.