1:48 Hawker Hurricane Mk.I wheel bay plugs (for Airfix)

Omask 1:48 Hawker Hurricane Mk.I, landing gear bay plugs (for the Airfix kit)

Foam plugs intended for masking the landing gear bays while the model is painted. It is not a kit, it is an accessory for the model that does away with slow masking with tape and cotton. The landing gear bays are painted and detailed first, and when the fuselage and wings are sprayed afterwards they have to be covered completely. A deep cavity with irregular edges is a nightmare for tape, though: it never sits down properly anywhere and the paint runs exactly where it should not.

A plug of flexible foam is pushed into the bay, compresses on its own and seals the edges. It holds without glue, it is taken out once the paint has dried and the bay underneath is clean. That springiness is exactly the advantage over hard printed covers, because foam copes with the tolerances of the build as well.

Use

• Paint the landing gear bays first and let them dry thoroughly.
• Push the plugs into the bays so that they line up with the outline of the opening and do not stand proud anywhere.
• Spray the primer, the camouflage and the varnishes: the foam will stop overspray and paint running in.
• Once dry, take the plugs out with tweezers; they leave no glue and no residue.
• Intended exclusively for the Hawker Hurricane Mk.I 1:48 kit from Airfix: their shape matches the bays of this kit and they will not fit models from other makers.

Who it is for

For modelers building the Airfix Hurricane in 1:48 who want a clean landing gear without slow masking. The Hawker Hurricane Mk.I was the real backbone of the British defense in the Battle of Britain: there were more Hurricanes in service than the more famous Spitfires and they shot down more enemy aircraft. The fuselage had a partly fabric covering over a frame, so it was cheaper to produce and quicker to repair than the all-metal Spitfire. A number of Czechoslovak pilots in the RAF flew Hurricanes as well; the most successful Allied fighter pilot of the Battle of Britain was the Czech Josef Frantisek, who flew exactly that type.

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