Thank you to the ever supportive folks at Eduard Model Accessories for providing a yet another great finishing tool. Thank you to the IPMS Reviewer Corp for letting me evaluate one of Eduard’s products. I always enjoy working with Eduard’s offerings and this mask set is no exception.

Kitty Hawk Models recently released a newly tooled 1:48 model of the SH-2F Sea Sprite, a common USN helicopter for a good part of the later 20^th century. The design of the helicopter provides excellent visibility for the aviator, which for the modeler means there are lots of clear parts to protect. The masking set reviewed here allows the modeler to easily protect those clear parts during painting.

Eduard provides 26 mask pieces die-cut into translucent yellow masking paper on a 75 mm (2.83 inch) square backing sheet. The masks are easily separated from the backing and are also easily placed on the model with the help of a small color instruction sheet. The adhesive has a nice balance of “stickiness”, allowing tweaking of the mask position before firmly sealing the mask down with a toothpick. Only flat mask areas have full masks covering the entire clear part area. More complex shapes, such as curved panels, have multipart “edges” that overlap with each other. The modeler must cover the remaining clear part with masking liquid of the modeler’s choice. The masking liquid is not included.

The treatment of complex areas with a combination of “edges” and liquid mask is a common Eduard practice. I find this method to be very effective for achieving great results. The narrow mask pieces allow precise placement, tweaking and adjustment around curves. I experienced no color bleed under the masks. The masking material left little to no sticky residue.

This masking set is excellent. The only issue I found does not detract from the set at all. Kit clear part GP-1 contains the overhead clear panels above the pilots. The aft end of GP-1 is solidly painted and requires no masking. The set provides masking materials for the clear panels above the pilots, but the masks for the aft part of GP-1 are not needed since those are painted. Eduard’s masking material is a joy to use and I found use for the extras without any trouble at all!

I recommend this set without reservation for the Kitty Hawk SH-2F. The mask set also works well with the Cobra Company’s aftermarket conversion for the Kitty Hawk model. Much of my collection benefited from Eduard accessories and I am very pleased to add my Sea Sprite to the list. Thank you Eduard Model Accessories for another excellent product, and thank you again to the IPMS Reviewer Corps! It’s been fun.