Paint Masks

[Robert Porter]

I have seen numerous posts here dealing with paint masks available for purchase. Eduard seems to be a commonly referenced supplier. First of all, having checked their site, a lot of the masks mentioned in these forums are no longer available.

I have a Revell 1:48 P-61 Black Widow, a 1:48 P-38 also by Revell that I would like to get paint masks for. I did find masks for a 1:48 Great Wall Black Widow but after reading another post I got the impression they were not interchangeable at all.

Does anyone have a current source for masks? Again a lot of the links in the forums were dead or no longer functional.

Also in the market for aftermarket canopies, engines, landing gear, etc for these kits if anyone knows a current source.

Thanks in advance for your time and attention!

 

[fubar57]

You're right about masks sized for one model and not the other. Squadron.com sells a lot of after market accessories. Hobbylinc, Ultracast, Hannants to name a few. Of coarse eBay is a great source especially for discontinued items if you want to pay the price or wait it out until you find a cheap one. I waited for almost a year with daily searching before I found a reasonably priced Mosquito NF.XIII resin radar nose

 

[Robert Porter]

You're right about masks sized for one model and not the other. Squadron.com sells a lot of after market accessories. Hobbylinc, Ultracast, Hannants to name a few. Of coarse eBay is a great source especially for discontinued items if you want to pay the price or wait it out until you find a cheap one. I waited for almost a year with daily searching before I found a reasonably priced Mosquito NF.XIII resin radar nose

I was afraid of that, have seen quite a bit of stuff on eBay but the prices, currently, are beyond my means. But will keep looking. I did find squadron.com in my searches and found a few things there as well. One thing that puzzled me was their prices for kits seemed very high considering I could buy several of the kits they had at my local Hobby Lobby for a fraction of what they were asking. How do they stay in business? And yes I was careful that I was not comparing a Great Wall kit with a Revell version. Will keep searching sounds like that is part and parcel of the hobby.

I wonder if 3D printing will eventually bring aftermarket parts or even replacement parts or custom parts into a whole new light?

 

[fubar57]

One thing I've learned in a hard way about shopping for a specific kit on eBay is to set your search for "Price+Shipping: Lowest First"...

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...there is quite a difference in prices, sometimes 10-20$...

This was not the best choice in showing price differences but you see what I mean.

 

[JKim]

I'll second Geo's post about Ebay as a good source for masks and other aftermarket stuff, especially if the product is out of production. Ultracast is another good source that I've used to find out-of-production stuff, especially decals. I really like how Ultracast organizes their online store based on scale and aircraft type... makes it easy to get an overall picture of what's available for a given aircraft.

 

[Robert Porter]

I will give Ultracast a peek, thanks JKim! I love aftermarket gear, wheels, etc. They tend to look so much better. I know you get what you pay for is very true but as they say I have Porsche taste on a Yugo budget! But I will keep looking, eBay has indeed been a great source but it is very spotty obviously.

 

[Robert Porter]

This was not the best choice in showing price differences but you see what I mean.

I do indeed, and there were some good deals to be found there. But I am still amazed at the differential. I think they take MSRP as written in stone!

Since I am only personally familiar with Revell/Monogram and Acadamy Kits I am a little reluctant to shell out premium dollars for the kits they have, but am certainly going to try one or two, after all for the price and based on kit reviews there are some great things out there I have not tried yet. Tamiya as next on my list.

 

[newst]

Squadron has always been the "...high price spread." It was true when I was a kid and the only Squadron Shop was a retail store in Detroit, later, as a young adult, when Squadron had mail order and a few retail outlets and I worked part time at their Madison Heights store and now when it is only mail order.

Squadron's strong points are its selection of rare and unique accessories bundled with their issuing of improved versions of old kits (although Hannants exceeds Squadron here) and the frequent sales where Squadron's prices actually come down from the stratosphere.

 

[Robert Porter]

Squadron's strong points are its selection of rare and unique accessories bundled with their issuing of improved versions of old kits (although Hannants exceeds Squadron here) and the frequent sales where Squadron's prices actually come down from the stratosphere.

Having spent more time on their site I have to agree, there is a lot of hard to find things on there. And while kit prices seem to be very high, other things appear reasonable. One thing I will say is someone needs to bring their web site a century or two forward in terms of technology and usability. They make it entirely too hard to find things.

 

[Zippythehog]

I'm using Silly Putty for broad fuselage masks. As long as you don't leave linger too long on one area, it gives a nice mask. Obviously it's not as uniform, bird to bird.
I'm going to try using it on my next canopy.

 

[Robert Porter]

I have heard of others using silly putty as well, apparently with no ill effect other than as you say, a little inconsistency.

 

[Zippythehog]

By lingering, I mean with the airbrush.