Masking to paint a kit canopy can be a pretty complex and time consuming thing. Not to mention possible (probable) paint bleed under the mask to mess-up the clear areas. Eduard has a solution for this in the form of a sheet of die-cut masks for specific aircraft. This set is for the Hasegawa 1/32 scale Bf 109F-4.

You get a small (1-7/8” x 2-5/8”) rectangle of a very thin, tough material on a peel away surface. The die-cuts are almost invisible and I had to hold them at an angle to my light source to actually see the individual pieces. That is precision!

The instruction sheet shows a drawing of the masks and arrows point to their individual locations on a drawing of the kit parts. You just slip a sharp pointy thing under a corner of a mask piece, lift and peel, then apply in place. A quick burnish with a finger or such and move on to the next piece. A little care and they may be savable for another kit.The thinness of the material and the precision of the cut will ensure that you get a very fine, precision paint line.

I have included a photo of several masks added to a canopy of a Bf 109E-4 (Eduard Week End Edition 3403) to demonstrate what you end up with. This is not the specific kit these were made for so cut some slack here. I don’t have the Hasegawa Bf 109F-4 in my stash. At least you get the idea.

These guys are pretty pricey for what you get, but if you are as inept with masking canopies as I am, these will be real time savers. Time has value.

Thanks to Eduard Model Accessories and IPMS/USA for this set to review.